Medical Officers of the. Army of India. 1 9
on 8th May, and of these three became affected, producing a number of sper-
mogonia. But the leaves withered before the production of æcidia.
Experiment VII.—Some seeds collected the previous autumn were sown in
pots on 1st April. These produced a large number of seedlings, in-each pot. On
4th June, twenty young delicate leaves (ten pairs) were inoculated with teleuto-
spores, gathered on 26th March- and preserved in ordinary botanical drying-paper.
At the same time some of these spores were placed in a growing cell, in order to
ascertain whether they had retained power to germinate. They did not germi-
nate readily, so twenty-five leaves were re-inoculated on the 6th June with spores
collected the same day. The pot was then kept in my laboratory under a glass
shade. On the 13th one leaf appeared to have become infected, presenting a
yellowish point. On the 14th three leaves appeared to have become infected.
On the 16th there was no longer any doubt as to the success of the experiment,
as no less than ten leaves were affected, including one cotyledonary leaf. On
20th twenty were affected, some showing ripe spermogonia. On 26th I counted
twenty-four affected leaves and many with ripe spermogonia, though as yet no
æ cidia had appeared. The plants were now transferred to a hot-house. Here
they grew well, and on 1st July numerous young æcidia could be detected under
the epidermis. On 4th July many of these had ripened and burst, and were
filled with spores.
Experiment VIII.—Seedlings raised, as described in Experiment VII, in
another pot, had pieces of the grass bearing teleutospore beds laid upon twenty
leaves on 6th June. The plants were then kept in my room under a glass case.
O n 1 6 t h o n l y o n e s h o w e d s i g n s o f a t t a c k ; o n 2 0 t h t w o , a n d o n 2 6 t h o n l y f o u r ,
and these had developed spermogonia. The pot was now transferred to a hot-
house. On 4th July I observed that eleven leaves were attacked. Several of
thesebore ripe æcidia, though not so many as in Experiment . VII.
.Experiment IX. —Five separate leaves were cut off and placed in a moist
chamber on 7th June. Three of them were smeared on their under surfaces with
some water from a watch-glass, into which teleutospores, scraped off their beds
had been placed 24 hours previously, and which microscopic examination showed
to contain a number of sporidia, whilst on two of them this was placed on their
upper surfaces. All those inoculated on the under surface, and one inoculated
on the upper surface, became infected, producing ripe spermogonia, but withering
before the production of æcidia.
In addition to these, several other experiments were made which might
be quoted ; but as I think those I have just described suffice to establish the
fact that the puccinia spores occurring on Pollinia, when placed upon leaves of
Strobilanthes, produce there, an æcidium-bearing fungus, it is needless to adduce
further evidence. I will, therefore, now proceed to describe the general charac
-ters of the fungus as it occurs in Pollinia, together with some experimental evi
dence to show that this is produced by æcidiospores from Strobilanthes, and
then give the microscopic characters of the fungus as a whole.
D 2