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 PROGRESS OF MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE. 



A Parasite on Peziza. — • Grevillea' for March contains a valuable 

 note by its editor, Mr. M. C. Cooke, M.A., on this subject. The writer 

 says that he has lately received from C. J. Muller, Esq., of East- 

 bourne, a very interesting specimen of a Sarcoscyphous Peziza, which 

 appears to be P. hemispherica, Wigg. The surface of the hymenium 

 is rough, with the projecting upper portions of semi-immersed, pale 

 brownish perithecia, each of which is furnished at the mouth with a 

 tuft of delicate, erect hairs. The perithecia are themselves mem- 

 branaceous and translucent, sometimes wholly immersed in the hyme- 

 nium, as if proceeding from the inferior stratum, and composed of 

 hexagonal cells, with a brownish tint, so as to render them con- 

 spicuous amongst the surrounding hymenium. Many of the asci, and 

 septate paraphyses of the Peziza are normally developed. These 

 parasitic perithecia contain free lemon-shaped spores, reminding one 

 of the sporidia of certain sphceriai which occur on dung, as S. stercoraria, 

 &c. The spores are dark brown, and near ■ 001 inch in length, but 

 in no instance could we detect asci, or sterigmata, nor obtain any 

 direct evidence of the mode in which the spores are produced in the 

 perithecia. No perithecia were found with the spores in their early 

 stage, and before acquiring colour, but in all instances they seemed to 

 be mattired and free in the perithecia. From these circumstances we 

 have been led to regard the parasite as coniomycetous, although not 

 agreeing with the characters of any genus of which we have any 

 knowledge. It has been suggested that these perithecia are not truly 

 parasitic, but that they are another form of fruit of the Peziza. Such 

 is not impossible, but, from present experience, we are disposed to 

 consider it as rather improbable, although the fact that the perithecia 

 seem to originate from the lower cellular stratum would favour the 

 conjecture. Under any circumstances, the specimens in question are 

 of a very interesting character, and we have at once placed on record 

 all the facts which have come to our knowledge, in the hope that by 

 turning attention to the subject, other specimens may be found, and a 

 more complete history elaborated for this rather anomalous production. 

 The whole of the features of this parasite seem to favour the sup- 

 position that it may be a species of Melanospora, but not asci having 

 been found, it would be too great an assumption to place it in that 

 genus until an examination of specimens in an earlier condition settle 

 the question whether the spores are produced on peduncles, or whether 

 they are at first enclosed in asci. No species of Melanospora has 

 hitherto been recorded as occurring in Britain. 



Distribution of Blood-vessels in the Membrana Tympani. — This subject 

 is very well dealt with in a recent paper by Dr. Burnett, of America. 

 He describes the arrangement of the blood-vessels in the tympanic 

 membrane of the dog, cat, goat, and rabbit. These are arranged in a 

 double series of loops, one of which is composed of vessels which run 

 from the periphery directly toward the handle of the malleus, and at a 



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