HOTSON'. — CULTURE STUDIES OF FUNGI. 299 



bulbils of Papulospora sporotrichoides. Their development, however, 



is clearly that of compound spores and not of bulbils. 



Eleomyces olci Kirchner C88) a fungus found growing in poppy oil, 

 produces a compound spore which consists at maturity of a large 

 thick-walled functional cell, surrounded by several empty coherent 

 cells, the whole resembling the bulbil of Acrospeira. If, as suggested 

 by Kirchner, this body results from the coherence of several adjacent 

 cells, it might well be regarded as a bulbil and not a compound spore. 



Various other spore-forms might be mentioned which bear more or 

 less resemblance to bulbils, but those above enumerated are sufficient 

 for purposes of illustration. Before leaving bulbil-like forms, how- 

 ever, two or three additional types may be mentioned, the nature of 

 which is not altogether clear, since they are neither compound spores 

 nor typical sclerotia. 



Aegerita Webberi Fawcett CIO), a fungus attacking scales on Citrus, 

 produces, under certain conditions, bulbil-like bodies which consist of 

 loosely coherent spore-masses closely comparable to those of the 

 aberrant Papulospora pohjspora, the development of which, under 

 moist conditions, has been described above. 



Sorosporella Agrotidis Sorokin ('88, '891, which attacks the larvae 

 of Agrotis, fills the latter with loosely but definitely coherent cell- 

 groups which might also be compared to those of P. poh/spora. 



Lastly, among structures which bear a striking resemblance to bul- 

 bils, the peculiar spore-balls of Spongospora subterranea (Wallr.) 

 Johnson should be mentioned; which, although they might readily be 

 taken for a species of Papulospora, have been shown to belong to the 

 life-cycle of one of the Mycetozoa. 



THE MORPHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BULBILS. 



Opinions concerning the morphological significance of bulbils differ 

 widely. Preuss ('51), Eidam ('83), DeBary ('86), Mattirolo C86) 

 all regarded them as normal structures which function as auxiliary 

 methods of reproduction; while Karsten ('65), Zukal ('86), Morini 

 ('88), and Baineir ('07) looked upon them as immature ascogenous 

 fructifications of either perithecial or apothecial forms, believing 

 that their arrested growth was due to unfavorable environment, and 

 that, with proper nutriment, they might be able to complete their 

 development. 



Although it is possible that the last mentioned view may be correct 

 in some instances, it is quite certain that in many cases, where both 



