DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB. 311 



Lepidodeiidron, and as yet supposed to represent the " skeleton " 

 ot" some fossil form of Kadiolarian, consisting, as it appeared to 

 do, of a hollow-globular structure of apparently " spongy " or 

 fibrous character, here and there externally elevated into some- 

 what conical projections, from nearly all of which latter proceeded 

 an elongate rather tapering slender process sometimes bifid at 

 apex, these standing out radially in every direction. It might 

 be said the whole had thus a somewhat '' Xanthidium "-like 

 appearance (like the similar objects in flint) or that of the 

 Zygospore of certain Desmidieae. The true nature of this 

 remarkable minute fossil form would appear to be doubtful, but 

 the resemblances would seem for the present probably to point 

 most strongly in the direction of the Radiolaria. We under- 

 stand that Mr. Carruthefs proposes to publish his investigations 

 on this interesting point, to w'hich he has given the name 

 Traquairia, recognising it as a new genus of Radiolarians. 



Mr. Thiselton Dyer exhibited to the Club the asci of Bulgaria 

 inquinans, Fr. These are easily demonstrated by taking a 

 minute portion of the black velvety disk of the fungus, and 

 gently compressing it with a little liquefied glycerine jelly under a 

 thin glass cover. The asci are spread out in elegant purplish 

 rosettes. Each ascus is slender and club-shaped, containing at 

 first the rudiments of eight spores, of which about four come to 

 maturity, and are then seen obliquely arranged in a row within 

 the ascus, and well contrasted with it from their deeper colour. 

 These points were worth noting, because the figure given by 

 Cooke in his ' Handbook of British Fungi ' stood in need of 

 correction; the figure of Tulasne (' Ann. Sc. Nat.,' xx, t. 15, f. 5) 

 which Cooke quotes is quite accurate. 



Mr. Thiselton Dyer called attention to a paper read by 

 Mr. Cooke at the Quekett Microscopical Club on November 

 24th last (see ' Nature,' vol. v, p. 134) on the combination of the 

 genera Gi/mnosjjorangium and Podisoma. At a former meeting 

 Mr. Thiselton Dyer had expressed an opinion as to the unsatis- 

 factory nature of their distinctions ; he thought there could be 

 no doubt that Mr. Cooke was right, and wished that he had 

 united the genera in his handbook. 



Mr. Thiselton Dyer showed a good example oi Piloholus cri/stal- 

 litius, Tode, for which he was indebted to his friend Mr. Carruthers. 

 It was a species which might reasonably be expected to elude the 

 observation of all but ardent fungologists. 



Mr. Thiselton Dyer showed " Tylose dans lavigne," a prepara- 

 tion which he had obtaiued from Prof. Van Heurck, of Antwerp. 

 It was one of a numerous class of puzzling things, pretty 

 generally known, but never mentioned in text-books. The so- 

 called " tylose" is a vesicular mass of large cells which entirely 

 fills the cavities of the old ducts. It was a histological problem 

 which he wished to submit to the Club: — What is the origin and 

 history of this secondary tissue ? Mohl supposed (' Reports of 

 Eay Society,' 1849, p. 27) that the cells were, so to speak, 



VOL. XII. NEW SER. Z 



