( 2J2 ) 



Meaiiw liilo it Wiis e\ ideiit as well tVoni tlio \ei-_v lu-iof description 

 of Phoiiia intyoplühi in Saccakuo's Svlloge as trom liis silence on 

 the inicroscopic ju-operties of the fniiuiis, that this anthor had not 

 been able to examine freshly collected specimens, so that mycologists 

 working after him under more fa\oiiral>le conditions miuht possibly 

 lind something to improve. 



Having had this opportnnity myself il may not be supertbions to 

 I'etnrn once more to my Sc1erotio[).'<is pitjiojthila and to consider more 

 fully the difference l>etween Sclerotiopsis and riiomd. 



First of all it mnst be mentioned that the perithecia of Phoma, 

 when produced by leaves, although tiiey lie concealed below the 

 epidermis, yet are by no means bui'ied deep in the tissue as is the 

 case with Sclevotlop.sis (Fig. 3 — 5) aiid i)robably on account of this 

 are much more irregularly shaped, sometimes coalesce and come 

 forth with a strongei- and less i-ounded appearance. 



Secondly any one who has examined many specimens of J^lioma 

 must ha\e noticed that with Sclerotiopsis stronger and denser peri- 

 thecia are found Avhich are carbonaceous at the surface, whereas 

 those of PJioma belong to the forms that offer little resistance, and 

 are tender and light-coloured ; finally that tlie peiithecia of Scleroti- 

 opsis have no orifice but decay or burst, whereas with Plioma the 

 rule is that a small round ostiolum is found through which the 

 spores are discharged. 



In addition to this ^ve remark that the spores of Sclerotiopsis do 

 not lie loosely together like those of Phoma, but remain long con- 

 nected l)y means of a sticky substance (fig. 3 and 4), the consequence 

 of which is that a few drops of water are sufficient to cause l^lionia- 

 spores to diverge iji all directioiis whereas with ScIeri)tiopsis ii'^W^hi 

 pressure or friction is recjuired to make them fit for a closer exa- 

 mination. 



This latter peculiarity was exactly the reason why Corda imagined 

 to have found a Sp/iaeronerna, overlooking that the l)eak- or brush- 

 shaped proloi^ation of the peritheciummouth was absent and that 

 conseque]itly no cluster of s[>ores could be formed at the lop of 

 such a |)rolongation. 



The question whether the spores of Sc/erotioj>sis are produced on 

 the top of sporophores is difficult to answer, although analogy pleads 

 for it, since there is no distinct di\ision i)etween the wall of the 

 perithecium and the gleba (the cluster of spores) but a gi'adual 

 transition of one into the other. Yet not far from the surface of the 

 perithecia ((Fig. 6) a segmentation seems to take place and the 

 formed spores seem to be slowly pushed to the centre. 



