472 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



cultures. The spores and mycelium of Penicillium both grew after ex- 

 posure to 60° C. The mycelium alone grew after exposure to 65° C. 



Resistance of some Moulds to Metal Poisoning.* — In order to 

 test the influence of metal poisons on the development of fungi, Carl 

 Pulst made use of cultures of four common moulds, Mucor mucedo, 

 Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium glaucum. He em- 

 ployed various mineral salts, as for instance, the sulphates of copper, 

 zinc, iron, &c, which he mixed with the substratum, and graded his 

 solutions so that the organisms should not be killed, but only retarded 

 in growth. Both microscopic and macroscopic methods were used to 

 measure the rate of increase of the plants. The results showed that 

 Penicillium glaucum possessed the greatest power of resistance ; that 

 the other three moulds were extremely sensitive to the influence of the 

 poisons ; that moulds, especially Penicillium, have a power of accom- 

 modating themselves to the medium in which they are grown, and the 

 limit of resistance is therefore not fixed, but rises with each generation 

 of the fungus. The paper is accompanied by a series of tables giving 

 the effect of the different salts on the growth of the moulds. 



Germicides.f — G- Wesenburg has conducted a series of experiments 

 with a variety of substances manufactured and offered for sale as disin- 

 fecting media. Antigermin is a copper salt combined with a weak organic 

 acid. It is an odourless, greenish, somewhat treacle-like substance, re- 

 quiring 200 parts of hot water to effect complete solution. Mikrosol is 

 a greenish paste, also a compound of copper. It has a very strong odour. 

 Afral, an organic compound, a nitro-product of phenol. The two latter 

 are more easily soluble. Mycelicid is somewhat akin to Afral. Anti- 

 formin is a chlorine compound similar to eau de Javelle. 



The effect of the mixtures was tested on various fungi : Saccharo- 

 myces, Oidium lactis, Penicillium glaucum, dry-rot of wood, <fcc, as also 

 on the eel-worms of vinegar. Autigermin was found to be the best pre- 

 servative against attacks of dry-rot. Antigermin and Mikrosol are almost 

 equally effective in killing yeasts. The action of Afral and Mycelicid 

 was found to be much slower. 



Spore-Germination in the Higher Fungi.} — M. A. de Gomont de 

 Lesparre gives first a resume of reasons for and against the sexual de- 

 velopment of the higher fungi. A historical account of the truffle 

 follows, and an account of the various speculations of scientists and 

 authors, from 380 B.C. to the present day, as to the origin and nature of 

 the organism. The question of the parasitism of truffles on the roots 

 of trees comes under discussion, and the author's final word on the 

 matter is, that though the truffles may sometimes live as parasites on 

 the roots of trees, yet that is not necessary, and they grow frequently 

 as saprophytes in the soil. 



Then follows a detailed anatomical account of the fungus, and of 

 the asci and spores. The writer finds that the spores germinate on the 

 leaves of trees, on Oaks, Walnuts, Conifers, &c, and usually near the 

 central nerve of the leaf. They are transported to the leaves by insects 



• Jahrb. Wiss. Bot., xxxvii. (1902) pp. 205-63. 

 t Cenlralbl. Bakt., viii. (ly02) pD. 627-38. 



X Etude sur la reproduction sexuelle de quelques champignons supe'rieurs, Paris* 

 Paul Klinksieck, 1902, xx. and 61 pp., 3 pis. and 16 figs. 



