July, 1907] Mycological Bulletin No. 79 339 



At one time I had about one hundred and fifty to two hundred 

 eggs of the various species of Phalloids in my "incubator" and during 

 the course of their expansion it was noticed that cold had a marked effect 

 on the elongation of the stipe — in all cases checking it ; and when the 

 thermometer was below or near freezing point stopping all elongation. 

 This was so marked that I had to resort to artificial heat to get some 

 of my eggs to expand. This indicates that the elongation of the stipe 

 or receptaculum is a growth process as advanced by Errera and Burt. 

 The large numljer of eggs of the various species of Phalloids that I col- 

 lected, together with the cool weather during November, forced me to 

 devise some means whereby 1 could with liltle trouble hatch them, as 

 tnere was no hot house convenient. At first, I used with fairly good 

 success the following plan. I took a pine box one and a half to two feet 

 deep and covered the bottom with clean white sand to the depth of eight 

 to ten inches. The eggs were then washed and wrapped with tissue 

 paper, leaving only the upper part free ; they were then put into holes 

 in the sand with only the upper and free surface exposed, the sand being 

 previously thoroughly wetted. The box was then covered with glass 

 and placed near a wood stove and every eight or twelve hours — usually 

 once at night and again early next morning, a gallon of water, hot as the 

 hand could stand, was poured over the eggs and on the sand; by this 

 means the sand and the air in the interior of the box was kept warm 

 and moist. Eggs of Phallus inipudicus. Phallus ruhicundus. Mulinus 

 caninus, and Simblum texense were thus hatched. The writer found 

 great trouble in getting the eggs of Sinihlum tcxcnse to hatch in a moist 

 chamber on account of a species of white mould attacking and destroying 

 tl em. In warm weather all that is necessary is to keep the sand wet 

 and the box in the sun light with the glass over it. Some sixty to a 

 hundred eggs of Simblum tcxcnse were expanded by this means. 



A careful study of the specimens of Phallus impudicus and Phallus 

 ruhicundus, as they were expanding, seems to indicate that Dictyophora is 

 not a pood genus. Many of the plants, especially of Phallus impudicus, 

 showed veils of varying degrees of permaner.cy — from a mere film to one 

 of appreciable thickness, and in every respect, as to texture, size, thick- 

 ness, and position comparable to the so-called veil of Dictyophora ravenclii. 



This veil in Phallus impudicus and Phallus ruhicundus lies in the un- 

 expanded plant as a zone of tissue next to the stipe. As the stipe 

 elongates this membrane usually ruptures at edge of cap or beneath it, 

 then as elon.s^ation continues bands and shreds of it may be left on the 

 stipe. It will be found in one of three places and sometimes in all of 

 them; first, as a veil hanging from top of stipe beneath the cap; second, 

 as a distinct membrane in bands and patches on the stipe; third, as an 

 enveloping sac-like membrane around the base of the stipe inside of the 

 volva ; here it seems to be a prolongation of the inner cup-like membrane 

 of the volva that fits closely to the base of the stipe inside of the volva; 

 this membrane like that of Phallus rarcfclii is not composed of pseudo- 

 parencl yma. but in every other respect it is a true veil. 



That those species with a persistent, well developed, meshed pseudoparen- 

 chymators veil, like Phallus duplicafus, deserve s])ecial rank seems not 

 proven — for intergrading forms of more or less persistent and well defined 

 veils are present in many species of Phallus; furthermore, the presence 

 of a well defined veil in Phallus impudicus, the original type of the 

 Phallus genus, would make this genus have as one of its characters a 

 veil and the genus Dictyophora would now be identical in all respects 

 to Phallus and would therefore be reduced to synonomy. 



The veils in my specimens were esiiecially ]ironounce(I in plants tliat 

 were slow in opening l)oth in Phallus iiiifudicus and Phallus rul>ii-:ii:dus 



