290 



INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



[Dec. 1896. 



It was especially prevalent in parts of Kent, so much so that 

 when the mowers were cutting the grass thick black clouds 

 came from it ; in the words of a correspondent, " making the 

 mowers nearly as black as sweeps. This black dust on the 

 grass is very similar to ' smut ' in wheat and smells like it." 



Upon examination of the infected grass it was seen that this 

 fungus was upon the flowers and seeds of the grass, and not 

 upon the glumes, or bracts, enclosing the flowers and seeds. It 

 was also seen that the spores of this fungus were larger than 

 those of wheat smut, Ustilago segetum, and of a slightly darker 

 colour. Tulasne considered this fungus a variety of Ustilago 

 segetum, and styled it Ustilago bromivora. Fischer de Waldheim 

 holds it to be a separate species, and describes it, in his paper in 

 the Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscow? 

 in which he gives coloured flgures of this fungus and of U stilago 

 segetum, clearly showing the distinction between them. 



In his Apercu systematique des Ustilaginees, Fischer de "Wald- 

 heim also describes Ustilago bromivora, and states that it attacks 

 several other species of Bromus. Tubeuf in his Pflanzenhrank- 

 lieiten gives a short description of this fungus, and says that it» 

 does not deform or injure the panicles of the grass, but only 

 attacks the flowers and seeds. 



Bromus mollis and other species of Bromus are bad grasses 

 for pastures and meadows, and should not be sown. Unfortu- 

 nately there is a considerable per-centage of them in much of 

 the grass land, and where they were attacked by this fungus 

 the hay made of them was seriously damaged ; and injury was 

 imparted also to the hay made from other grasses growing amongst 

 them. It is also of scientific interest to note the unusually 

 general attack of this fungus, and to speculate upon the cause 

 of its spread. It could nob be from excessive moisture, as the- 

 winter, spring, and summer were abnormally dry. 



