90 
acid, and many other substances have been tried and advocated, and 
various processes for steeping or washing the grain, or for blowing off 
spores with powerful draught of air, have found more or less favor. In 
all these cases the result aimed at is to keep the germinating wheat, 
etc., from contact with the spores, and no one is likely to call in ques¬ 
tion the wisdom of the intention. 
But another question obtrudes itself here, and that is : If the sporidia 
can really infect the young wheat seedling, etc., only in the stage and 
at the place described, then should it not be possible to attack the ques¬ 
tion of protection from another stand-point? In other words, if the fun¬ 
gus can only enter the tender tissues at the collar of the young seed¬ 
ling, then a. few hours more or less in the time occupied in the process 
of germination may make all the difference to the seedling. All these 
conditions or adaptations which hurry or facilitate the vigorous germi¬ 
nation of the seed must lessen the danger of infection, and if it can be 
shown conclusively that this is the case, an important service to the 
community has once more been rendered by the biologists. The ground 
is a little difficult, however, because, unless we are quite sure of our 
steps, it is somewhat easy to go astray from facts to hypotheses. 
MTJCR0N0P0RUS, E. & E. 
By J. B. Ellis and Benj. M. Everhart. 
The following additional species of Polyporecc have the hymenium 
spiny: 
Mucronoporus ferruginosus (Schrad.) issued in N. A. F., Ill, as 
Polyporus contiguus, Pers. The N. A. F. specimens were determined by 
Berkeley some twenty years ago from specimens sent him from New- 
held, N. J. Spines abundant, well developed, 30-40 by 5-G/u Speci¬ 
mens on osage-orange from Missouri (Demetrio, No. 138), and on Vitis 
from Ohio (Morgan, 577), agree in all respects with the Newheld speci¬ 
mens. In Fr. Epicrisis the pores are said to be equal (“ mqualibus ”). In 
N. A. F., Ill, they vary from round to flattened and subsinuous, and 
agree in ail respects with three specimens of Poria ferruginosa (Schrad) 
from Herb. Berkeley (kindly sent with many other things by Dr. M. 0. 
Cooke). The N. A. F. specimens also agree much better with the de¬ 
scription of P. ferruginosa than with that of P. contigua, and we have 
very little doubt in referring them to that species. 
The specimen of P. contiguus in Bav. Fungi Car. I, 1G, has the pores 
equal and round, or nearly so, and judging from specimens in our Herb, 
from Morgan (74 and 324) are the same as the u P. unitus, 1* rs.” in 
“The Flora of the Miami Valley.” The Ohio specimens are on wood 
of deciduous trees, and the same thing is not uncommon around New- 
field on dry dead limbs of oak. Colonel Calkins also sends it from 
Florida (Nos. 05, 114, 12G, 131) on (lead limbs of’ various deciduous trees. 
