“Ere a leaf is on the bush, In the time before the thrush Has a thought about her nest, Thou wilt come with half a call, Spreading out thy glossy breast Like a careless Prodigal; Telling tales about the sun When we’ve little warmth, or none.” And one of the earliest parasitic fungi in spring is an _Æcidium_ which flourishes on its glossy leaves. So common is _Æcidium ranunculacearum_ on this species of _Ranunculus_, that it can scarcely have escaped the eye of any one who has taken the trouble to examine the plant. It appears in patches on the under surface of the leaves or on their petioles, in the latter case swelling and distorting them. Sometimes these patches are nearly circular, at others of very irregular form, and varying in size from less than one-twelfth of an inch to half an inch in diameter. It is found on several species of _Ranunculus_, as _R. acris_, _bulbosus_, and _repens_, but most commonly on _R. ficaria_. The leaf is thickened at the spot occupied by the parasite, and generally without indication on the opposite surface. Sometimes one spot, at others several, occur on the same leaf. The peridia are densely crowded together, often arranged in a circinate manner, _i.e._, like a watch-spring, or the young frond of a fern. The spores are orange, but slightly varying in tint on different species of _Ranunculus_ (Plate II. figs. 12-14). One of the smaller clusters, when collected before the spores are dispersed, or the teeth of the peridium discoloured, mounted dry as an opaque object, makes a very excellent slide for an inch or half-inch objective; and the same may be said of many others of the same genus. Less common than the foregoing is the species of _Æcidium_ which attacks the violet. The sweetest of flowers as well as the earliest, in despite both of its odour and its humility, becomes a victim to one or more of the ubiquitous race of fungi. Thickened spots at first appear on the leaves; the petioles, or flower stem, or even the calyx, become swollen and distorted; and at length the cluster-cup breaks through. The spots on the leaves upon which the peridia are scattered are yellowish, generally larger than the clusters on the pilewort, and seldom with more than one spot on each leaf. The peridia, or cups, are irregularly distributed over the spots, not crowded together as in the last species; and the teeth are large, white, and distinct. The spores are at first orange, but at length become brownish. This species may be found in spring, as late as June, most commonly on the dog-violet, but also on other species of _Viola_.