359 
Marshall Ward. — On a lily -disease. 
the open, but specimens in pots under the shelter of green- 
houses escaped. Berkeley, who seems to have been already 
acquainted with this disease, points out that it is due to the 
ravages of a fungus presumably allied to Peronospora , although 
he had never seen it produce zoospores. 
Berkeley named this fungus Ovidaria elliptica 1 , and says the 
spores are 4 elliptic, resembling in shape and size those of 
many of the larger Pezizas.’ As we shall see, there was 
probably something approaching the prophetic in this intuitive 
remark. The disease received no further notice, so far as 
I can discover, until the past summer. In the 4 Gardeners’ 
Chronicle 5 for August 18th, 1888 Mr. W. G. Smith gives a 
good outline figure of the conidiophores and conidia of this 
fungus, and — on evidence of the slenderest possible nature — 
alters the name of the fungus to Peronospora elliptica. I feel 
no difficulty in concluding that the fungus is the same in all 
cases, though of course it is barely possible , or rather conceiv- 
able, that two different forms have been mixed up. However, 
Mr. Smith’s drawing suggests that the fungus is a 4 Polyactis,’ 
and the suggestion receives support if we turn to his own 
capital figure of Polyactis vidgaris (Botrytis vulgaris) in the 
4 Gardeners’ Chronicle 5 for Febuary, 1886 3 , where this fungus 
is described as following other fungi on and in diseased 
Cucurbitaceae. 
Now it so happens that this Polyactis vulgaris has been very 
abundant on the vegetable marrows in my garden this year 
(in August and September), and I have taken considerable 
pains to cultivate it from the conidia in the pure condition. I 
have also cultivated with equal ease and care a similar, if not 
identical form of Polyactis on Phaseolus , also in my own garden. 
These cultures have shown that the conidia, sown in 
Pasteur’s solution, rapidly give rise to a mycelium of branched, 
septate hyphae, which form cross-connections, organs of at- 
tachment, and in short behave almost exactly as the conidia 
and mycelium of the fungus of the lily-disease. I cannot 
1 ‘ Floccis hie illic nodosis, sporis magnis ellipticis laevibus.’ 
2 P- 184. 3 p. 173. 
