Fossil Fungi. 215 



the cavities of these oogonia from the hollow hyphre 

 prolonged from them. Mr. Smith came to the con- 

 clusion that since the fossil fungi which he described 

 possessed^ as he believed, septate hyph^ and oogonia 

 containing oospores, they must be ranked with the 

 Peroaosjiorex. I confess that I cannot confirm the 

 alleged facts nor accept the inference drawn from 

 them. That the plant is a fungus seems most probable ; 

 equally so that its relations are with the Sajprolegnise. 

 The discovery of its reproductive organs in a more 

 perfect state will alone enable us to arrive at a per- 

 fectly satisfactory conclusion on this point. ^' ^ 



Professor Williamson has given figures of the 

 fungus he considers to be identic/d with Smith's Pero- 

 nospoTitGfi autiquarius from various localities of the 

 lower coal-measures of West Yorkshire, occurring 

 mostly in fragments of Lepidodendroid bark. Fig. 

 137 of the present work is copied from Professor 

 Williamson's drawings. 



Mr. W. G. Smith replies as follows to Williamson's 

 remarks given above : — 



" Notwithstanding criticisms to a contrary efi'ect, we 

 have no hesitation in repeating, after a renewed and 

 prolonged examination of the preparation, that traces 

 ofzoospores are distinctly visible in many of the oogonia ; 

 there is no reason why they should not exist, but good 

 reason why they should; the mycelium is septate, and the 

 oogonia, as in all P ei'onosporeassind Saprolegnix, are cut 

 off from the supporting threads by distinct septa.'' ^ 



8 Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc, vol. clxxii., pt. ii., p. 299, pis. 48 

 and 54. 



^ Diseases of Field and Garden Crops, p. 331. 



