EXTERNAL CONDITIONS AND SPORE-DISCHARGE 131 



added, the fruit-body was always found to have lost its power of 

 shedding spores. Not a single spore could be seen floating in the 

 beam of light, nor, so long as the fruit-body remained subjected 

 to the anaesthetic, were any spores liberated. When, however, the 

 fungus was removed from the glass jar and exposed to ordinary 

 air, it gradually recovered. It was found that, even after treat- 

 ment with ether vapour for a week, recovery could still take place 

 and active spore-discharge be resumed. The length of time during 

 which fruit-bodies were exposed to ether vapour, and the length of 

 time required for recovery of the spore-liberating function after 

 removal from the anaesthetic, are given in the following table: — 



Lenzites betulina. 



»5 cc. Squibb's ether in a 1'25 litre jar. 



Time taken for Kecovery of the Spore- 

 Length of Exposure to the liberating; Function after Removal 

 Ether Vapour. from Ether Vapour. 



5 minutes .... Less than 30 minutes. 



30 minutes .... More than 2 hours. 



] 2 hours About 3 hours. 



„ . , i More than 3 hours 45 minutes. 



24 hours \ T ,. , . „„ . x 



( Less than 4 hours 3o minutes. 



7 days ..... 6 hours 30 minutes. 



It is clear that the longer the fruit-bodies were exposed to 

 the anaesthetic, the longer was the time required to recover from 

 the effects. 



The chief result of these experiments is to show that spore- 

 discharge may be inhibited by ether without any apparent 

 permanent injury to the fruit-body. The shooting off of the 

 spores, and probably their development, ceases under the in- 

 fluence of ether just as does protoplasmic movement in the cells 

 of higher plants and the reactions to mechanical stimuli in the 

 leaves of Mimosa pudica, the stamens of Berber is, &c. As in 

 these cases, the active process is resumed again when normal 

 conditions are allowed to supervene. 



Chloroform has a similar effect to ether. 0*5 cc. of chloroform 

 was introduced into the 1*25 litre jar in the manner already 

 described. Under these conditions the liberation of spores ceased 

 in about one minute. The fruit- body was exposed to the chloro- 



