INVERTEBRATA, CRYPTOGAMIA, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 487 



He regards fungi as divisible into two classes, true parasites and 

 false parasites (saprophytes), the genus Puhjporus belonging to the 

 former, Agaricus to the latter. There is moreover a difference in the 

 structure of the mycelium of the two fungi, that of the Agaricus 

 boing imsegmentod, while that of the Polyporus is segmented, and 

 thickened at the articulations. There are other facts also which, in 

 the opinion of the author, confirm the previous conclusion of 

 G. Bertoloni, that the parasitic fungus of the mulberry is Polyporus 

 Mori. 



Reversed Polyporus.* — In a partially cleared wood near Miiggen- 

 burg, S. Schulzer has made the remarkable discovery of a Polyporus, 

 belonging to the section Apus, with the perforated hymenium occu- 

 pying the upj)er side, while the concave under side is barren. It was 

 growing on a prostrate trunk, in considerable quantities, imbricated, 

 and cohering in growth ; every si)ecimen exhibiting this unique pecu- 

 liarity, from the earliest stage of a shapeless tuber to that of perfect 

 development. The somewhat thin pileus was ii-regularly semicircular 

 or kidney-shaped, always with revolute margin, the upper surface 

 therefore being convex, and the lower surface concave. Growing 

 along with it were Tlielepliora hirsuta and an Irpex, all of which 

 exhibited the normal structure. Schulzer proposes for this singular 

 form the name Polyporus obversus, and promises a more detailed 

 description. 



Fossil Fungi from the Lower Coal Measures.! — Two papers 

 have been read on this subject before the Yorkshire Geological and 

 Polytechnic Society by Messrs. W. Cash and T. Hick. In a previous 

 communication, a list of plants which had been discovered in the 

 lower coal measures near Halifax was given. At that time only 

 one species of fossil fungus had been discovered ; since then, however, 

 Mr. Binn has brought to light additional examples of fungoid growth. 

 The specimens, taken from some nodules, were exhibited in three 

 microscoinc slides. The first was a transverse section of the petiole of 

 the fern, and a similar section of a branclilct or rootlet of some other 

 plant. The fern {Zygopteris Lacatii) evidently lay exposed for some 

 time to the atmosphere before fossilization set in, and during that 

 period it was attacked by the fungi. The vegetative part of the 

 fungus consists of a largo number of veiy delicate hyjihic, not more 

 than 7^„Vo iiich in diameter, which are frequently branched. In one 

 respect the hyph« difler from those of most fungi in exhibiting at 

 different j^oints what appear to be a number of closely approximated 

 constrictions whicli give the filaments at these points a moniliform 

 character — -possibly the constrictions may be transverse septa. The 

 reproductive organs are unfortunately neither abundant nor woll- 

 dotincd, indeed the only structures to wliich reproductive ftuictions can 

 be assigned are minute spherical bodies, a2)i)areutly i)roduced at the 

 extremities of the hyphro, or their branches. They are j)robably 

 oospores. The fungi, from various characteristics, probably belong 

 to the suborder Penmosporea). 



* • Flora," Ixiii. (ISiSO) p. 7'.'. t ' Scieuco-(»Oi>t>iii,' IbSO, p. tJ7. 



