News and Notes 



163 



Bearbeitung der nordamerikanischen Sordariaceen seitens Griffiths 

 der Gattnngsname Sordaria beibehalten worden ist." 



The new generic name was published in North American Flora 

 3 : 65. Since no opportunity is given in that work for extended 

 notes and in view of the above criticism, it is thought well to give 

 our reasons for this substitution of names. 



In the American Code of Botanical Nomenclature, sec. IV, 

 canon 15 (c), we find the following rule relative to the fixing 

 of the type of a genus. " The application to a genus of a former 

 specific name of one of the included species designates the type." 

 As an illustration of the application of the above rule we read the 

 following: " Sordaria Ces. & DeN. Comm. Soc. Critt. Ital. 1: 225 

 (1863), is typified by Sphaeria Sordaria Fr., one of its twelve 

 species." Sphaeria Sordaria is, according to recent authorities, a 

 Rosellinia, in the sense that Rosellinia is now used. The name 

 Sordaria would then become a synonym of Rosellinia as now 

 used, and the group of species to which the name Sordaria is com- 

 monly applied would be left without a name and since there is no 

 other name in literature which could be taken up for the genus, 

 the only alternative is the substitution of a new name. In brief, 

 then, this substitution of Fimetaria as the generic name of those 

 species commonly known by the old name Sordaria was made in 

 order to make the work of North American Flora conform to the 

 requirements of the rules of the American Code of Botanical 

 Nomenclature. — F. J. Seaver. 



Mc Alpine s "Smuts of Australia." — From McAlpine's previous 

 work, especially his " Rusts of Australia," one would naturally 

 expect a good piece of investigation in his " Smuts of Australia," 

 and an examination of this, his latest work, entirely confirms this 

 expectation. Probably no other book brings together so much 

 general information regarding this important group of fungi. 

 The author treats the subject from a threefold point of view. 

 First, he gives in detail information regarding the general nature 

 of smuts, character of the mycelium, spores, germination, infec- 

 tion of hosts, immunity, etc. Second, he takes up certain eco- 

 nomic smuts, as the grain and grass species, and treats them very 



