COMMON MOULDS AND MILDEWS. 27 
Myxotrichum is another genus of the order of Mucedines, and is 
illustrated in the plate by two species which are not rare, JZ. char- 
tarum and M. deflexum. The former is shown at z, and is one of 
the most beautiful of the order. It forms little dark-grey patches, 
consisting of branched flocci radiating from a common centre, 
some of which have curved apices as shown at v, and by 
which appendages the species is easily identified. We have found 
this fungus upon dead sticks, straw, paper, cotton-goods, and even 
upon some cartridges of gun-cotton which had been put for safety 
in a damp cellar. 
M. deftexum is shown at w. It is a species we have lately found 
growing upon woollen goods as well as upon damp paper, wood, 
and twig-hampers. They form little patches of grey downy balls, 
from which proceed a number of radiating threads, some of the 
larger of which are generally simple while the remainder have 
opposite and deflexed branches as shown at @ ‘The spores are 
collected in patches about the base of the threads and are oblongo 
elliptical. The complete plant, as shown at wz, forms a very good 
object for the half-inch objective. In the Mucedines the threads 
are never coated with any distinct membrane, which should be 
remembered when attempting to classify these growths. Polyactis, 
is another genus of this order, of which P. cana and P. 
fascicularis are commonly met with, the latter is figured at e, and 
may be easily mistaken by the tyro for a Penicillium or an Asper- 
gillus. In these two fungi, however, the aerial hyphz are colorless, 
while in Polyactis they are slightly brown. The most common 
habitats for these species are decomposing vegetable substances, 
such as rotting stems and leaves. One species of Folyactis is cer- 
tain to be found upon decaying fruit; the finest specimens we 
have seen were culled from some plum-tart which had been 
neglected, owing to holiday making in the summer. 
Another fungus of thé same order is Rhopalomyces pallidus, shown 
at g, and was found on decayed Russian matting at Kings Cliffe. 
It has a pale fawn color, the spores are small, elliptical, and 
are attached to septate aerial hyphz, the tips of which are swollen 
into areolate heads to which the spores are attached. We have 
found this species on decaying Hessians. 
Rice paste often gives a red mould when neglected, which 
possesses a colorless mycelium producing short, erect branches, 
tipped with a red cellular head studded with oblong spores, the 
endochrome of which is bipartite. This mould is the Papulaspora 
sepedonioides, and is delineated at #. It is very probable that the 
ferment used in the rice-growing countries for producing a spirit 
from this grain is but a Saccharomyces condition of this fungus, 
exactly as the yeast plant is a similar condition of Penicillium. 
Acremonium alternatum figured at 7, is another of the Muce- 
