1922] Ames,—Notes on New England Orchids,—II 41 
by their elongated hairs in the interstices formed by fibrous materials 
and be perfectly free from particles of organic matter and sufficient- 
ly clean to be placed directly without washing, in the killing fluid. 
In other words, the only means of direct contact with the substratum 
in such cases is furnished by the hair-like structures. These are 
rounded at the tip, unicellular, often much longer than the proto- 
corm and produced singly and in tufts from the epidermis. 
The hyphae of the fungus penetrate the delicate walls of the hairs 
(pl. 136, fig. 3) usually at the tip, and enter directly into the humus. 
In the hairs they may sometimes form structures that suggest fruit- 
ing bodies which recall similar structures characteristic of pure cul- 
tures of Rhizoctonia repens Bernard (pl. 136, fig.4). Similar structures 
may also occur within the body of the protocorm, but as I have only 
observed a single case of this, in a protocorm collected in May 1921, 
it must be exceedingly rare. 
In passing, it may be worth while to suggest that the periodicity 
of flowering often noted in colonies of Goodyera pubescens, and the 
comparative paucity of flower shoots observed in large colonies of 
the species, are to be accounted for by the fact that plants of flower- 
ing age are few in number, the colonies being made up, for the most 
part, of young plants which represent several generations. 
If we examine the foregoing facts in the light of Knudson's experi- 
ments and observations it becomes evident that there are several 
points which need further elucidation. The questions seem to be: 
What likelihood is there that the seeds of Goodyera pubescens would 
germinate under natural conditions if mycorrhizal fungi were suc- 
cessfully excluded from the embryos? Is the organic matter, where 
the plants grow, in a utilizable condition for embryos that are lodged 
in the humus or suspended above it, or is the embryo incapable of 
development unless the necessary food substances present in the 
humus are changed into assimilable organic compounds by the in- 
tervention of a symbiotic fungal organism? 
I have attempted to show that Goodyera pubescens is a gregarious 
species, that isolated plants are rare, and my observations have indi- 
cated that germination of fertile seeds, while a common event within 
a colony, is perhaps exceedingly uncommon beyond it. Furthermore, 
I have shown that throughout the early stages of development the 
protocorms of G. pubescens are devoid of chlorophyll and that they 
