STROPHARIA SEMIGLOBATA 343 



place of rest in so timely a manner that they are unable even to 

 touch, much less adhere to and interfere with, the spores of the 

 basidia of the next generation. This protection of the newly- 

 developing spores from the mechanical contact of old undischarged 

 spores is one of those fine points in the organisation of the hymenium 

 which only a very detailed investigation could possibly reveal. In 

 concluding the discussion of this subject, it may be remarked that, 

 since a basidium collapses very shortly after discharging its last 

 spore, it is clear that it produces one set of spores and one only. 



The Spore-fall Period. Spore-deposits were collected during 

 successive days beneath the pileus of a fruit-body grown on horse 

 dung under a bell-jar in the laboratory. The fruit-body had just 

 opened when the observations were begun. A certain number of 

 spores was shed during the first day, but the most copious deposits 

 were collected during the second and third days. The spore- 

 deposit made during the fourth day was relatively poor. During 

 the fifth and sixth succeeding days, spores continued to be liberated 

 but in ever diminishing numbers until, on the seventh day, spore- 

 discharge ceased and the fruit-body collapsed. During the last 

 stages of hymenial activity, the gills lost their mottled appearance 

 and took on a uniform dirty-yellow colour. We may conclude, 

 therefore, that spore-discharge from a fruit-body may continue 

 for about six days but that it is most active during the first three 

 days. 



Wasted Spores. Spores which fail to be properly discharged 

 become attached to the hymenium of Stropharia semiglobata in 

 the manner already described for Panaeolus campanulatus, but, 

 at least occasionally, in somewhat greater numbers than for the 

 latter fungus. 



A fruit-body, which had been grown on horse dung under a 

 bell- jar in the laboratory, was examined as soon as it had ceased 

 to shed spores. All the wasted spores on an area of the hymenium 

 5 mm. long and 33 mm. wide were sketched with the camera 

 lucida as shown in Fig. 122. The cystidia k k were drawn in a 

 similar manner. The exhausted basidia and the paraphyses were 

 put into the drawing semi-diagrammatically by knitting together 

 various exact camera-lucida sketches similar to that shown in 



