166 
Journal of Mycology 
[Vol. 8 
Southern California and of the San Joaquin and Sacramento 
valleys. The Santa Clara valley and other coast regions are 
wholly or nearly free from its ravages. The leading characters 
distinguishing the Winter blight are given as follows: “First, it 
rarely if ever attacks a tree at points higher than a man’s head, 
always affecting the trunk or base of the main limbs, hence the 
larger and more vital portions of the tree; second, the infection 
takes place about the time the crop is gathered or shortly after; 
third, it continues in a most active and destructive state during 
the months of November, December and January; and, fourth, it 
may prevail in an orchard showing little or no signs of the 
Spring form of the disease.” The article states relative to the 
agency of bees: “The contrast between the number of infections 
in orchards near large colonies of bees and those more distant 
was very striking in both cases noted in the San Joaquin valley. 
The field conditions presented convincing evidence that near 
proximity of large colonies of bees to pear orchards greatly in¬ 
creases the danger to, and hastens the time of destruction of the 
latter.” 
Those who would be students of the Uredinae will read 
with interest and profit the article by Dr. Arthur on Clues to 
Relationship among Heteroecious Rusts, published in the Botan¬ 
ical Gazette, 33 162-6, Jan. 1902. All observations affording clues, 
he says, must be made in the field. Stress is laid on the juxtapo¬ 
sition of the two kinds of spore formation, aecidial and teleut- 
osporic. “It will be many years before any large proportion of 
our numerous heteroecious rusts will be connected with their 
respective aecidia, and in the mean time all clues to relationship 
will be much prized by students, and their pursuit will give to 
the collector an additional source of pleasure.” 
Too much importance has been ascribed to a cellulose-dis¬ 
solving enzyme, says Ralph E. Smith, in the summary of his 
article in the Botanical Gazette (33:421-36, June, 1902), on the 
Parasitism of Botrytis cinerea. “Two stages in the process should 
be clearly distinguished: First, a poisoning and killing of the 
cells; and second, their disintegration and utilization as food by 
the cells. The first effect appears to be produced by a substance 
which there are strong reasons for supposing to be oxalic acid, 
formed by the fungus as a by-product of its metabolism. Follow¬ 
ing this, a number of different enzymes are secreted which digest 
the various constituents of the tissue.” 
The Gooseberry Mildew, Sphaerotheca mors-uvae (Schw.), 
though claimed by E. S. Salmon to be confined to North America, 
has been reported as indigenous in Ireland by S. Salmon, and 
as indigenous in Russia by P. Hennings. Dr. P. Magnus in a 
recent number of the Gartenflora maintains that the latter are 
