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RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



hiJa of the sj)ores on to the sides of the spores (C). They then con- 

 tinued to grow until they touched one another (D). On touching, 

 the four drops suddenly fused into one large drop which, owing to 

 surface tension, dragged all the four spores together (E), After this, 

 excretion usually ceased, and then the drop slowly diminished in 

 size owing to evaporation. Eventually the four spores collapsed 

 together and became stuck to the general surface of the hymenium 



Fig. 105. — Coprinus sterquiliniis. This drawing corresponds to the surface view of 

 Fig. 104 and is drawn to the same scale, so as to allow of minute comparison. 

 It shows the appearance of a section taken through the lower part of a gill 

 including the gill-edge, after spore-discharge and autodigestion have begun. 

 Hytn, the hymenium ; sub, the subhymenium ; tr, trama. As in Fig. 104, 

 five zones are represented : ( 1 ) a, the zone of basidia with ripe spores. Here 

 the dimorphism of the basidia is very obvious. On the right-hand side of the 

 Figure, two long basidia are shown alternating with two short. Although one 

 of the spores of the long basidium, I, stands in part above one of the spores 

 of the short basidium, s, contact is impossible, owing to the protuberancy of 

 the body of the long basidium. p p are paraphyses. (2) b, the zone of spore- 

 discharge where the basidia are shooting out their spores into an interlamellar 

 space. It is composed of two sub-zones : b^, a sub-zone of spore-discharge 

 for the long basidia ; and bj, a sub-zone of spore -discharge for the short 

 basidia. In the former, the long basidium, w, has already discharged two 

 of its spores, and the other two spores are about to be shot away. At the 

 base of the two remaining spores a water-drop is forming and the lowest 

 drop has attained practically full size. On the opposite side of the Figure a 

 long basidium is about to discharge its last remaining spore. The arrows 

 indicate the direction in which the spores will be shot. For a complete trajectory 

 of a spore, the reader is referred to Fig. 107, p. 262. The short basidia in the 

 sub-zone b^ have not discharged any of their spores. In the sub-zone b^ the 

 short basidia only are discharging their spores and the long basidia have vacant 

 sterigmata. On the left of the Figure at v, a short basidium has shot away 

 one spore and is about to shoot away the uppermost remaining one. At the 

 base of the spore a water-drop is being excreted. On the opposite side of the 

 Figure a short basidium has already shot away two of its spores, and the other 

 two, since they have water-drops at their bases, will soon be discharged also. 

 The arrows again show the direction in which the spores will travel when they 

 are shot away. The arrows also indicate which spores will be discharged 

 next. On the left-hand side of the Figure, the spores on the long basidium, 

 w, will disappear before those on the short basidium, r, begin to go. The 

 short basidium, v, can now discharge its spores without hindrance, since the 

 spores on the long basidia surrounding it have already disappeared. The 

 order in which eight basidia on the right-hand side of the Figure discharge 

 their spores is shown by the numbers 1 to 8 set opposite the basidia just within 

 the brackets. (3) c, the zone of basidia which have shed all their spores; /, a 

 long basidium ; s, a short ; p, paraphyses. The elements have not yet collapsed. 



(4) d, the zone of autodigestion. Here the cells are becoming indistinct and 

 liquefied. The cell-walls are becoming granular and are disappearing. The 

 projecting end of the long basidium, I, is still changed but little or not at all, 

 while the short basidium, s, is much shrunken, p, a disappearing paraphysis. 



(5) e, the liquid film at the gill-edge containing the products of autodigestion 

 and the spores which, for one reason or other, have failed to be discharged. 

 Toward the top of this zone the outline of the disappearing basidia can still 

 be vaguely traced by rows of granules. Some of the wasted spores held within 

 the liquid film are normal in appearance, while others are below normal size 

 or are colourless or only partially pigmented. The wasted spores form but 

 a small fraction of the whole number. The scale on the right-hand side of the 

 Figure shows the dimensions of every part. 



