THE SLIME FUNGI. 53 



Fig. 25. l. b. The contents of the spore become a naked 

 mass of protoplasm, provided with a flagellum by means 

 of which it moves, Fig. 25, 3, 4, 5. During this stage 

 multiplication may take place by division, c. The organ- 

 ism loses its flagellum and becomes amoeboid in character, 

 Fig. 25, 6, 7. d. Two, or more frequently several, amoe- 

 boid forms unite and form a plasmodium, Fig. 25, 8, 

 9, 10, 11. This moves and obtains its food, at least in 

 part, as does the Amoeba, e. The plasmodium secretes 

 a cell wall and so becomes encysted. The cell contents 

 then break up into spores. Figure 25, 12, shows a plas- 

 modium preparing for these changes. 



The Slime Fungi are to be looked for in the water, on 

 the bark of trees, tan bark, decaying leaves or wood, and 

 in similar locations. Piles of tan bark afford especially 

 good ground to search for them. 



References for Reading. Parker's " Elementary Biology," pp. 49-55 ; 

 Goebel's " Outlines of Classification," pp. 14-17 ; Carpenter's " The Mi- 

 croscope and its Revelations," pp. 563-565 ; Sachs' " On the Physiology 

 of Plants," pp. 82-84, 429, 430, 613 ; Bennett and Murray's " Crypto- 

 gamic Botany," pp. 401-404 ; Strasburger, Noll, Schenck, and Schim- 

 per's " Lehrbuch der Botanik," pp. 264-266. 



"ERSITY 



