IldTSOX. — (TLTrRK STIDIEiH OF FUNGI. 243 



in dianu'trr, the cortical cells blackish, often protruding in groups. 

 Asci chn ate, apex rounded, not blue with iodine, 125 X 15 /x. Spores 

 8, uniseriate, hyaline, smooth, spherical, 12 /x diameter. Paraphyses 

 slender, hyaline, only slightly thickened upward. Mycelium giving 

 rise to numerous rounded, black bulbils, 75-100 /x diameter, composed 

 of rountled cells about 20 /x diameter." 



Culti\ated on nutrient agar. Found on dog dung from Jamaica, 

 Paestum (Italy), Guatemala and California, and pig dung from 

 Guatemala. 



This fungus was first obtained by Dr. Thaxter on dog dung from 

 Jamaica ami has l)een kei)t growing in pure tube-cidtures for twenty 

 years; since then he has found it on the same substratum from Paes- 

 tum, Italy, and from Guatemala. It was also secured from gross 

 cultures of pig dung and of dead flowers believed to be of the genus 

 Criosanthes from the last named locality, while the writer has found 

 it on gross cultures of dog-dung from Claremont, California, from 

 which a pure culture was obtained in a manner similar to that already 

 described. This was not difficult, since the mycelium grows with 

 great rapidity and the bulbils are produced in abundance. The fungus 

 was grown, on a great \ariety of media until the mature perfect form 

 was ol^tained. The mycelium grows well on nearly all media, pro- 

 ducing numerous dark-colored, almost black, bulbils. The best sub- 

 stratum for producing apothecia is bran, or rat or dog-dung, although 

 they de\eloped cjuite rearlily on sweet-potato agar or on Irish potato 

 agar with a little sugar; l)ut it was found that after the fungus had 

 been cultivated for a long time on artificial media, it failed to produce 

 mature apothecia. 



On appropriate substrata such as bran, dung, etc. the rate of 

 growth of the mycelium is remarkably rapid. The average of se\eral 

 measurements made of this fungus, grown at the temperature of the 

 lal)oratory is as follows: 1 cm. in 24 hrs., 2| cm. in 50 hrs., 31 cm. in 

 74 hrs., and 5 cm. in 120 hrs. It is white and somewhat flocculent, 

 and docs not grow in a "zonate fashion" like that of the Peziza de- 

 scribed by Zukal, but spreads out quite evenly over the surface of the 

 substratum. In older cultures the hyphae become quite large, often 

 over 10 fj. m diameter, and densely filled with granular protoplasm, but, 

 as they reach their limit of size, they lose their contents, frequently 

 when a hypha becomes broken or a portion of it is killed, there seems 

 to l)e a stinudus for growth at the free end, somewhat similar to that 

 in higher plants which are subjected to wounding. This injury of the 

 hyphae appears to cause a sort of damming up of food material, which 



