ON THE GERMINATION OF TnE UREDINES. 
137 
In the “ Handbook of British Fungi ” the Uredines are distri- 
buted over three orders, viz., Puccinei, Cceomacei, and JEcidiacei. 
Excellent as this arrangement has proved itself to be to the pre- 
sent generation of British and American mycologists, it is quite 
probable that when the next edition of the “ Handbook ” comes to 
be prepared certain modifications will be made ; some genera now 
disassociated will be united, or at any rate brought nearer toge- 
ther. Any such alterations, should they be made, will certainly 
not be brought about by the desire of the editor to pander to the 
strange vagaries now in vogue in certain quarters concerning 
mycological nomenclature, but will owe their existence to that 
progressive accumulation of knowledge, mainly the outcome of 
physiological research, which from time to time antiquates the best 
systems of classification in all departments of natural history. 
From no standpoint do we obtain so clear a view of the affinities 
of various forms of organic life as when we devote ourselves to 
the investigation of their development. Now, there exist two 
distinct modes in which the germination of Uredines takes place, 
which, for want of better names, may be called the Puccinoid and 
the Uredinoidy inasmuch as the former is proper to the Puccinice , 
while the latter is met with more constantly amongst the mem- 
bers of the so-called genus, Uredo. But it must not be supposed 
these two modes of germination are absolutely confined to the two 
forms of fungus-life just mentioned ; on the contrary, as will be 
shown hereafter, the Puccinice may, and do sometimes, germinate 
after the manner of the Uredines , and vice versa. 
Puccinoid Germination. — As a general rule the Puccinia spore 
may be regarded as the resting spore of the Uredo , or at any rate, 
if not absolutely the resting spore, at least the spore which retains 
its germative energy the longest. Very many of the Puccinice will 
not germinate until the spring following the summer or autumn 
in which they were themselves produced ; but this is not invariably 
the case. To take one instance only. P. epilobii , D.C., germinated 
freely with me in from 48 to 72 hours (plate 159, fig. 20). 
Tulasne has shown that the germination of the Puccinia spore 
is brought about by the protrusion of the germ tube through an 
opening in the epispore (t. 159, f. 25). This tube is destined to 
produce secondary spores at its peripheral extremity, and is never 
of any great length. There is usually only one germ tube for 
each primary division of the spore. The figure quoted above is 
taken from Tulasne’s Memoir, and shows the process as observed 
by 'him in Puccinia graminis. In other words, puccinoid germi- 
nation implies the production of secondary spores, and is found in 
Triphragmium , Phragmidium, Puccinia, Podisoma , Uromyces , 
Coleosporium , and in the winter spores of Melampsora* 
The secondary spores are born upon the terminal extremities of 
short tapering branches given off by the primary germ tube after 
Probably also Xenodochus, 
10 
