FUNGI. 217 



"antheridia," anthers, or pollinidia. De Bary de- 

 scribes the cystidia as consisting for the most part 

 of a delicate and colourless membrane, enclosing a 

 similarly colourless plasma, full of vacuoles, and 

 sometimes a perfectly transparent liquid. In Coprimis 

 micaceiis, he observed* a central plastic body, irregu- 

 larly elongated, which sent in all directions towards 

 the sides of the cell a multitude of filiform processes, 

 branching and anastomosing amongst themselves. 



According to Corda, and some other authors, the 

 cystidia eject their contents under the form of a 

 liquid drop, by the summit, which is represented as 

 open. Neither De Bary or Hoffmann were able to 

 convince themselves that this phenomenon was pro- 

 duced spontaneously. If the surface is damp and 

 often bears liquid drops, this is a circumstance which 

 is common to them with all fungoid cells that are 

 full of juice. Those observers who have considered 

 the cystidia to be male sexual organs, have supposed 

 that the ripe and detached spores of the basidia 

 fastened themselves to the moist surface of these 

 cystidia, to be there fecundated by the lubricating 

 fluid. De Bary, it may be observed, did not counte- 

 nance the idea of the cystidia being anything more 

 than cylindrical hairs, or pilose formations, with no 

 powers of fertilization. 



Passing over intermediate observers, as adding 

 nothing definite, we come to the latest exponent 

 of sexuality, Mr. Worthington Smith,^ who has at 

 least the merit of being more explicit than any of 



• " Reproduction in Coprinus radiatus," by W. G. Smith, in 

 Crevillea, vol. iv. p. 53. 



