THE INAEQUI-HYMENIIFERAE 125 



Bnlliard, in 1791, gave a good illustration of the cystidia on the 

 gills of a species of Coprinus ; but, instead of following Micheli and 

 attributing to the cystidia a mechanical function, he regarded these 

 structures as male organs producing a seminal fluid whicli is em- 

 ployed to fertilise the so-called seeds (spores). ^ This spermatic 

 theory of the function of the cystidia of Coprini found adherents 

 in Corda, 1834 and 1839, and Klotzsch, 1838, and was only disproved 

 through the careful observations of Hoffmann in 1 806.2 It was 

 even upheld by Worthington Smith as late as 1875.^ 



After Hedwig had shown in 1788 that the fleshy Discomycetes 

 have their spores contained in thecae (asci), the erroneous belief 

 grew up that what we now call the Hymenomycetes also have their 

 spores enclosed in thecae. Persoon, on this assumption, included 

 both Discomycetes and Hymenomycetes in his Sixth Order Hijmeno- 

 thecium.'^ Link, in 1809, made matters worse by publishing illus- 

 trations of the hymenium of a Coprinus in which he represented 

 the basidia as thecae, each theca containing four rows of spores.^ 

 He represented the basidia of several other Hymenomycetes as 

 containing a single row of spores.^ Link's mistaken illustration of 

 the hymenium of Coprinus was copied into Nees von Esenbeck's 

 text-book of Fungi and served to lead everybody astray.'^ Other 

 botanists followed Link like so many sheep, and among those who 

 succeeded in discovering spore-containing asci in Hymenomycetes 

 were : Ditmar in 1813, Nees von Esenbeck in 1817, Sprengel in 1817, 

 Ehrenberg in 1821, Greville in 1825-1828, Desmazieres in 1828, 

 Fries in 1830, Klotzsch in 1833, and Corda whose illustrations of 

 thecae in Hj^menomycetes are to be found throughout the pages 



^ Bulliard, Histoire des Champignons de la France, Paris, 1791. pp. 32-33, etc. 



2 Hoffmann. "Die PoUinarien und Spermatien von Agaricus," Bol. Zeit., Bd. 

 XIV, pp. 136-148. 



^ W. G. Smith. Reproduction in Coprinus radiatus, Grevillea. vol. iv, 1875-1878, 

 pp. 53-56. 



* Persoon, " Neuer Versucli einer systematisrhen Eintheilung der Schwamme," 

 Eomer's Neues Mag. f. d. BoL, Bd. I, 1794, pp. 63-128. 



^ Link, " Observationes in Ordines plantarum naturales, etc.," Mcuj. d. Ges. 

 naturf. Freunde, Berlin, Bd. Ill, pp. 35-37, Tab. II. 



^ Link, " Nova plantarum genera, etc.," Schrader's Neues Journ. f. d. Bot.. 

 Jg. Ill, 1809. 



' C. G. Nees von Esenbeck, Das System der Pilze und Schivdmme, Wiirzburg, 

 1817, Tab. XXV. 



