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FURTHER NOTES ON THE CULTIVATION OF 

 PLASMODIA OF BADHAMIA UTRICULARIS. 



By A. E. Hilton. 

 {Read May 25th, 1915.) 



A year ago I called your attention to a method of cultivating 

 plasmodia of Badhamia utricularis on bread, with occasional ap- 

 plications of a solution of ammonium phosphate and cane sugar ; 

 and my paper on the subject appears in the Journal for November 

 last. In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper 

 two points were raised which I could not reply to without further 

 investigation. 



One of these was an inquiry by our Secretary as to whether 

 plasmodia of this particular species of Mycetozoa can be obtained 

 by cultivation of spores ; the answer to which is, that it is 

 possible, but not always easy. In the Journal of Botany for 

 January 1901 there is an account of an experiment on the point, 

 made by the late Mr. Arthur Lister, which ended successfully 

 after difficulties by the way had been overcome. In that experi- 

 ment spores of B. utricularis were moistened with boiled water, 

 and spread on slices of scalded fungus (Stereum). In six weeks' 

 time, after various vicissitudes, minute plasmodia were seen 

 under a microscope with a 2/5th-in. objective, and in another 

 fortnight or so a larger plasmodium was obtained, which after- 

 wards grew to a considerable size, part being dried off into 

 sclerotium for subsequent use, and the remainder forming 

 sporangia. It is to be noticed that in using Stereum Mr. Lister 

 relied upon natural rather than artificial food, the scalding of 

 the fungus being no doubt for the purpose of destroying any 

 organisms likely to upset the experiment. 



The other question was raised by our President, who inquired 

 whether plasmodia fed by the artificial method introduced by 

 me could form sporangia. This point was clearly of import- 

 ance, involving as it did the crucial question as to whether, and 

 to what extent, such feeding affected the specific integrity of 



