170 ON AGARICDS ASCOPHORUg. 



with specimens of the Ag. rimosus, in which the secretion was con- 

 centrated at the inside of the Cystidium before it was excreted out- 

 side. I do not know if that difference depends from a particular 

 state of the plant, or from atmospheric influences, but as I have 

 noticed it several times, I am not surprised that the specimen 

 observed by Mr. Peck presents that secretion, while the one that 

 has been sent to Mr. Cooke showed no trace of it. I am almost 

 sure that if Mr. Peck continues his observations on all the 

 specimens he will meet with, he will find many of them deprived of 

 the ascus he thought he had discovered. There is nothing (except 

 in the hymenium) in the texture of the pileus that resembles an 

 ascus ; there are only cells prolonged, some wide and some narrow, 

 and cells chromogenous, narrow, like those I have described in the 

 Fistulina, and that I have often found in other Dennini* 



The following observations on the same subject, by the Rev. M. 

 J. Berkeley, appeared in the Gardener's Chronicle for April 17, 

 1875: — "We have lately received through Dr. M. 0. Cooke a 

 specimen of Agaricus ascophorus (Peck), sent by that gentleman 

 from New York. The species clearly belongs to the subgenus 

 Flammiila, and we, therefore, felt greatly interested in examining 

 the gills for the supposed asci. We readily discovered the bodies 

 in question, but we could by no means satisfy ourselves that they 

 were really asci containing speridia. We, therefore, forwarded the 

 only specimen to Mr. Broome, who has sent a sketch of what he . 

 himself saw, confirming our own observations, and which is here 

 reproduced (fig. 106). The singular matter iis that besides these 

 bodies there are forked ascidia, which are far less numerous than 

 the bodies in question. These, according to Mr. Broome's and our 

 own observations, are shortly pedicellate, somewhat top- shaped 

 bodies with a reticulate surface, the reticulations increasing in 

 number with the process of growth. We do not at all consider 

 them as asci, but as analogous to the hispid bodies which occur on 

 the gills of some species of Marasmius, and possibly of the same 

 nature with the echinulate bodies which are so obvious on the 

 pileus of Marasmius Hudsoni. It is true that asci have been 

 observed on the gills of Agaricus melleus, but this was probably 

 due to the presence of some species of Hypomyces, and the 

 observation has not been confirmed. Indeed, late examinations of 

 the spores of some Coprinus under germination seem to show that 

 impregnation takes place at a very early period, and that the result 

 is a sporiferous fungus ; as in Ascobolus or Peziza, we have from 

 the same process a sporidiiferous fungus. The spores of Agaricus 

 ascophorus were like those of allied Flavimidce, and were '0004 in. 

 in length. The dried gills did not show the spicules when 

 moistened." — M. J. B. 



* N.B. — The figures in plate 46 are — 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 magnified 580 dia, ; and 

 fig. 6 is 350 dia. 



