News and Notes 
217 
The American Journal of Botany for March contains the ad- 
dress of the retiring president of the Botanical Society of Amer- 
ica on Problems and Progress of Plant Pathology. The same 
number also contains an article by Alban Stewart on Some Obser- 
vations on the Anatomy and Other Features of the Black Knot ; 
also an article by Professor R. A. Harper on Cleavage in Didy- 
miurn melanospermum (Pers.) Macbr. The entire number shows 
a mycological trend. The April number contains a lengthy article 
by Bascombe Britt Higgins on Contribution to the Life History 
and Physiology of Cylxndrosporium on Stone Fruits. 
The Botanical Gazette for April contains a note by Dr. Roland 
Thaxter on the ascosporic condition of the genus Aschersonia 
Montagne. It had been suspected that the ascosporic form, if 
such existed, would place this genus among the Hypocreaceae, 
possibly with the genus Hypocrella. After careful search for the 
ascosporic form of Aschersonia in the island of Grenada, the 
search was finally rewarded by finding a few which showed sus- 
picious looking pustules which proved to be perithecia. In Trini- 
dad, species of Aschersonia were more numerous and often showed 
the ascosporic stage. A study of these plants shows Aschersonia 
to be closely related to the genus Cordyccps. The article contains 
a description and illustration of the perfect stage of Aschersonia 
turbinata Berk. 
Origin of the Volva Aperture in Crvptoporus Volvatus 
(Peck) Hubbard 
This interesting species of the Polyporaceae is quite common 
on fire-killed specimens of Pinus rigida west of Albany. It is one 
of the earliest species of that family to mature. Mature speci- 
mens were found at intervals between May io and June i. The 
young specimens are nearly globose and sometimes slightly var- 
nished upon the upper surface, so that at first glance they might 
easily be taken for the button stage of Fonies ungulatus. A cross 
section of this stage, however, shows that the hymenium is nearly 
if not quite mature and the absence of any opening in the thick, 
