358 
Notes on Recent Literature. 
N0TE5 ON RECENT LITERATURE. 
THE HEMIBASIDI1. 
By A. W. Bartlett, M.A., B.Sc. 
(1) Brefeld, O. “ Untersuchungen aus dem Gesammtgebiete 
der Mykologie. Bd. xv. Die Brandpilze und die Brandkrankheiten.” 
v. Berlin, 1912; pp. vi and 152. 
(2) Rawitscher, F. “ Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Ustilagineen.” 
Zeitschr. f. Bot., Bd.4, 1912, p. 673. 
(3) Werth, E., and Ludwigs, K. “ Zur Sporenbildung bei 
Rostund Brandpilzen.” Berd. deutsch. bot. Ges., Bd. 30, 1912, p. 522. 
(1) To the student of the Fungi the appearance of a fresh 
volume of Brefeld’s “Untersuchungen” is always an event of 
importance. It is now more than forty years since the first volume 
was published, and the latest volume is the fifth one that has been 
devoted more or less exclusively to the Hemibasidii. 
Chapter I. deals principally with the pathological phenomena 
which the “ Smut-fungi” produce in their host-plants, and with the 
biology of the parasites themselves. It is mainly a summary of 
the investigations which the author has previously made, though 
numerous fresh observations are recorded. The author points out 
that the Hemibasidii are able to penetrate only into the very young 
tissues of the host, and that when the tissues have reached maturity 
they are quite inaccessible to the entrance of the parasite. The 
parts of a plant through which infection can take place may be 
grouped into three categories: — (rz) the seedling in a very early 
stage of development; ( b) the young pistil of the flower ; (c) all 
the young growing-points of the roots, axes, leaves, flowers, etc., 
of the maize-plant alone may be infected by the spores of Ustilago 
Maydis. In the first case the infection is brought about by the sporidia 
produced by the chlamydospores, which germinate on the soil where 
they have fallen. In the second instance the chlamydospores are 
probably conveyed by the same means as are pollen-grains, viz., 
either by insects or by the wind, from an infected flower to the 
pistil of a healthy one, where germination takes place. The fungus 
enters the ovule, and the mycelium remains in the seed during its 
resting-period, and renews its growth only when the seed germinates, 
and it then finds its way into the growing-point of the stem. So 
a considerable period of time may intervene, as also in the first 
case, between the infection and the development of the chlamydo¬ 
spores in the flowers, leaves or other parts of a plant. Throughout 
this period, which maybe a matter of several months, the mycelium 
of the fungus in the growing apex of the stem keeps pace in its 
growth with the growth of the plant, without betraying the smallest 
signs of its presence. No more perfect adaptation of a parasitic fungus 
to its host-plant is to be found in the whole vegetable kingdom. 
The various Hemibasidii are passed in review, with the parts 
of the hosts where their chlamydospores are produced and the 
probable method of infection. By far the larger number develop 
their chlamydospores in some part of the flower of the host, 
particularly the ovary, but often in the stamens as well, and 
