78 RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



normal manner. Similarly, he found that the young pileus of 

 Pleurotus ostreatus can be successfully grafted on to the stipe of 

 another fruit-body of the same species. 1 I have succeeded in a 

 similar experiment with Coprinus sterquilinus. Two young fruit- 

 bodies of this species, A and B in Fig. 25, were coming up simul- 

 taneously on sterilised horse dung kept in a dish in the laboratory. 

 The upper halves above the dotted line were then removed with 

 the help of a scalpel and interchanged. At C is shown the upper 

 half of A set on the lower half of B. Union of scion and stock in 

 this combination quickly took place, so that normal growth was 

 resumed. Three days and six hours after the grafting had taken 

 place, C presented the appearance shown at D. The place of union 

 of the scion and stock is indicated by a slight constriction in the 

 middle of the basal bulb. On the fourth day the stipe rapidly 

 elongated, the large pileus expanded, the gills underwent auto- 

 digestion, and the hymenium discharged a vast quantity of spores 

 in the normal manner. The other combination, i.e. the upper half 

 of B with the lower half of A, failed to develop and withered without 

 increasing in size. 



Weir states that he successfully grafted young fruit-bodies of 

 Coprinus lagopus (his Coprinus niveus} on the stipes of Coprinus 

 macrorhizus (his Coprinus fimetarius var. macrorhizus) , and vice 

 versa ; and also that he caused Stereum hirsutum to grow like 

 a parasite upon Stereum purpureum. 2 His photographs clearly 

 show that he erred in the nomenclature of one of his species of 

 Coprinus. The hairs on the surface of what he calls Coprinus 

 niveus prove that he was not dealing with that species. 3 There 

 is no doubt in my mind, judging by his illustrations, that what he 

 called Coprinus niveus was really the very common species Coprinus 

 lagopus which is distinct from, although closely related to, Coprinus 



1 J. A. Weir, " Untersuchungen liber die Gattung Coprinus," Flora, Bd. GUI. 

 1911, pp. 301-304. 



2 Ibid., pp. 305-312. 



3 The pileus of Coprinus niveus is covered with white meal consisting of loose 

 spherical cells, whereas the pileus of C. lagopus ( C. fimetarius) is adorned with 

 thin fibrillar scales consisting of chains of elongated cells. I have grown both of 

 these species in pure cultures on horse dung and am familiar with their appearance 

 and structure. 



