THE ASEPTIO CULTIVATION OF MYCETOZOA. 55 



any granules of lime in the sporangium wall. In all tlie other 

 cultures observed the sporangia formed on the hay or ou the 

 sides of the flask above the level of the fluid. 



In speaking of the classification of his plasmodium^ Ward 

 (25) saySj '^ It is^ indeed, not improbable that we have here 

 an aquatic form of Didymium difforme, one of the com- 

 monest of our Myxomycetes ; and if so, we have another proof 

 of the all but uselessness of attempting to classify the lower 

 organisms until we know more of their habits under vary- 

 ing conditions." From the writer's experience, he questions 

 whether Ward did not really have the ordinary form of Didy- 

 mium diff. = Chondrioderma diff. in his cultures, and 

 whether the character of the fluid in which they grew, and 

 the other conditions surrounding them, did not cause the 

 sporangia to form only on the roots under the water or on the 

 moist roots above the water. 



Didymium farinaceum was obtained from aculturemade 

 with unsterilised leaves taken from the forest. 



In one flask containing leaves, and in two containing pine- 

 needles, Plasmodia developed and formed sclerotia above the 

 water on the side of the flask, but no sporangia appeared, so 

 it was not possible to determine what species they were. 



Spores ofyEthalium septicum obtained from a tan-pile 

 were planted in flasks, and yellowish plasmodia developed, 

 but no sporangia Ibrmed. Spores from several varieties of 

 Stemonitis collected at Heidelberg were planted in flasks. 

 The zoospores and plasmodia developed, but only one of them 

 formed sporangia. 



Spores of Ceratium porioides, gotten from a pine stump, 

 dried and planted aseptically, developed zoospores which have 

 been cultivated for about four years, and as yet the writer has 

 failed to find any plasmodia or sporangia. So far as I have 

 been able to discover, no one has succeeded in cultivating 

 plasmodia of any of the Ceratiomyxa. 



