GENERAL SUMMARY 375 



fluens, Ascophanus carneus, Ciboria sp., and Rhizoctonia solani (Corticium 

 solani) . 



The movement of vacuoles through the pores of the septa in the 

 mycelium of Fimetaria fimicola has been described. 



The maximum observed rate of flow of protoplasm along hyphae of 

 Fimetaria fimicola was 6-0 cm. per hour. 



In a mycelium of Pyronema confluens translocation of protoplasm 

 takes place from hyphae which have ceased to grow toward hyphae 

 which are rapidly growing. The translocation of protoplasm through 

 a main central hypha was watched for 6 • 5 hours. 



In both Fimetaria fimicola and Pyronema confluens it was observed 

 that protoplasm often flows from one mycelium to another via passage- 

 ways which have been formed by hyphal fusions. 



In a mycelium of Pyronema confluens protoplasm was seen streaming 

 through 161 successive cells, away from hyphae which were becoming 

 exhausted of their protoplasm into a rapidly-growing branched system of 

 hyphae. The length of the stream exceeded 1 • 6 cm. 



In Pyronema confluens, the protoplasm, when flowing very rapidly 

 through a highly vacuolated cell, deforms the vacuoles without detaching 

 them from the lateral wall. 



The causes of protoplasmic streaming in septate mycelia are 

 (1) vacuolar pressure and (2) increase in the amount of protoplasm. 



The evacuation of protoplasm from hyphae becoming exhausted is 

 correlated with the formation of very large vacuoles in those hyphae. 

 In the evacuation process vacuolar pressure plays the chief role. 



The monoporous septum in the mycelium of a Higher Fungus is 

 comparable with the polyporous septum or sieve-plate in a sieve-tube 

 system of a Higher Plant ; and it may well be that the discovery of the 

 means by which colloidal matter is rapidly transported from one part of 

 a mycelium to another may help us to elucidate the means whereby 

 colloidal matter is rapidly transported from one part of a sieve-tube 

 system to another. 



The streaming of protoplasm is biologically significant in that it 

 affords a simple means of transferring building materials from one part 

 of a mycelium to another, or from a mycelium to a fruit-body. 



In cleared dung-agar at room temperatures the spores of Pyronema 

 confluens begin to germinate in about 4 hours, and on this medium the 

 radial rate of growth was found to be 5-4 cm. (approx. 2-1 inches) per 

 day. These facts help to explain how it is that P. confluens spreads so 

 rapidly on burnt ground, sterilised soil, etc. 



Brownian movements of the particles in the labile flowing proto- 

 plasm in cells of Pyronema confluens were observed with dark-field 

 illumination. 



In Pyronema confluens, certain ovoid bodies, called by the author 

 Woronin bodies, have been described. They are attached to, and move 



