HOW FUNGI LIVE IN WINTER. 



619 



son. These, as the reader will naturally infer, are for the rapid propa- 

 gation of the ergot elsewhere. Usually nothing further in spore- 

 formation takes place until the following siDring. 

 The hard, purplish ergot-grains contain no spores, 

 being simply indurated masses of threads contain- 

 ing a very large per cent of oil. This is the 

 winter condition of the fungus. With the warmth 

 of spring and the moisture of the soil upon which 

 the grains may be lying, the horny spurs soften 

 and send out stalks from one or more sides, which 

 have club-shaped extremities bearing multitudes 

 of long, slender spores in minute, pear-shaped \ 

 sacs. Fig. 12 shows a "growing" ergot-grain in 

 the upper left-hand corner ; a cross-section of a 

 head below ; a more highly magnified view of a 



// 



Fig. 10— a Black KtioT. 



Fig. '1.— Ekgoted Rte. 



pit on the right, and near the center of the engraving is a single 

 spore-case with the needle-like spores protruding. 



The ergot is not alone in assuming a hard condition for the pur- 

 pose of getting over a severe period of either cold or drought. The 

 term sclerotia, meaning hard, has long been employed as a name for 

 the compact, resting condition common to many fungi. In the early 

 history of this group of plants, Sderotium was the name of a promi- 

 nent genus abounding in many so-called species. Now, of course, this 



