354 
Keport of the Botanist of the 
known as Sphyerotheca Morsmvse B. & C. It appears to be indigenous 
to North America. Its depredations in the garden, however, are chiefly 
confined to varieties of transatlantic origin. On these it checks the 
growth and when abundant dwarfs the whole plant, while the fruit is 
disfigured and rendered worthless. The ends of the branches are the 
principal seat of the fungus; these become thickened and succulent, 
the leaves on them remain small, are close set, and drop prematurely. 
The fungal threads overspread the surface of the host without pene- 
trating into its interior. They are at first pure white, and with the 
white spores produce a glistening effect. As the threads grow to be 
more abundant, they change color and form a characteristic thick 
brown felt over the branches and fruit. The felted masses may be 
scraped from the gooseberry fruit, leaving the surface normally smooth 
and green. The white spores, produced in the greatest abundance, 
are for the immediate and speedy extension of the fungus to any 
suitable spot that they may be blown to. The brown felted masses 
bear small dark bodies, just large enough to be seen with the unaided 
eye, in which are also spores. The latter sort (ascospores) germinate 
the following spring, and are the means of continuing the disease from 
year to year. A remedy of much promise is spoken of in another part 
of this report. 
Constancy of Characters in the Wild Dandelion. — The varieties of 
cultivated dandelion show a considerable range of variation in the 
characters of the leaves, extending from the finely cut or mossy forms 
to the broad, even forms, and these varieties are quite constant when 
propagated by seed. It was suggested by the Director of the Station 
that counterparts of these varieties might possibly be found among 
wild forms, and that they might show a like constancy of characters 
when introduced to cultivation. The subject has an important bearing 
upon the origin of garden varieties, and the possibilities in the way of 
originating new varieties. It was decided to select as diverse forms 
of wild plants as possible and transfer to the garden. This was done 
in spring, when the 'leaves show the greatest variation. There were 
four classes — those with finely cut, light green leaves; those with finely 
cut, dark green leaves, spotted and edged with brown; those with least 
uneven, light green leaves, and those with least uneven, dark green 
leaves. In the rich soil of the garden they grew finely, and by 
September first were large plants. At this date there was still a 
considerable difference between the light and dark green forms, but 
the shapes of the leaves exhibited less difference, all having approxi- 
mated to a much cut and irregular pattern. Although the leaves had 
grown large, they retained their habit of reclining, instead of standing 
