(1) The British Rust Fungi (2) Mildews, Rusts, and Smuts (3) The Fungi which Cause Plant Disease

Abstract

(1) THE twenty-four years which have elapsed since Dr. Plowright published his classic monograph of the British Uredineæ and Ustilagineæ have seen great progress in our knowledge of the biology and classification of the former group—the rusts. Their heterœcism was a recognised fact; the life-history of Puccinia graminis was familiar to most botanical students, but the subject has broadened considerably in the last quarter of a century; P. graminis itself has been shown to include several species easily separable by form and colour; and, further, biological differences have been demonstrated, embodying a close adaptation between fungus and host, and the recognition of “physiological races.” In this connection Mr. Grove utters his protest against the excessive multiplication of “species” by “biological” nomenclators:—“Physiological unaccompanied by morphological distinctions should never be allowed to constitute a difference of species, unless it be as a temporary measure in cases which have not been investigated.” The difficulty arising in the case of hetercecious species from the existence of distinct names for the various phases of the same species has been overcome by the rule agreed to at the Brussels Congress to give preference to the earliest name given to the perfect (in this case the teleutospore) stage.

(1) The British Rust Fungi.

By W. B. Grove. Pp. xii + 412. (Cambridge: University Press, 1913.) Price 4s. net.

(2) Mildews, Rusts, and Smuts.

By George Massee, assisted by Ivy Massee. Pp. 229 + iv plates. (London: Dulau and Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 7s. 6d. net.

(3) The Fungi which Cause Plant Disease.

By Prof. F. L. Stevens. Pp. viii + 754. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 17s. net.