332 



RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



oV, 



00 

 



/oo 



o o 

 o o 



-' o o 



)O 



^o 



(1) that the full-sized spores, shown at j in the white area ab, are 

 a little more than an hour old ; (2) that the partially-grown spores 



near 6 are only a 

 few minutes old ; 

 and (3) that the 

 oldest spores in the 

 two dark areas are 

 those nearest to 

 the dotted lines, 

 their age being 

 about five hours 

 and thirty minutes. 

 A camera-lucida 

 drawing showing 

 the spores from the 

 middle of a large 

 black area is given 

 in Fig. 117. From 

 this it may be 

 observed that the 

 basidia of the 

 present generation 

 are fairly com- 

 pactly arranged, 

 but that any one 

 basidium is suffici- 

 ently far from its 

 nearest neighbours 

 to prevent the 

 risk of its being 

 mechanically inter- 

 fered with during 

 the production and 

 liberation of its spores. The rhomboidal arrangement of the four 

 spores, the meaning of which was explained in connection with 

 Panaeolus campanulatus, 1 often occurs in Stropharia semiglobata and 

 1 Chap. X, pp. 322-324. 



Fio. 116. Stropharia semiglobata. Surface view of 

 hymenium of a young fruit-body showing part 

 of a white area, a-b, separating two black areas. 

 The white area is enlarging at the expense of the 

 black areas : it is progressing by two waves in- 

 dicated by the dotted lines and arrows. The 

 basidia c, d, and g had already shed some of their 

 spores when the sketch was begun. Whilst the 

 sketch was being made, the basidium, e t collapsed 

 and dragged down the spores on to the hymenium. 

 The spores of d, f, h, and i were also dragged down 

 in a similar manner. Under normal conditions, 

 all these spores would have been shot away into 

 the interlamellar spaces, j, the oldest spores in 

 the white area, possibly an hour old since their 

 growth began. The spores in the white area 

 which are still only partly grown are only a few 

 minutes old. Magnification, 293. 



