GENERAL SUMMARY 571 



overstand the spores of the shorter basidia, as in Psathyrella disseminata 

 and Lepiota cepaestipes ; (5) in each zone of spore-discharge there are 

 as many sub-zones as there are different lengths of basidia, species with 

 dimorphic, trimorphic, and quadrimorphic basidia having two, three, 

 and four sub-zones respectively ; (6) the paraphyses are large and united 

 to form a hymenial pavement through which the basidia protrude ; 

 (7) the pileus-flesh is very thin ; (8) the stipe is a hollow cylinder, its 

 cavity being relatively large and its solid wall usually weak and easily 

 broken ; (9) the spore-discharge period is usually brief : according to 

 the size of the fruit-bodies characterising different species it varies from 

 about 2 hours to about 48 hours in length. 



The author traces the history of our knowledge of the Coprini from 

 the earliest times to the present day. 



Cappelletti's suggestion that the deliquescence of the gills of Coprini 

 is due to bacterial action is shown, on the basis of observation made on 

 fruit-bodies raised in pure cultures, to be untenable. 



Psathyrella urticaecola Berk, et Broome is in reality a Coprinus. The 

 author gives a new description of the fungus under the name Coprinus 

 urticaecola. 



Coprinus plicatilis has dry non-deliquescent gills ; but, as in other 

 Coprini, its spores ripen and are discharged on each gill from below up- 

 wards. The species, although aberrant in that its gills are not destroyed 

 by autodigestion during spore-discharge, should nevertheless be retained 

 in the genus Coprinus. 



Richard Falck's theory that the fruit-bodies of the Coprini are 

 radiosensitive and shed their spores in a normal manner only under the 

 influence of radiation from the sun is untenable. Observations made in 

 the open and in the laboratory show that many Coprini liberate their 

 spores in a normal manner at night when they are receiving no solar 

 radiation whatsoever. 



Chapter VII.— In the Comatus Sub-type : (1) the gills are sub- 

 parallel-sided and flanged at their edges ; (2) there are no cystidia on 

 the gill-sides ; (3) the existence of the interlamellar spaces is secured 

 not by cystidia but by the presence of the gill-flanges, by an appropriate 

 separation of the gills where they adjoin the pileus-flesh, and by the 

 shallowness and rigidity of the gill-plates ; and (4) the basidia are di- 

 morphic. Included within the Comatus Sub-type are Coprinus comatus 

 and C. sterquilinus. 



Coprinus comatus and C. sterquilinus are closely allied species. The 

 author points out their differences. 



In Volume I, in describing Coprinus comatus the author overlooked 

 the fact that the basidia are dimorphic. With the aid of additional 

 illustrations he has therefore redescribed the hjanenium of this species 

 in detail. 



The presence of large paraphyses, the dimorphism of the basidia, 



