154 MR. R. H. BIFFEN ON THE 
Incidentally, though, it may be noticed that watery drops are 
exuded from any part of the sporophore and that they form 
most plentifully at its base. "Their presence there is not due to 
their running down from the higher parts of the stipes, for even 
casual observation of their formation shows their gradual growth 
there, and moreover the drops usually remain at the points 
where they are seereted, sometimes even for a week after the 
sporophore has withered. 
The gills show the usual Agaricus type of structure *—a loose 
medullary portion, the trama, subhymenium, and hymenium, 
with basidia bearing four sterigmata and basidiospores. Brefeld T 
states that no eystidia are present in this species, but I find that 
they are plentiful, especially at the apex of the gills. They are 
simple and spindle-shaped, rarely showing signs of branching 
at the apex, and are full of protoplasmic contents (Pl. 2. fig. 7). 
In several cases these eystidia were found to be terminations of 
the “ conducting system.” 
Owing to the number of sporophores which appear at intervals 
on the blocks, this method of' eulture is especially favourable for 
a study of their development. For this purpose a block was 
chosen showing all stages from the first umber-coloured spots to 
the mature sporophores, and fixed in Flemming's solution. After 
a thorough washing in water it was taken through the usual 
dilutions of aleohol to absolute alcohol. "Thin strips of wood 
bearing different stages of the sporophores were then sliced off, 
imbedded in paraffin-wax, eut into serial sections with a micro- 
tome, and stained with dilute Delafield’s hematoxylin or Bismarck 
brown. In the sections of the earliest stages the hyphe were 
found to emerge in thick strands, especially from the medullary 
rays, to form small sclerotia (Pl. 2. fig. 9). These sclerotia are 
composed of loosely woven hyphe throughout, and show no 
differentiation into a cortical and a central portion. Each gives 
rise to one or, less frequently, two sporophores. They are 
thus a simpler form of the large sclerotia with strongly thickened 
cortical layers, capable of producing several sporophores, which 
are met with in other species of Collybia, e. g., in C. tuberosa, 
P. Karst., and C. cirrhata, P. Karst. The sporophores are 
first visible as minute projections from the sclerotia. Even 
* Bee also Heese, Bot. Centr., Bd. xvii. 1884, p. 69. 
t Brefeld, Unters. aus d. Gesammtgeb. d. Mykol., H. viii. p. 56. 
