NEWS AND NOTES 



Hedwigia for February, 1909, contains a biographical sketch, 

 by Lindau, with portrait, of Paul Hennings, late curator of fungi 

 at the Berlin Botanic Garden. The substance of this sketch, 

 with the exception of the biblography, was reproduced in the 

 Botanical Gazette for March. 



Professor Hennings was born in a village in Holstein in 1841, 

 and, after a short term at school, became an assistant in the 

 botanic garden at Kiel under Nolte. He afterwards matriculated 

 at Kiel and spent a few months there in study, but was in the 

 main self-taught. In 1874, he began work on the cryptogams 

 at Kiel as assistant to Eichler, and was called by Eichler to 

 Berlin for this work in 1880. After a few years at Berlin, he 

 devoted himself entirely to building up and studying the myco- 

 logical collections, and, in 1902, was appointed royal professor. 

 His published papers are numerous, those on tropical fungi alone 

 probably numbering over two hundred. 



For a number of years, Professor Hennings' health has been 

 failing, and his arduous duties have allowed him scarcely any 

 time for rest or recreation. The recent death of his son was a 

 sad blow to him. Being sensitive and reserved in disposition 

 and poetic in temperament, he felt deeply and keenly. He was 

 often misjudged because of his retiring nature, but was exceed- 

 ingly friendly and helpful to those seeking assistance in myco- 

 logical work. 



The Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 94, 

 contains a summary of the " Fungus Diseases of Scale Insects 

 and Whitefly," by H. S. Fawcett. The climate of Florida is 

 especially suited to the combating of scale insect diseases by 

 the use of their natural enemies, the fungi, and nowhere else 

 in the world have these agencies been employed for that purpose 

 to such as extent as in that state. The fungi which naturally 

 grow on scale insects cannot grow on plants, so that their intro- 

 duction for combating the scale insect cannot result in injury 

 to the crops themselves. 



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