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its re-appearance next year, although it is to the interest both of the 
cultivator and the scientist that it should beabundant. The former 
will thus have his meadows saved from the ravages of the weevil, 
and the latter can complete the study of the development and hab- 
its of a more than usually interesting fungus. It would, in fact, 
be a good thing for cabbage growers to have the cabbage worm fun- 
gus imported from Germany to accompany that insect and keep it in 
check. 
Where this fungus came from, it being a species heretofore unre- 
corded, is useless to conjecture. Although it is found on a newly 
imported insect, it is not known in the country from which the in- 
sect probably came. ‘That it may be a condition of the salmon dis- 
ease, or other water fungi, is not probable, as it is now generally ac- 
cepted that the supposed close relationship between the Entomoph- 
thore, of which our fungus is one, and the Saprolegnie or water 
molds belongs, as DeBary* says, ‘‘ to the history of errors.” 
The effective manner of the distribution of the spores is interest- 
ing. The insect climbs as high as possible, and is fastened to the 
object by holdfasts provided by the fungus, so the body may not fall 
off when dead. Locusts, attacked by the fungus already mentioned, 
act inthe same manner, but are held in place by their legs and claws 
simply.+ The spores when mature are projected to some distance 
from the body of the insect, its elevation aiding in the distribution. 
They are discharged in the night when the healthy larvee are feeding 
and most exposed, not being concealed beneath foliage asin the day- 
time. Thespores stick to any object they touch, and if alarvais hit 
the spores remain attached to it. And lastly, it being night time, 
there is more probability of the requisite amount of moisture being 
present to insure germination. ‘Taken as a whole it is an admirable 
device to accomplish the speedy and effective distribution of short 
lived spores. 
WEEDS AND THEIR FuNGOoUS PARASITES. , 
The desirability of keeping cultivated ground free of weeds is gen- 
erally acknowledged, as well as the advantage secured by clearing all 
waste corners and spots to prevent re-seeding, as far as possible. 
The abstract propositions are not likely to be disputed, but in practice 
they need to be enforced by numerous illustrative arguments. An ob- 
servation touching upon this matter was undertaken in the following 
manner: A strip of land from an old pasture was ploughed in spring 
to afford additional garden room. It was laid out into plats of one- 
twentieth of an acre each, one of which about the middle of the 
strip was permitted to lie untouched. It of course sprang up to 
weeds, although being the first ploughing, after so long ‘a lapse of 
time, their appearance was at first rather slow. For some reason, 
not obvious, the north half soon eclipsed the remainder in the quan- 
tity and luxuriance of its vegetation, among which the Canada thistle 
was most conspicuous. The soil and weeds remained undisturbed 
till July 15, when the Canada thistles and the largest of the other 
weeds were removed from the north half, counted and destroyed. 
The result is given in the annexed table. ‘The ground on the south 
half was still partly bare and the weeds were mostly small, so 1t was 
*Morph. u. Biol. d. Pilze, p. 172. +Osborn, Amer. Nat., 1883, p. 1286. 

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