A Botanical Note.

A SCENTED GRASS (Hierochloa rariflora, Hook. f.)

At

In the Gazette for June, 1894, is an illustrated article on this grass. page 362, its range is discussed, and it was stated that the Bolaro Mountain, near Nelligen (on the Clyde River, South Coast), was the most northerly recorded locality for this interesting grass. At the same time I stated that I should not be surprised if it were eventually found in the highest parts of the New England Ranges. This surmise has proved to be well-founded, Mr. W. H. Walker of Tenterfield, having recently found the grass at his Boonoo Boonoo Out-station, in very swampy country. This discovery brings the range of the grass several hundreds of miles further to the north, Boonoo Boonoo being in the mountainous country near the Queensland border, and I feel sure that only further search is required to find this interesting species within Queensland territory. In a letter subsequent to the communication originally forwarding the grass, Mr. Walker writes:-"I saw this grass on Bookookoorara, close to the top of the main range (say) about 4,000 feet above the sea, and as the grass I saw had no seed on it, I asked my head stockman to bring in a specimen- in seed or flower. He says there is lots of it on both the eastern and western water-sheds of the main range. Stock are very fond of it in the winter and early spring months of the year. He did not know it was scented until he got the specimens. From what I can hear it is a valuable winter and early spring grass, but useless when old."

The Hot-air
Hot-air Treatment
Treatment of Bunt or Stinking

Smut.

Br N. A. COBB,

Department of Agriculture.

In the autumn of 1894, Dr. Crabbe, of Chatswood, New South Wales, the inventor of a machine for killing weevils and other insects in grain by treatment with hot air, desired me to try the effect of his invention on the smut of wheat. In compliance I forwarded to Dr. Crabbe a sample of bunted wheat, that is, wheat from a crop attacked by the fungus Tilletia fætens B. and C., Trel. In order to make the test a thorough one, I not only used grain from a badly-diseased crop, but also took the precaution to break up a large number of bunted grains, and rub their spores thoroughly into the sample to be treated by Dr. Crabbe. I succeeded so well in my plan that eighty-six per cent. of the plants grown from this seed were bunted. Here, then, was a good test; the machine was to attempt to kill the bunt on grain, at least eighty-six per cent. of which was infected.

In order to compare the hot-air treatment with the hot-water treatment, I treated a sample of this infected seed with hot water of 135° Fahrenheit for fifteen minutes. The result of this treatment was that ninety-eight per cent. of the resulting plants were sound. Against this result must be placed the fact that thirty-five per cent. of the seed failed to grow, while of the untreated seed only twenty-five per cent. failed to grow. These results only confirm the well-known result of my former experiments, namely, that soaking in hot water is an efficient treatment for bunt in Australian wheat, but that a larger proportion of treated seed must be used per acre than of untreated. Where a bushel of ordinary seed would be used, a bushel and an eighth to a bushel and a half of treated seed should be used, according to the state of the diseased seed.

Dr. Crabbe treated four samples of wheat as follows:

I. Hot air 150° Fahrenheit for three minutes.
II. Hot air 200° Fahrenheit for one minute.
III. Hot air 200° Fahrenheit for three minutes.
IV. Hot air 300° Fahrenheit for one minute.

I.-Hot air 150° Fahrenheit for three minutes.

Of the planting from this sample of treated seed eighty per cent. failed to grow, while, of those which grew, one in five were bunted.

On examining the four methods of treatment adopted by Dr. Crabbe, it will be seen that the temperature of this one, 150° Fahrenheit for three minutes, is that most nearly approaching the hot-water method, namely, 130° to 135° Fahrenheit for fifteen minutes.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from this experiment is that the temperature and time are so great as to kill a large proportion of the grain, while the bunt is not eradicated, although reduced.

II.-Hot air 200° Fahrenheit for one minute.

Fifty-four per cent. of the seed grew, and of the resulting plants, fortyfour per cent. were bunted.

Here we see that a high temperature for a short time kills much seed and is even less effective in preventing the disease. The idea, no doubt, was to scorch the surface of the seed, so to speak, for a brief time, in the hope of killing the spores of the disease without injuring the seed, an idea which we shall see still further illustrated in sample number four. It seems, however, that wheat will not stand an air temperature of 200° Fahrenheit for so brief a time as one minute without being killed to the extent of one-half.

III.-Hot air 200° Fahrenheit for three minutes.

None of this seed germinated, thus showing that an additional two minutes is fatal to all the seed treated, although one minute at this temperature is fatal to only half the seed.

IV. Hot air 300° Fahrenheit for one minute.

Only twenty-eight per cent. of the seed germinated, and of this sixty-four per cent. was bunted.

The result of this fourth experiment completely breaks down the scorching theory broached above.

Summary.

1. In general, the results of these trials are unfavourable to the hot-air treatment as tried, and unless it can be greatly improved, this treatment will never be of service in combatting bunt.

2. The experiment in which the conditions most nearly approached those of the hot-water treatment was the most successful experiment, and this seems to me the most valuable result obtained, inasmuch as it gives a clue to the nature of the improvement that should be made in the machine and the method, if it is ever to become of service in combatting such fungus diseases as bunt, namely, an increased capacity of the machine, and a longer treatment at lower temperature than any tried in the foregoing cases.

Dr. Crabbe treated a number of other samples for me, and sent them very late in the season. The seed was planted, but only one plant appeared. No doubt this was partly due to the lateness of the planting and the prevailing drought. No conclusions of any value could be drawn from these plantings.

The above experiments were carried out at Wagga Wagga, on the Government Experiment Farm. The results are given in an abbreviated form in the following table :

GOLDEN DROP WHEAT from a bunted crop, and furthermore smeared with bunt-spores.

Australian Fungi.

By D. MCALPINE AND L. RODWAY.

THE following eight species of Fungi are all new for Tasmania; three of which are also new to science; and one new to Australia.

They are thus classified :

GROUP.-HYMENOMYCETES.

Order.-AGARICACEAE.

25. Lactarius piperatus, Fr.-Peppery Lactarius.

26. Flammula veluticeps, Cooke and Mass.-Velvet-capped Flammula.

Order.-POLYPORACEAE.

27. Fistulina hepatica, Fr.-Beefsteak Fungus.

28. Polystictus xerophyllus, Cooke.-Wrinkled Polystictus.

Order.-THELEPHORACEAE.

29. Cyphella pteridophila, Cooke.—Fern-loving Cyphella.

Order.-CLAVARIACEAE.

30. Clavaria phyllophila, McAlp.-Leaf-loving Clavaria.

GROUP.-DISCOMYCETES.

Order. PEZIZACEAE.

31. Sclerotinia dubia, McAlp.-Doubtful Sclerotinia.

GROUP.-TUBEROIDES.

Order.-TUBERACEAE.

32. Hydnocystis convoluta, McAlp.-Convoluted Hydnocystis.

This latter order is only represented in Australia by one species (Stephensia arenivaga, Cooke and Mass.), obtained by the Elder Exploring Expedition in South Australia; and therefore further additions to such a poorly represented Order are much wanted. Besides, such genus as Hydnocystis is intermediate between the Tuberaceae and Pezizaceae, and likely when further investigated, to throw light on the affinity between these two Orders. Further details and elaborate drawings are to be found in Tulasne's "Fungi Hypogaei."