— 74 — 
zation having resulted from their parasitic habit. The existence of a number 
of parasitic species of Auriculariaceae on mosses, and the presence in Eocronartium 
muscicola of a highly developed obligate parasitism suggest the origin of the 
Uredinales from this group.” 
We may thus have to watch some of the phytopathologists who are on the 
trail of the barberry bushes that they do not attempt to even up an old score 
on our mosses! O. E. J. 
Boissier Herbarium goes to the University of Geneva. — We learn from 
the Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (1918: 126) that the herbarium 
of the late E. Boissier and the accompanying library have been presented to 
the Botanical Institute of the University of Geneva, and that the present curator, 
Mr. Beauverd, will continue in office, accompanying the herbarium to its new 
location. 
Schistostega osmundaceae, the Luminous Moss. — From a review by 
Dr. J. M. Coulter (Bot. Gaz. 67 : 278-279. March, 1919) we learn of studies by 
Tod A 1 on material of this interesting moss obtained from a cave in Japan. He 
found that the protonema can live for 7 months without producing a leafy shoot. 
The “chromatophores” scattered in a day in light and turned towards light in 
a changed direction in 7-10 days. White, blue, and violet light were the most 
favorable. The spores germinated in a month at about 60-77° Fahr., the leafy 
shoot died at about zero Fahrenheit, but the protonema could live at -5 0 and 
the optimum temperature for the leafy shoot was about 60-77° Fahr. 
O. E. J. 
Bryophytes and Lichens on Fell-Fields. — Dr. John W. Harshberger 
(Alpine Fell-Fields of Eastern North America. Geographical Review 7 : 233-255. 
April, 1919) defines a fell-field as 
“a rocky flat or plateau, situated in arctic or subarctic regions or on the 
alpine summits of mountains in northern as well as southern latitudes. The 
soil of a fell-field is not continuous but is broken by stones, rocks, boulders, rocky 
slabs, or outcropping ledges into pockets, crannies, or small areas circumscribed 
by the scattered or projecting rocks. Hence the surface of a fell-field is never 
completely covered with plants. Between the scattered patches of vegetation 
we see bare, pebbly, stony, sandy, or clayey soil usually devoid of humus in the 
ordinary acceptance of that term as meaning the organic material of the soil.” 
Warming has stated the characteristic feature of fell-field vegetation to 
be the dwarfishness of the plants and the poverty of individuals covering the 
bare surface. Cryptogams, such as lichens and mosses, are abundant and 
there are usually a goodly number of species represented. The seed plants are 
mainly of the cushion or tufted type, with strong perennial tap-roots, and such 
shrubs as appear are usually evergreen. Harshberger describes from Kruuse’s 
1 Toda, Viscount Ya umochi. Physiological studies on Schistostega osmundacea (Dicks.) 
Mohr. Jour. Coll. Sci. Tokyo 40 : no. 5. pp. 30, pis. 2. 1918. 
