174 



RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



vigorously. In the specimen jar, it completely encircled the culture 

 medium in the course of twenty days, it sent out fine hyphae through 

 the soil, and grew well in the holes in the soil made for inoculation 



purposes. In the large beaker, 

 it completely encircled the 

 culture medium in six weeks 

 and also invaded the soil as 

 in the other culture. Some- 

 what later, in both cultures, 

 mycelial strands appeared 

 above the soil and just below 

 it by the glass, and some 

 woolly knots appeared in the 

 strands ; but at this time 

 there was no development of 

 fruit- bodies. 



The inoculations were made 

 in November, 1921. The first 

 sign of fruiting appeared nine 

 months later ; for, toward 

 the end of September, 1922, 

 at a time when wild fruit- 

 bodies of Coprimis comatus 

 were coming up on the paths 

 of the botanical garden a 

 few yards away, a tiny sporo- 

 phore rudiment was observed 

 by Miss Mounce on the surface 



Fig. 67. — Production of a normal- 

 sized fruit-body of Coprinus 

 comatus in the laboratory. Below, 

 in the jar, the mycelium in a 

 sterilised mixture of horse dung 

 and saw-dust. Above, a thick 

 layer of black soil. The glass 

 plate, which covered the top, 

 now removed. Inoculation with 

 mycelium January 7, 1921. 

 Fruit- body photographed late in 

 September, 1922, bylrene Mounce. 

 Reduced to | natural size. 



