340 RESEARCHES ON FUNGI 



study revealed the following facts. The sterigmata of the coming- 

 generation basidia begin to develop a short time (30 minutes ?) 

 before the immediately adjacent present-generation basidia shoot 

 away their spores (cf. Fig. 118, B, c, p. 334). Spores begin to 

 develop on the sterigmata of a second-generation basidium about 

 twenty minutes after the spores of an adjacent first-generation 

 basidium have been shot away. The spores are rather slow in 

 developing from their first rudiments to full size, for an hour and 

 ten minutes are occupied in the process. Pigmentation of the 

 spore-walls begins about one hour after the spores have attained 

 full size, and continues for about two hours and a half. The spores 

 remain on their sterigmata about one hour after they have become 

 fully pigmented and, invariably, their violent discharge is preceded 

 by the excretion of a drop of water at the hilum. Waste spores 

 accumulate on the hymenium as a result of over-excretion of the 

 water-drop, in the same manner as was described for Panaeolus 

 campanulatus. The time occupied by the development and dis- 

 charge of the spores of the second-generation basidia observed, 

 from the moment when the spores of adjacent first-generation 

 basidia were discharged, was about six hours. 



The chief facts observed in connection with the second-generation 

 basidia under observation may be set out as follows. The times 

 represent the average for six basidia. The zero of the time-scale 

 is the moment of the first appearance of spore-rudiments on the 

 tops of the sterigmata. 



Development of the Spores of a Single Generation of Basidia in 

 Stropharia semiglobata. 



I suspect that the later generations of basidia, as in Panaeolus 

 campanulatus, take increasingly longer periods to develop and 



