NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 455 



and Byparohius, sp. n. Borzi describes the scolecite oiAscoholus pilosus 

 as composed of three parts. The first consists of the apical cell only, 

 which is hemispherical, and contains a transparent protoplasm. The 

 second part also consists of a single cell, termed the ascogenous cell 

 or ascogonium, which is of about double the diameter, and nearly 

 spherical; its protoplasmic contents are much more granular. The 

 third and lowest part of the scolecite is composed of a row of from 

 four to seven much smaller cells, gradually decreasing in size towards 

 the base ; they also contain a finely granular protoplasai. From the 

 hyphfe which surround the base of the scolecite springs a single 

 branch which runs obliquely up the scolecite, and, at about two- 

 thirds of its height, i. e. near the base of the ascogonium, branches. To 

 this body, which does not difter morphologically from the other cells 

 of the hymenium, but to which a fertilizing agency has been attri- 

 buted by De Bary, the term pollinodium has been applied. Borzi, 

 however, disputes this interpretation, and considers that the organ in 

 question has no function but one of protection to the scolecite. The 

 ascus ultimately develops from the ascogonium, the first indication 

 being presented by the appearance on its surface of a number of minute 

 pajjillse. These gradually elongate and divide transvei'sely into short 

 filaments; the terminal cells of some of these filaments acquire a club- 

 like form, and are the young asci. The ascogonium, and indeed the 

 whole scolecite, then disappears. That the ascus and ascospores are 

 the result of a process of fecundation, Borzi was unable actually to de- 

 termine, though he has little doubt that this is the case. His own 

 view is that the male organs of fecundation are the spermatic cells of 

 minute size produced on special hyphal branches in the neighbour- 

 hood of the scolecite, and this last organ he looks on as a carpogo- 

 nium, the terminal cell being a trichogyne, through which the fecun- 

 dating particles are conveyed to the ascogonium ; the lower multi- 

 cellular portion of the scolecite being simply a support for the 

 female sexual organ. The apotheciura of Ascobolus Borzi considers 

 to consist of three parts : — the cortical layer, which involves the whole 

 apothecium except the upper part ; the excipnlum, the cells of which, 

 uniform in size, compose a pseudo-parenchymatous tissue ; and the 

 hymenium, consisting of the asci, and of paraphyses, elongated 

 barren filaments, ramifying at the base. The asci spring from the 

 lower or sub-hymenial portion of the hymenium. They have at first the 

 form of club-shaped cells containing abundance of protoplasm ; the 

 ascospores are formed in them by free cell-formation. The ejection 

 of the spores is the result of the constantly increasing pressure of 

 the hymenium on the mature asci. In addition to the ascospores, 

 Ascobolus pulcherrimus produces another kind of germinating cell, the 

 chlamydospores, produced probably non-sexually, at the apex of .^hort 

 mycelial filaments. In several species of Peziza, Borzi claims to 

 have observed phenomena altogether similar to those of Ascobolus. 



Polymorphism of Agaricus melleus. — In his researches on the 

 chestnut-tree disease,* J. E. Planchon was struck with the difficulty 



* This Journal, ii, (1870) 107. 



