457 



The shape of the bodies, when fully developed, is like a sub- 

 globular thick disc, their diameter reaching a maximum of about 

 200 fjt or possibly a little more. From the flattened upper side of 

 these discs long hairs arise and from the opposite under side long 

 rhizoids are given off (Fig. 421 a, b). The hairs are very long; 

 they have a well developed pore at their base, granular contents, 

 especially in their lower part, and thick walls. At their base they 

 are about 7 10 n thick growing thinner upwards. The rhizoids 

 have no granular contents; their walls are thin. They are about 

 5 fjL thick. The rhizoids run down along the assimilating filaments 

 of the Liagora or spread freely in the mucilage of the host plant 

 (Fig. 421 a). Both hairs and rhizoids are often present in great 

 number, 10 12 or even more. The surface of the bodies consists 

 of the more or less free obtuse ends of the peripheral cells. They 

 are surrounded by a thicker or thinner mucous layer. 



From a transverse section (Fig. 421 c) it is seen that the disc 

 is composed in the middle of a parenchymatic tissue formed of 

 thin-walled, roundish-polygonal cells. These are arranged in fila- 

 ments radiating towards the periphery and are subdi-trichoto- 

 mously ramified several times. The growth takes place in the 

 peripheral cells, these are long, thin and, as mentioned above, 

 more or less free. 



In one of the transverse sections sporangia were found (Fig. 

 421). These are formed from the peripheral cells and are oval in 

 shape. One of these- was divided by means of a transverse wall 

 into two spores ; the whole sporangium was sourrounded by a thick 

 transparent wall commonly found round the tetraspores. HOWE 

 has in his specimens found only monosporangia, and similar 

 bodies (comp. HOWE'S figures) I, too, have often seen in mine. 



Regarding the chromatophores HOWE says that they seem simi- 

 lar to those of Liagora but those of the discs are more red. In 

 my specimens the chromatophores appear to be a few parietal 

 plates. 



Finally I must add that these bodies are found in all states 

 of development from quite small to larger ones. 



The function of these little bodies has yet to be made clear. 

 In his paper Dr HOWE tries to make it evident that they origi- 

 nate from the Liagora itself. He says" The truth seems to be that 

 these discs arise from gonidia, gemma3 or aplanospores, derived 



