MUC'oij Korxn. 89 



sugiir serves un u suurcnof carbon t<j the funfjus, ami is burnt off 

 provided there is direct access of atino.spheric oxyfjeu to the 

 myceliuni. If, on th«' othei- liand, the hitter is couipclled to 

 remain .^ul)nierf;ed in the nutrient >ul>stratiini. thf ;.'hic().>t« is 

 also converted into alccihol. A. SirxiKuKK and W. HiiMMKi. (I.) 

 state that the same also occurs in presence of '/-mannose, fruc- 

 tose, ^^aliictose, trehalose, maltose, dextrin, and f<-meth\l trlu- 

 coside, but not in presence of rathnose, hictose, saccharose, 

 melibiose, xylose, arabino>e, rhamnose, tiigatose, /:f-meth\l gliico- 

 fiide, inulin, A'c. The inability of this fungus to produce invertin 

 Was recognised by J. SANciiNhmi (I ). This worker alst) per- 

 fonned a series of comparative experiments on the elfective 

 force and conditions of the diastatic enzymes produced by Munyr 

 Huiwii, M. aJteniaiifi, and Asjttnfi/fuj^ <>ri/r.ii-, and found that the 

 last-named is weaker than the other two, so far as regards the 

 S;iccharilication of dextrin, the greatest power in this respect 

 being exliibited by the second. The appeanince of free acids 

 in the cultures of Miirnr liiinxii is also recorded by the same 

 observer; Calmette supposes oxalic acid, Eijkman, on the con- 

 trary, lactic acid. The amount of acid may be so abundant as 

 to kill the culture. The imlustrial utili.sjition of this fungus 

 in Europe will be dealt with in the next paragraph but one. 

 At present we will conclude with the remark that Hoidin and 

 Rolant.s' propositi to employ this fungus for converting into 

 sugar, or .ilcohol, the dextrin left in the residues from distillei-ies 

 operated on existing lines, would prol>;ibly be too expensive out- 

 side the laboratory. 



fi-AmijIovryff^ and y-Ann/loniyn-is are the names of two 

 species of Mifni- wliich liave recently found (-mjilovment in 

 the so-called amylo process (,^ 2^2), inste;id of Munir liimwii 

 (o-Ami/lomyceK). Colette and Moidin found the li species on 

 Japanese rice, the otlu-r {y-Anii/fdiin/rf;^) on Tonkin rice; and 

 we are indebteil to A. Sitmkokk and W. R0M.MEI. (I.) for fuller 

 researches on their moiidiolo^v and phvsiolo^'v. Accoitlinir to 

 these workers, cultures of the.se two species on a nutrient 

 •solution contjiining glucose can be readily distingui.shed from 

 those of Mitmr limuii^hy the circum>tance that, whereas the latter 

 develops as a weakly, barren mycelium almost entirelv within 

 the liipiitl, the ft and y specie.s, on the other hand, alst) git)w on 

 the surface, forming well-develoju'd .terial mycelia, which pro- 

 ject above the level of the liquid a ilistance of jis much as 3 cm., 

 and bring forth sporangia. The latter often develop in a special 

 manner. Instead of the tip of the sponingiophore gradu.allv 

 enlarging to a sporangium, the swelling here constitutes merelv 

 a preliminary st;ige. It does not itself develop into a sporangium, 

 but puts forth one or nu)re threadlike pnK^esses which mav then 

 become crowneil with sporangi.i (one each). This is illu.stn»t4Hl 

 m Figs, ijo and i::i. In both species the ripe sponingia are 



