300 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



bulbils and ascocarps are present, this cannot be the case, since the 

 priraordia and development of the two are widely different. Thus in 

 Cnbonia bulbifera, for example, the bulbil is produced from a group of 

 intercalary cells, while the primordium of the apothecium is a spiral. 

 In like manner Melanospora anomala develops bulbils which arise 

 from intercalary cells, somewhat as in Cubonia, while the perithecia 

 arise from free spirals. 



It is quite possible, however, that in other cases, as for example in 

 M. papillata, where the primordium of the bulbil and that of the 

 perithecium are similar, they may be homologous. But even in 

 such cases, the two primordia are distinguishable so early in their 

 development, that it is more than probable that here, also, they cannot 

 be regarded as immature ascocarps. Various attempts have been 

 made by the writer to induce the bulbils of various species to continue 

 their development and produce ascocarps. Many bulbils of M. 

 papillata for example, that had grown larger than the more normal 

 types, were isolated and placed on different media where they were 

 exposed to different degrees of moisture, with this end in view. Simi- 

 lar attempts were also made with the bulbils of P. coprophila, in 

 which the spiral bulbil-primordium might be supposed to suggest its 

 ascogonial nature. In no instance, however, was any evidence ob- 

 tained that would seem to point to the conclusion that they were to be 

 regarded as anything but independent non-sexual propagative bodies, 

 except that, in some instances they increased in size, sometimes be- 

 coming approximately half as large as perithecia. This enlargement, 

 however, was unassociated with any structural differentiation such 

 as always characterizes the developing perithecium. 



Although Bainier reports that he was successful in inducing the 

 bulbils of Papulospora aspergilliformis to develop directly into peri- 

 thecia which he refers to Ceratostoma, the writer has been as un- 

 successful with this species as with others, even when using material 

 derived from a living culture received from Bainier by Dr. Thaxter. 



In view of the careful and long continued experiments made by the 

 writer in this connection, and his entire failure to obtain positive 

 results, the assumption seems justified that ordinarily, at least, bulbils 

 are not to be regarded as abortive ascocarps, but rather as an auxil- 

 iary method of reproduction that has been interpolated in the life 

 history of certain fungi without definite relation to other forms of 

 reproduction which they may possess; or if they have in reality been 

 derived from some other reproductive body, that this was more 

 probably some type of compound non-sexual spore, rather than the 

 primordium of an ascocarp. 



