“It was suggested by Professor J. A. MacDonald that a study be made of problems related to the life cycles of the rusts Puccinia magnusiana Körnicke and P. phragmitis (Schum.) Körnicke. Initial observations in the field led to investigations on the respective host ranges of the two species and on the factors governing survival and germination of their teleutospores, acidio-spores and uredospores.” – from the Introduction.