90 SUMMARY OF CUKRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



mycete), Discomycella, and Asterocalyx (Discomycetes), Angiopomopsis 

 (Sphaeropsidea3), and Triposporina and Exosporella (Hyphomycetes), the 

 latter collected in Java on living leaves of Symploms. An index of the 

 species discussed is added. 



Biology of Thermophilous Organisms.* — In his work on these 

 organisms Kurt Noack recognizes three series ; (1) Those that grow 

 best at ordinary temperatures, but are also able to endure high temper- 

 atures ; (2) those whose optimum temperature is a high one, such as 

 Mucor corymlifer and Asp)ergillus fumiyatus ; and (3) those that fail to 

 grow except in very warm conditions. These latter are the thermo- 

 philous organisms of which the optimum temperature is from 40° 

 to 50° C. K number of fungi belong to the last group, and they are 

 widely spread over the surface of the globe, in hot-beds, including 

 heated hay, etc. in hot springs, and the bodies of warm-blooded animals. 

 Noack takes a few of these fungi and gives results of his culture experi- 

 ments with them in various substrata and at varying temperatures, both 

 high and low. He found that in a resting condition — as resting spores, 

 etc. — very great extremes could be endured, and that for considerable 

 iperiods. In a growing condition they are more sensiLive to change. 



Fungi of the Soil.t — Elizabeth Dale has 'made cultures of soil 

 fungi, wiiich she obtained by shaking up samples of soils in distilled 

 water, allowing the solution to settle and then pipetting off a little of the 

 water and mixing it with gelatin containing either beer-wort or raisin- 

 extract. The soils, two in number, were taken from adjacent plots on 

 the Royal Agricultural Society's Farm at Woburn. Some twenty dif- 

 ferent fungi were obtained, chiefly Mucors and Hyphomycetes. These 

 are all described with their manner of growth in the culture media. 



Germination of Fungus-spores. J — Catharina Cool has made ex- 

 periments with the spores of a number of fungi, and describes the 

 methods she employed in their cultivation. In general, woody fungi 

 germinate most easily of all on the artificial media, while humus species 

 grow very rarely, and then have but a feeble appearance. The spores of 

 Marasmius Oreades and PseudopJectania nigrdla were, however, ex- 

 ceptions, as they developed readily. Cherry-agar proved to be the most 

 advantageous medium, and the best temperature was 16-20° C. The 

 mycelium of the different cultures is then described, and the fruiting 

 Ijodies, which were formed in eight cultures out of twenty-four. Normal 

 piiei grew most readily at low temperature, and in direct sunlight. None 

 were formed in darkness. On cherry-agar, Polyporiis versicolor formed 

 pilei in eighteen days. AVoody fungi tended to form their pilei on the 

 edge of the culture chamber. Secondary fructification, chlamydospores, 

 etc., are also described. 



* Jahrb. wiss. Bot., li. (1912) pp. 593-648. 

 t Ann. MycoL, x. (1912) pp. 452-77 (6 pis.). 



X Med. Pbytopath. Lab. "Willie Conimelin Scbolteu," Amsterdam, iii. (1912) 

 pp. 5-3S (4 pis.). See also Ann. Mycol., x. (1912) pp. 530-1. 



