156 RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



of the spores, for it takes place in an upward direction so that 

 the last-formed branches are the highest, while the escape of the 

 spores is lateral or more or less downwards. On the other hand, 

 if the spines of Hydnum erinaceus were branched, since the last- 

 formed branches would be the lowest, the interspinal spaces 

 above the ultimate branches would become more or less blocked 

 with a resulting hindrance to the escape of the spores shot into 

 them. That the spines of Hydna are never branched is exactly 

 what should be expected from the point of view of the mechanical 

 requirements for the escape of the spores. 



Spore-discharge in the Tremellineae. Since the publication of 

 the first Volume of this work I have made a few observations 

 upon the production and liberation of spores in certain Tre- 

 mellineae. These observations will now be described. The 

 species investigated were as follows : 



f Hirneola aurioula-iudae 

 Auricularieae 



(Aunculana mesenterica 



Tremellineae Tremelleae . . Exidia albida 



| Dacryomyces deliquescens 

 Dacryomyceteae j Calocera cornea 

 v Calocera viscosa 



The fruit-bodies of the Tremellineae are distinguished from 

 those of all other Hymenomycetes by their peculiar gelatinous 

 consistence. A cross-section through a tremelloid fruit-body 

 reveals the fact that the hyphae of the flesh are not separated by 

 interhyphal air-spaces, but are connected together by a continuous, 

 transparent, gelatinous matrix made up of the much swollen and 

 confluent, outer, hyphal walls. By analogy, we are justified in 

 assuming that the jelly of tremelloid fruit-bodies is not a mere 

 useless bye-product of metabolism but has a biological function 

 of considerable importance. We may therefore ask ourselves : 

 how does the jelly of the Tremellineae assist the fruit-bodies 

 in their work of producing and liberating spores ? I shall now 

 endeavour to answer this question. 



In the first place, it is to be noted that the fruit-bodies of the 

 Tremellineae are all lignicolous, i.e. they grow on dead sticks, 



