ZOOLOaV AXD BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 707 



Ustilago esculenta.* — S. Hori found this fungus growing on plants 

 of Zizania, and publishes additional observations on it. The smutted 

 shoots retain their greenish colour in autumn, and are thus easily 

 distinguishable from the normal growths. They are eaten as a delicacy 

 by the natives. Hori corrects some erroneous descriptions as to the 

 size and appearance of the smutted shoots and of the spores ; he 

 germinated the spores and followed their germination, which does not 

 differ frt»m that of other species of Ustilago. 



Studies of Hymenomycetes.t — Cr- R- Lyman has made an extensive 

 cultural study on polymorphism among the Hymenomycetes in order to 

 advance where posssble a knowledge of their life-histories. He discusses 

 first of all the different types of reproduction already known : bud-cell 

 formation, oidia, chlamydospores, and conidia. He describes his own 

 culture methods, and gives a detailed account of some of the forms 

 experimented with. He germinated basidiospores of 75 species of Poly- 

 poraceai, Hydnacese and Thelephoracete, and found that about 40 per 

 cent, possessed some secondary method of reproduction, usually mycelial 

 oidia or chlamydospores. Oidia were found only among the first of 

 these groups ; they germinate readily when fresh, but lose their vitality 

 in one or two days. He comes to the general conclusion that the data 

 bearing on the polymorphism of Hymenomycetes are still too limited to 

 make generahsations of much value ; but it appears (a) that a consider- 

 able majority of Hymenomycetes possess no secondary spores ; (h) that 

 oidia are common among the Agaricacefe and Polyporacese, and are 

 confined to these two families ; (c) that chlamydospores occasionally 

 occur in connection with the basidio-fructification, as in Nyctalis 

 Ptychogaster and Fistul/na, and are quite widely distributed on the 

 mycelia of all families ; (d) that conidia and other highly specialised 

 secondary methods of reproduction are rare and occur more frequently 

 in the Thelephoracea3 than in the higher families. The illustrations 

 show the results of various cultures. There is a long bibliography of 

 the works bearing on the subject. 



Conditions of Development in Coprinus.f— The subject studied by 

 Georg B. Lakon is mainly a question of transpiration, which again is 

 largely connected with the supply of hght to the growing plants. He 

 experimented with C. plicatilis and made successful cultures on horse- 

 dung and agar-agar mixed with stalks of Vicia Faha. Many fungi grow 

 to their full development in the dark, but in the case of this species 

 of Copriiius, only mycelium was developed when light was excluded. 

 Lakon traces this to the impossibility of transpiration under the darkened 

 conditions. He describes the results of various experiments in cultures 

 which all helped to confirm this theory. He established another inte- 

 resting point in the cultures : that the fungus would not produce fruiting 

 bodies on agar-agar made with any kind of solution, unless stalks of 

 Vicia were mixed with it. He has not succeeded in explaining this ; the 

 mycelium developed richly and normally when transferred to sterilised 

 horse-dung or agar-agar with stalks added. 



' * Ann. Mycol., v. (1907) pp. 150-4 (2 pis.). 



t Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., xxxiii. (1907) pp. 125-209 (9 pis.). 

 J Ann. Mycol., v. (1907) pp. 155-76. 



Dec. 18th, 1907 3 A 



