MO ULDS—H YPHOM YCE TES 



279 



the Mucedines. In this family, as in all the primary divisions 

 of the orders devised by Saccardo, the spores, or conidia, hold 

 the first place, so that not only are the genera limited by the 

 septation, or non-septation, of the spores, but this also forms 

 the basis of the first subdivision into the Amewsporae (Fig. 

 126), in which the conidia are spheroid or shortly cylindrical ; 

 the Didymos2)orae, in which the conidia are 

 oblong or fusoid, and uniseptate; the Phragmo- 

 sporae, in which the more elongated conidia are 

 two, three, or many septate ; the Staurosporae, 

 in which the conidia are stellate, radiate, or 

 trifurcate ; and the Helicosporae, in which the 

 elongated conidia are spirally convolute. It is 

 not clear that the last is a necessary or homo- 

 geneous section, or that it is at best any other 

 than a subsection of the Phragmosporae, with 

 the elongated and septate conidia, instead of 

 being simply curved or flexuous, curved more 

 strongly so as to be spirally convolute. Thus, 

 then, having discovered that any given mould 

 has a simple or compound stem, it is incumbent to ascertain, 

 on the assumption that the stem is simple, whether the threads 

 are carbonised, or only hyaline, or bright coloured, and thus dis- 

 cover the one of the four families in which its place has to be 

 found. It being determined, for example, that the mould in 

 question is a Mucedine, the next step is to find the conidia, and 

 ascertain if they are continuous, or in what manner they are 

 septate. Up to this point it may be possible to place a sterile 

 mould, but from this point forwards it is manifestly impossible 

 to proceed, in the absence of all fructification. This leads us to 

 observe how utterly futile it is to attempt the determination 

 of even the genus, much less the species, of any mould, in the 

 absence of conidia. Novices are apt to infer that it is not 

 only possible, but easy, to give a name to any mouldy tuft 

 which presents itself as such to the naked eye, but possessing 

 only mycelium and threads, without any indication of the 

 character of the spore. The labour which is expended in any 

 such endeavour is wasted, and it is always better to abandon 

 the task at once, not only in this but in other orders, unless 



FiG.126.— i^/em■- 

 sjiora lucida, 

 one of the 



Amerosjmrac. 



