90 BURMA, ITS PEOPLE AND PRODUCTIOSS. 



A R THE OSrORIE.E. 



Seceptacle filamentous, fistiilar, simple, hranched or almost obsolete; eontigiwus or 

 eliamlered. Spores miked, terminal, jointed end to etui, continuous or chambered, 

 separating more or less easily. 



Arthrosporieee embrace minute forms, a few only of wliich are of economic 

 importance to man, as Torula cerevisite, the yeast plant, developed during the 

 manufacture of beer, and indispensable thereto. The Oidiiim Tuekeri is an equally 

 well-known example, and the scourge of the vine cultivator all over Europe. 

 Fumarago is another familiar example of a microscopic fungus, which coats tlie 

 surface of public buildings, statues, and the like with a dark film something like 

 a coating of soot. 



TRICEOSPORIE.E. 



Receptacles filamentous, simple or branched, fistular, continuous or chambered. Spores 

 very various in form, simple or compound, clustered, at the extremity of the branches or 

 around the receptacle. 



Triclwsporiete also include a multitude of microscopic fungi, some of them ex- 

 tremely formidable to man, as Fcronospora infestans, the proximate cause of the 

 potato disease, and Botrytis Bassiana, whose presence in tlie body of the silkworm 

 gives rise to the formidable disease of that insect, Muscat-dine, for which no remedy 

 seems known save isolation, and which has in some years almost ruined the silk pro- 

 ducing industry in some parts of France. 



crSTO.SrORIFJE. 



Receptacles flocculent, continuous or chamhcred, simple or branched, terminated by a 

 ves icular sporangium. 



Cystosporiem are minute organisms or moulds, which find a habitation on decaying 

 vegetable substances or the excrements of animals, and claim no particular notice — 

 though they well repay the trouble of studying their forms and development. 



CLINOSFORIEJE. 



Spores springing from a clinodium, covering tvholly or partially the surface of the 

 receptacle, or enclosed in a conceptacle. Two sections are recognized. 



a. {Endoclinal) Conceptacle membranous, more or less thick, fleshy, coriaceous or 

 horny, sessile or pedicelled, opening variously and enclosing the clinodium. 



h. {Ectoclinal) Receptacle fleshy, sessile or pedicelled, coiucv or concave, covered by 

 the clinodium. 



Clinosporiecc are common fungi, some of which, known as ' rust^ or 'smut,' 

 have a special interest as affecting various cereals used for food. The 'smut,' 

 Ustilago segetum, attacks the ovule, floral envelopes, and spikelets, reducing them 

 to a black' powder, and wheat, barley, oats, millet, and sorghum are all liable to 

 be attacked by it. The only useful member of this tribe is the Ergot of Rye 

 {Secale cornutum), which is a valuable uterine stiraubmt in tedious labours, and of 

 service in arresting undue haemorrhage. It is liowever, when accidentally consumed 

 in flour made from aff'ected grain, extremely injurious, and gives rise to formidable 

 results and even death in some cases. 



TIIECASPORIE.'E. 



Spores usually contained by eights in cells {thecfC, sporangia), covering wholly or 

 partially the surface of a receptacle, or the interior of a conceptacle. Theccc, aeconipeiuied 

 or not by paraphyses, and opening at the top by an inconspicuous operculum for the emission 

 of simple or chambered spores. 



Two sections are recognized — 



a. Endothecal. Theea rounded, ovoid, clavate or cylindric, enclosed in a conceptacle. 



b. Ectothecal. Theca elongated, covering the surface of a receptacle. 

 Thecasporiea: are of prime importance, as embracing some of the most highly 



valued of the edible species, as, for example, the common Morel {2[orchella esculcnta) 

 and the Trufiie {Tuber cibarium). The truffle, howc\er, so lauded by the Roman 



