232 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



central cell, divided, forming compound spores of two cells. On 

 germination each cell produced a germ tube. 



Karsten believed that the contents of the cortical cells entered 

 directly, or by diffusion, into the large central cell and that only after 

 the contents intermingled were the spores formed. This suggested 

 the possibility of sexual differentiation of certain cells which made 

 up the coil, the end-cell, in his opinion, acting as an oogonium and 

 the second or even the third or fourth cell acting as an antheridium. 



It will thus be seen that in Karsten's opinion the peculiar structures 

 which he described in Helicosporangium were neither bulbils nor 

 homologous with other non-sexual propagative bodies, and although 

 it is possible that he may have been dealing with some form allied to 

 Monascus, in which a sexual process was actually present, it seems 

 not improbable that he was misled by what he saw. Since, however, 

 this subject will be further discussed below in connection with a form 

 which appears to be identical with Karsten's species, it need not be 

 further considered in the present connection. 



Eidam ('77, '83) described and figured a bulbil obtained from 

 moist turnips which he referred to Helicosporangium parasiticum 

 Karsten, but, as has been pointed out by Karsten himself C88>, 

 Harz ('90), and others, it seems probable that he was dealing 

 with a fungus different from that which Karsten described. Eidam's 

 fungus is said to be saprophytic, producing numerous conidia borne 

 on characteristic bottle-shaped sterigmata and having two kinds of 

 bulbils which do not contain endospores. In these respects it is said 

 to differ from that described by Karsten. This matter, however, 

 will be referred to again below. 



De Bary ('87) accepted in general the views expressed by Eidam 

 ('83) regarding //. parasiticum, but Karsten ('88) maintained that 

 he did so because he had not read the original article, but formed his 

 opinion on information obtained from "Eidam's unfortunate review 

 of it" C83), and in ((inclusion ironically gives the name Baryeidamia 

 to Eidam's fungus, in recognition of what he considered the combined 

 blunders of these two mycologists in dealing with this form. 



A third species referred to the genus Helicosporangium was de- 

 scribed under the name of H. coprophilum by Zukal ('86) and was 

 found by him on horse dung associated with Stysanus stemonites Cd. 

 According to Zukal's description, this bulbil consists of two to eight 

 large central cells with thick walls of a dark-red color, which are 

 surrounded by a layer of smaller cortical cells of a lighter color. The 

 form and manner of development of this bulbil are said to vary con- 



