1921] 
WEBB—GERMINATION OF SPORES OF CERTAIN FUNGI 321 
as to other poisons, the inhibiting concentrations on the whole 
being greater than those submitted for B. vulgaris. Stevens’ re- 
sults indicated that Penicillium crustaceum is more resistant 
to poisons in aqueous solutions than any of the other fungi 
studied by him. Growth occurred in N/50 HCl and H.SQ,, 
| 
Fig. 20. Penicillium italicum in sugar beet decoction. 
3 + Ss 6 ^d 6 g fo 
while N/40 KOH and NaOH caused death. While the ger- 
mination curves for P. cyclopium previously obtained in solutions 
of mannite do not agree in every detail with the curves reported 
in this paper for the same medium, certain features are similar. 
An acid reaction decidedly favors the growth of Penicillium 
italicum and under certain conditions germination is here shown 
to be influenced by similar conditions. The highest germination 
in the peptone and in the Czapek's solutions is between Pa 2.0 
and 4.0 and practically no germination occurs beyond the neutral 
point. The data further show that germination takes place 
more quickly in the peptone medium that in any other, this 
being the only instance in which germination takes place readily 
after an incubation interval of 10 hours. A period of 20 hours 
is required in all other cases. Beet decoction, on the other hand, 
affords best germination in the alkaline solutions, but the differ- 
ence between the highest average on the acid side and that on 
the alkaline side is very slight. The germ tubes in the alkaline 
cultures are short and stubby and give few signs of growth 
