THE ASEPTIC CULTIVATION OF MTCETOZOA. 43 



The Aseptic Cultivation of Mycetozoa. 



By 



Casper O. Miller, M.D. 



With Plates 6 and 7. 



Observations on the Cultivation of Mycetozoa. 



Until the work of de Bary nothing was known about the 

 development of Mycetozoa further than that they appeared as 

 a slimy mass from wliich tlie sporangia were formed. He made 

 a short report (1) on the development of the zoospores from 

 the spores at the " Naturforscherversammlung," in Gottingen, 

 in 1854, which was followed by his other publications (2, 3). 

 He speaks (8) of keeping portions of plasmodia in glass dishes 

 containing water, or on slides, but they died in a few days 

 without forming sporangia. Spores of ^EthaHum septicura, 

 planted on moistened tan on the 2nd of May, showed at the 

 beginning of July colourless plasmodia, which continued 

 through July without further development. Another culture 

 of spores of the same plasmodium, planted the 13th of August, 

 developed many zoospores, and on the 8th of October plas- 

 modia were seen. Spores of Lycogala, planted in a dish 

 containing water and decaying pine-wood, developed zoospores 

 within twenty-four hours ; about the fourteenth day there were 

 plasmodia present, which at the end of a fortnight had died 

 without forming sporangia. He also planted spores of Stemo- 

 nitis obtusata on decaying pine-wood, and found plasmodia 

 on the fourteenth day, but they did not develop further. De 

 Bary was unable to determine whether the plasmodia de- 



