642 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



the HymenogastraceEe, an underground family. They are sub-spherical 

 in form and may become accidentally superficial at maturity. The 

 spores are dispersed by rotting of the fungus or by animal consumption. 

 Rodway gives descriptions with microscopic details of the species belong- 

 ing to six genera found in Australia. 



Mycological Notes.*— F. Bataille gives a series of notes and obser- 

 vations (1) on the reaction of ammonia on various fungi ; (2) on the 

 method of obtaining spores from dried hymenophores ; (3) on the poly- 

 morphism of the pores in the Polyporese ; and finally (4) he gives a more 

 extended account of Ghamonixia csespitosa, a sub-hypogseal fungus near 

 to Hydnangium. He gives a new diagnosis and coloured figures of the 

 fungus. 



Ceylon Fungi.f — T. Fetch continues his revision of Ceylon Fungi, 

 re-describing them and giving systematic and other notes. The present 

 issue deals with a number of the larger fungi recorded by Berkeley and 

 Broome in their account of Ceylon Fungi, as well as of many microscopic 

 forms, Hypomyces and others. 



Chemistry of Fungi.— H. Will :|: has made a study of the red colour- 

 ing matter in four kinds of yeast isolated from the reserve water in a 

 brewery, beer, hop-leaves, and brew-water ; they were cultivated on beer- 

 wort with the addition of the various experimental coinpounds, sugars, 

 milk, sea-water, etc. Notes were made as to the influence of extremes 

 of temperature on the duration of life in the yeast, etc. The red colouring 

 matter, it was found, belonged to the carotin group: it was extracted and 

 tested in various ways. The systematic position of the yeast is also 

 discussed. 



Th. Bokrorny § contributes a paper on the effects of metallic salts on 

 the growth of yeasts and other fungi. In a very long paper an account 

 is given of experiments with many different culture solutions, some of 

 which proved to be favourable or harmless to growth, others more or 

 less poisonous. Many of the substances, such as bichromate of potas- 

 sium, were advantageous up to a certain degree of concentration and then 

 became harmful. The chemical conditions that imply poisoning of the 

 cells are also discussed. 



Bee-hive Fungus, Pericystis alvei. ||— A. D. Betts found this new 

 fungus as the principal constituent of the pollen-mould prevalent in 

 hives during the winter and early spring. It grows on the pollen stored 

 in the combs. The fungus is distinguished by the character of the 

 mycelium, which breaks up into chlamydospores, and by the formation of 

 dark-coloured cysts which arise as a swelling or lateral projection on a 

 hypha, and when mature contains spores. There is no suggestion that 

 the fungus is pathogenic on the bee. It is present alike in healthy and 

 in diseased hives. 



• Bull. Soc. Mycol., xxviii. (1912) pp. 127-30 (1 pi.). 

 t Ann. Roy. Gard. Peradeniya, v. (1912) pp. 265-301. 

 X Centralbl. Bakt., xxxv. (1912) pp. 81-118 (2 pis.). 

 § Centralbl. Bakt., xxxv. (1912) pp. 118-97. 

 I) Ann. Bot., xxvi. (1912) pp. 795-9 (2 pis.). 



