already inentioued the first description of Strumella sacchari, which 

 has been identified with Melanconium sacchari, describes only the 

 Melaneoniuin form. IMassee was the first to claim that he had found 

 more than one stage, i. e., a macroconidial and a microeonidial stage 

 in addition to the Melanconium stage. In his paper on the subject 

 he attempted to prove the genetic connection between the forms. 

 ]\Iassee placed four conidia (Melanconium [ ?] spores) in each of three 

 flasks containing equal quantities of sugar-cane solution, and then 

 placed the cultures for incubation in a temperature of about 75° F. 

 At the end of five daj^s the liquid in each of the flanks presented 

 an opalescent appearance which examination showed to be due to 

 very delicate, much branched hyphae. Examination of the contents 

 of a second flask after eight days' growth showed numerous filaments 

 of myceliiim measuring up to 8 microns in diameter and full of 

 brilliant, fine-grained, homogeneous protoplasm. These thick hyphae 

 originated as lateral branches from the delicate hyphae first pro- 

 duced by the conidia. 



A third flask after twelve days' growth assumed a dark olive 

 color and the entire surface of the mycelium at the level of the solu- 

 tion presented an appearance of an olive-colored, dense, velvety mass. 

 The velvety appearance proved to be due to the presence of closely 

 packed, erect, dark olive conidiophores growing out into the air, each 

 bearing at its apex a single chain of reddish-broA\'n conidia — called 

 by ]\rassee microcouidia. The dark olive color of the mass of my- 

 celium immersed in the fluid was found to be due to immense num- 

 bers of large conidia arranged in chains and springing from the tips 

 of the thick hyphae previously described. These latter forms IMassec- 

 called macroconidia. 



It must be observed that Massee's method of procedure is not 

 sufficiently described in detail to demonstrate clearly the origin of 

 these various spores. He starts with four of the IMelanconium spores 

 placed in each of three flasks, but nothing is indicated to show tliat 

 there might not have been some contamination. The first two flasks 

 were treated after examination so that their contents were killed. 

 As a result he found the microspore and the macrospores only in 

 the third flask. 



After the above experiment in wiiich he is assumed to have pro- 

 duced from IMelanconium spores two other forms in flasks. IMassee 

 took small portions of cane containing hyphae of Melanconium and 

 placed them in a nutrient solution. The characters which distin- 

 guish Melanconium hyphae from others are not given, nor is it stated 

 that there were no other hyphae present, nor is the operation stated 



27 



