THIELAVIOPSIS PARADOXA. 567 



approximation to the actual times required to kill the 

 spores : — 



(a) Spores were- transferred by a straight platinum wire to 

 hanging drops. Transfers made every minute for the 

 first twenty minutes, and then every two minutes for 

 the next forty minutes. Examined twenty-four hours 

 afterwards, germinated spores were found in all the 

 transfers . These spores , therefore , survived an immer- 

 sion of one hour, and the death point was not reached. 



(6) Spores transferred by platinum loop to flasks of sugar 

 cane extract. Transfers 1-40 as above , then every ten 

 minutes for two hours, and every fifteen minutes for 

 four hours. All transfers gi*ew, up to and including 

 tliat at six hours thirty minutes ; the two succeeding 

 transfers failed, as did also those transferred on the 

 following day. 



(c) Mycelium and spores transferred by platinum wire to 

 flasks of sugar cane extract. Transfers were made at 

 intervals of ten to fifteen minutes until seven hours had 

 elapsed , and others were made on the following morning 

 after twenty -four hours' immersion. iVll the former 

 transfers grew well, but none of the latter. These 

 spores, therefore, survived immersion for seven hours, 

 but were killed by an immersion of twenty-four hours. 



These experiments with carboHc acid were not carried 

 further. The results given above show that no uniformity in 

 the period required to kill the spores can be obtained by any of 

 these methods, and that it is impossible fum experiments 

 with one sample of spores to forecast even approximately the 

 behaviour of the next. Spores transferred to lianging drops 

 were in one case killed by an immersion of forty-five minutes, 

 but those from another culture of the same age sm-vived an 

 immersion of sixty minutes, and probably longer. Spores 

 transferred to flask cultures were kOled in one case in fifteen 

 minutes ; in three other cases they survived an immersion of 

 twenty-five, thirty-two, and forty minutes, respectively, no 

 death point being reached ; in a fifth case they survived an 

 immersion of two hours twenty minutes, but were killed by four 

 hours fortv-four minutes, no interm.ediate transfers being made ; 



