I 4° 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
16. Ustilago zeae (Beckm.) Unger. 
Lycoperdon zeae Beekm. 
On Zea mays L. 
Columbus, Ohio. September 30, 1901. 
Coll. O. E. Jennings. 
For full account of the synonomy with citations and notes, 
see J. C. Arthur, Botanical Gazette, 23 : 46, from which the follow- 
ing is taken : 
To the translation by Johann Beckmann of Tillet’s account 
of the species contained in the Royal Academy of Paris, 1776, where 
it is stated that, ‘ ‘ Son dernier effet consiste a convertir cette excrois- 
sance en line poussiere noiratre et assez semhlahle a celle qui sort 
du lycoperdon ou vesse de loupe.” — a foot note is added by the 
translator proposing the binomial designation, as follows : 
“ Meiner Meynung nacli, ist das bier bescliriebene Gewaechs 
allerdings ein Staubschwamm (Lycoperdon) und zwar eine Species 
parasitica, deren in Lin. Syst. Xat. schon drey befindlich sind, 
unter welcheu also dieser Art, etwa unter dem Namen Lycoper. 
zeae ein Platz anzuweisen waere.” J. B., Hannoverisches Maga- 
zin, 6: 1330. 
HELPS IN ENTOMOLOGICAL STUDY. 
Persons who are anxious to learn something of the habits of 
insects are often at a loss to select reliable books. Some recent 
additions to the list formerly available will make this task less 
difficult. The “ Insect Book,” by Dr. L. O. Howard, published 
by Doubleday, Page & Company, covers the groups of insects, 
exclusive of the butterflies, moths and beetles. It gives figures 
of a large number of species, some of them in natural colors, and 
while some of the figures fail to give all the detail necessary for 
the exact identification of species, most of them are very 
satisfactory. The keys, descriptions, typical life histories and 
directions for making collections, are written especially for the 
class of students who do not have access to specific collections, 
libraries or instruction. 
Another book of great interest at the present time (also by 
Dr. Howard) is entitled “ Mosquitoes, How they Carry Disease, 
How they Live, How they are Classified, How they May be 
Destroyed.” This deals in a remarkably clear and attractive 
manner with the habits of mosquitoes, their breeding grounds, 
the different species and their distribution, their relation to 
malaria and yellow fever, and the measures by which their 
numbers may be reduced. It furnishes incidentally a most 
excellent guide to the methods of life history study for aquatic 
insects. It is published by McClure, Phillips & Co. — H. O. 
