THE society's NOTE-BOOKS. 81 



" The idea of the fruit consisting of Sporidia united together and 

 forming a chain is certainly not in accordance with the true struc- 

 ture. The Sporidia are not united to one another in any way, but, 

 although closely packed for want of space, they are, in fact, free 

 in the interior of what may be called a sporangium or ascus." 

 After explaining the manipulation employed to prepare the spores 

 and fruits by which he arrived at this conclusion, he goes on to 

 say : — " By this means the fruit" — i.e., the whole spore as seen on 

 slide — " was found to consist of an outer membrane nearly trans- 

 parent (and studded with tubercles)"— this refers to any other 

 species of Aregma — " and that this membrane enclosed a number 

 of cells which constituted the apparent joints, and which were 

 naturally flattened at either end by mutual pressure. When the 

 outer membrane was dissolved or ruptured, these cells escaped 

 and became detached from each other. The cells, thus set free, 

 exhibited a brownish-yellow ring around a paler area, in the inte- 

 rior of which an inner cell was visible, sometimes globular, often 

 irregular in shape. The examination of the ring was not entirely 

 satisfactory ; it appeared to be sometimes marked with concentric 

 lines having the appearance of wrinkles. The inner cell had 

 granular contents and a central nucleus. When perfectly free, 

 they were spherical in form, with a distinct membrane of their 

 own, but colourless, except when acted upon by reagents. The 

 means employed to determine the existence of these cells was to 

 soak the spores in muriatic acid ; then upon pressure of the glass 

 cover the outer membrane, and ringed cells were ruptured and the 

 inner cell escaped." Although these remarks will be well known 

 to those who have studied this branch of Microscopy, I have ven- 

 tured to quote them in order to make the slide interesting to those 

 who have not studied it. J. W. Steward. 



Aregma obtusatum, Strawberry brand.— The specimen is, 

 perhaps, one of a common species, but it embraces two kinds of 

 spores, the relation between which is a matter of dispute with 

 some of our best mycologists. The leaf is that of the wild straw- 

 berry, and the fungus upon it is one of the Aregma or genus 

 having four to seven celled spores. 



The present species is called by some Phragmidium obtusatum, 



but by Dr. W. C. Cooke, in his Microscopic Fungi., it is called 



International Journal of Microscopy and Natural Science. 

 Third Series. Vol. VI. g 



