Fruat-bodies of Coprinus comatus in Laboratory Cultures. 221 
The following species are also additional to our previous lists 
for Surrey: 
Corticium caeruleum Fr., Peniophora subalutacea (Karst.) 
v. H. and L., Odontia stipata (Fr.) Ouél. 
THE PRODUCTION OF FRUIT-BODIES 
OF COPRINUS COMATUS IN 
LABORATORY CULTURES. 
By Irene Mounce, M.A. (British Columbia), Hudson’s Bay 
Company Research Fellow, University of Manitoba. 
I. INTRODUCTION. 
Brefeld, in his Untersuchungen, states that the large fruit- 
bodies of Coprinus comatus and C. atramentarius are very easily 
raised in dung cultures; but, unfortunately, he gives us no 
details of the method he employed*. Hitherto, no one seems 
to have confirmed Brefeld’s results with these two species. 
Professor Buller has informed me that he has twice attempted 
to obtain fruit-bodies of Coprinus comatus on sterilised horse- 
dung balls contained in large crystallising dishes but that, 
although the mycelium grew well and continued living for many 
months, in neither of his cultures did fruit-bodies ever appear. 
Since the fruit-bodies of Coprinus comatus are of large size and 
edible, it seems well worth while to endeavour to elucidate the 
conditions under which they may be brought into existence. 
Coprinus comatus and C. sterquilinus appear to be closely 
related species, for not only do they resemble one another in 
general form, in the possession of an annulus, and in having a 
scaly pileus, but their mechanisms for the production and 
liberation of spores are practically identicalf. 
Coprinus sterquilinus fruits readily in sterilised horse-dung 
cultures. Whilst studying the homothallism of this species, I 
made a large number of such cultures and found that normal 
fruit-bodies always appeared upon them within 24—31 days from 
the time the spores were sown{. .The production of fruit-bodies 
* ©. Brefeld, Untersuchungen, Heft v1, Autobasidiomyceten, 1889, p. 39. 
+ A. H. R. Buller, Die Erzeugung und Befreiung der Sporen bei Coprinus 
stevquilinus, Pfeffer-Festschrift, identical with Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot. Lvi, 1915, 
pp. 299-329, Taf. II and III. 
t I. Mounce, Homothallism and the Production of Fruit-bodies by Mono- 
sporous Mycelia in the Genus Coprinus, Trans. Brit. Myc. Soc. vu, 1921, 
p. 203; also Homothallism and Heterothallism in the Genus Coprinus, ibid. 
1922, p. 259. 
