180 DopcE: METHODS OF CULTURE OF ASCOBOLACEAE 
colored illustrations. The specimen is on goose dung and had 
been identified by Massee as A. glaber. His figure of the spores, 
and the spores themselves, agree with those in no. 211 Rehm 
Ascom. exs. (A. Leveillei) and with the spores of our species. 
Massee’s specimen can not be A. glaber, because the purple spore 
markings of that species consist of ridges and not cracks. As is 
well known, Rehm afterwards decided (1896) that his A. Leveillet 
is a new species, which he calls A. Winteri. As noted, I was unable 
to identify this specimen from Rehm’s description, but the agree- 
ment of my material with no. 211 Rehm Ascom. exs. is perfectly 
convincing. 
Our species has been found on goose dung from néveral different 
localities in this vicinity but not on any other substratum. No 
other species of Ascobolus has been found with it, although abund- 
ant growths of Ascophanus carneus sometimes follow after a week. 
An epidemic of cholera destroyed the geese at the Zoological 
Park in the summer of 1911. There were many other kinds 
of fowl around the same ponds after the epidemic but the fungus 
was not found on their dung. It was necessary to obtain material 
from other localities. It would appear that we have in this case 
one species, at least, that is closely confined to a particular kind 
of substratum. 
The time that intervenes between spore germination and the 
formation of the initial organs of the apothecium, seems to depend 
mainly on two factors, viz., the nature of the medium and the 
point at which the inoculation has been made. If a weak decoc- 
tion of dung or of heated soil is used in making up the agar medium 
a correspondingly longer time must elapse. If the inoculation is 
made at about 2 cm. from the edge of a Petri dish 10 cm. in diam- 
eter, the first apothecia will be found at a point between the 
germinated spores and the nearest edge of the dish. They havé 
often appeared in this region in less than 48 hours after the spores 
germinated. On the other side, the mycelium will spread out 
fanlike and reach the edge in 4-6 days. Curiously enough, as @ 
usual thing, no apothecia are formed until the growth of the 
mycelium is interrupted by the edge of the Petri dish; then they 
begin to appear in patches around the border. Later on, densé 
clusters may spring up at any point in the medium. Other regions 
