76 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
change of pressure; this indicated that no appreciable amount of gas 
had been evolved.t The fruit-body was then removed from the tube, 
and on examination was found not to have altered in appearance: no 
darkening was observable. The fruit-body was then immediately placed 
in a damp-chamber, and tested by the beam-of-light method in the 
manner to which reference has been made already. In each case, at 
the end of some twelve hours, a dense and unbroken stream of spores 
was observed escaping from the under side of the fruit-body. The spore 
fall period lasted for about ten days. Some of the spores which had just 
fallen from the fruit-body taken from the third tube, were placed in 
nutrient gelatine. Many of them germinated within seventeen hours, 
and by the end of that time had produced germ-tubes longer than 
themselves. After three days the mycelium of each plant was con- 
siderably branched and extended. It was thus conclusively proved 
that a fruit-body of Schizophyllum commune, when kept thoroughly 
desiccated in vacuo for sixteen and one-half months, retains its vitality. 
This result is similar to that obtained by Becquerel for seeds and fungus 
spores. 
It has been mentioned above that Becquerel not only subjected his 
material to perfect desiccation in vacuo, but also exposed it for some 
time to the extremely low temperatures of liquid air and liquid hydrogen. 
Unfortunately, owing to lack of the necessary facilities in Winnipeg, we 
have not found it possible to use these low temperatures? However, we 
have been able to show that Schizophyllum commune is extremely 
resistent, not only to low temperatures, but also to rapid changes of 
temperature. Thus Buller* gathered some fruit-bodies from a wood- 
pile in Winnipeg in the month of March at -17° C., after they had been 
exposed for several months to severe frost, the temperature having 
ranged for several weeks during that period between -15° and -40° C. 
After the fruit-bodies had been thawed for a few hours, the liberation 
of spores began anew, and very soon well marked spore-deposits were 
produced. The rise of temperature from -17° to a room temperature 
of about + 20° C. had been withstood successfully. 
Two experiments of the reverse kind were carried out by us in the 
following manner :— 
(1) On January 11th, 1911, which was a very cold day, a fruit- 
body, actively shedding spores in a warm room at a temperature of 
about 17° C., was suddenly placed in the open where the thermometer 


‘It is questionable whether a fungus in vacuo liberates any gas whatever; but 
this point can only be settled conclusively by using much larger quantities of material 
at any one time. 
? Vide Addendum. 
# Buller, loc. cit., pp. 126-7. 
