430 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
liminary experiments appear to indicate that spores of Tilletia Tritici in 
the soil lose their power to infect rather rapidly when the soil is moist 
and is cultivated frequently. Very little infection took place from 
spores which had been in the soil one month under the above condi- 
tions.” A. L. S. 
Environmental Temperatures of Fungi in Nature. — Neil E. 
Stevens ( Amer . Journ. Bot., 1922, 9, 385-90, l fig.). The author 
made his experiments on parasitic leaf fungi, and found that many 
plant parts affected by fungi show, when exposed to the sun, a tempera- 
ture above that of the air. He noted also that these fungi are subjected 
to fluctuations more rapid and extreme than the fluctuations in the 
temperature of the air in the shade. Their environment in nature is 
thus widely different from that of fungi cultivated in heated labora- 
tories. A. L. S. 
Fungus-flora of Egypt : a Mycogeographical Study. — J. Reichert 
( Engler's Bot. Jahrb., 1922, 56 , Heft 5 ; see also Hedwigia , 1922, 63 , 
Beiblatt 1 12-3 ). One of the first papers to treat fungi from a geographical 
stand-point. The writer gives a sketch of w T ork done on the Egyptian 
fungus-flora, and of the ecological conditions with the fungus vegeta- 
tion, and the ecological adaptations. Ustilagineae and Gasteromycetes, 
which are abundant in deserts, represent Xerophytes among fungi. 
Among the few Agarics, Goprinus clavatus var. arenosa manages to 
survive by its strongly developed rhizoidal mycelium, and Ustilaginese, 
by developing their spores within the host-plant, are also adapted to dry 
conditions. Reichert records 237 species, 38 of which are new, 60 are 
widely distributed, and 68 are endemic. A. L. S. 
Studies in the Physiology of the Fungi. XII., Physiological 
Specialization in Rhizoctonia Solani. — Takashi Matsumoto {Ann. 
Miss. Bot. Garden, 1921, 8, 1-62). The author experimented in 
different media with 15 different isolations of the fungus obtained 
from a wide range of hosts. He divided them into two main groups : 
(1) those that blacken the agar culture medium : and (2) those that do 
not blacken agar. He has recorded many results of his work. The 
following are a few of the findings : — All the strains hydrolyze starch, 
though the diastatic activity is unlike, and all convert cane sugar. 
None of them could utilize inulin, but glucose, fructose and galactose 
were utilized. ... As a whole the mycelial growth is more sensitive to 
modification in the carbohydrate supply than to changes in the nitrogen 
supply. The hyphae of the fungi may enter the host directly through 
the cuticle by a mechanical process, and more easily through the root. 
The differences between the different strains are noted. A very copious 
bibliography is appended. A. L. S. 
Metabolism of Thermophile Fungi. — -Kurt Noack {Jahrb. Wiss. 
Bot., 1920, 95 , 416-66). The thermophile fungi were considered by 
Mieke to be Actinomyces thermophilus, Thermoidium sulfureum, Mucor 
pusillus and Thermoascus aurantiacus ; the author adds another to the 
group, Anixia spadicea. The life process of these is of great interest, 
as to that is due the heating of hay, etc. The respiration process has 
