222 



Mycologia 



and Entoloma and a list of species and varieties of fungi described 

 by Dr. Peck during forty years of remarkable activity. The 

 number of new species of fungi, exclusive of the new varieties, 

 described by him during this period reaches a total of nearly two 

 thousand five hundred. Dr. Peck has, practically speaking, col- 

 lected his own mycological herbarium and written his own myco- 

 logical library. 



An important pamphlet on Bud Rot and Some Other Cocoanut 

 Troubles in Cuba, by William Titus Home, was recently issued 

 as Bulletin No. 15 of the Cuban Experiment Station, Santiago 

 de las Vegas. The bud rot has been known in the West Indies 

 for a number of years, where it constitutes the most serious 

 obstacle to the cultivation of the cocoanut. It causes the nuts to 

 drop, the leaves to turn yellow, and the bud, or heart, of the tree 

 to decay. The cause of the disease is still unknown, but it is 

 believed to be bacterial in nature, and there is abundant evidence 

 that healthy trees are infected from diseased ones. 



A satisfactory treatment for this disease has not yet been dis- 

 covered, but it may be held in check by the destruction of the 

 tops of all trees dead or seriously affected with bud rot ; by flam- 

 ing, or burning out the tops, of all early cases, or trees suspected 

 to have the disease; and by spraying with Bordeaux mixture in 

 the hope of curing early cases and for the protection of healthy 

 trees. All three methods have been employed in Jamacia with 

 good results. 



A valuable descriptive paper by T. Petch on the Phalloideae of 

 Ceylon, accompanied by eleven handsome plates, appeared in the 

 December number of the Annals of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 Peradeniya. Five Ceylon species were collected by Gardner in 

 1844, and Berkeley described an additional species from Thwaites' 

 collections in 1863-68. To these, Massee later added Phallus 

 proximus, and two other species have since been described. The 

 number of species is still considerably behind that of Java, but 

 it may be materially increased when the lower elevations are ex- 

 plored. The species already known exhibit a marked distribution 

 according to altitude. 



