THE GENUS ASPERGILLUS. 317 



tion of animals germinate in the body and produce serious illness, 

 which has mostly a fatal termination. The species was first dis- 

 covered by FIIESENIUS (T.), in 1841, in the bronchi and air cavities 

 of a bustard. The conidial herbage, however, is not as the name 

 would imply smoky grey, but penicillium-green, though quickly 

 turning to grey and even to dirty brown. It is readily identified 

 by the dwarf conidiophores (Fig. 171) 0.1-0.3 mm. long, with 

 club-shaped globule (10-20 yu), thick, simple, slender, upright 

 sterigmata (6-15 /.t long), grouped on the crown, and with long 

 chains of very small (2-3 p) conidia, mostly globular. Hence, 

 racial variations apart, the species cannot easily be mistaken for 

 any other. Though J. BEHRENS (XIV.) mentioned the occurrence 

 of perithecia, and SIEBENMANN (I.) sclerotia, we are indebted to 

 GRIJNS (I.) for a description of the true perithecia. According to 

 this worker, they are small, globular, nut-brown bodies, measuring 

 250-350 fji in diameter, with a special integument, from which 

 the true, dark red perithecium (which has a very fragile, stratified 

 coloured wall) can be extracted without difficulty. The interior 

 consists of a colourless network of filaments, surrounding a number 

 of colourless, oval, thin-skinned asci (14-9 ft), each of which con- 

 tains eight red lenticular, tough-skinned spores (4-4.5 fO> sur ~ 

 rounded by a pale, radially striped equatorial ledge. Hence a 

 considerable difference exists between the frontal and lateral 

 appearance of these spores, which, moreover, do not become 

 coloured until shortly before maturity. These asci, which recall 

 those of A. nidulans (Eidam) in the appearance of the shell, were 

 found in large numbers by Grijns on the surface of the herbage 

 and a number of cultures derived therefrom. Owing to the 

 resemblance of the ascospores to those of A. nidulans, VUILLE- 

 MIN (I.) considered which is hardly probable that Grijns was 

 really dealing with the last-named species. Further morphological 

 details are furnished by FRESENIUS (I.), SIEBENMANN (I), BEHRENS 

 (III.), WEHMER (XVII.), and GRIJNS (I.). A. nigrescens, Rob., 

 and 4, bronchialis, BLUMENTRITT (I.), appear to be synonymous 

 with A. fumigcrtus, though BLUMENTRITT (II.) recently confirmed 

 the existence of small variations from the cultures of A. bronchi- 

 alis. COSTANTIN and LUCET (II.) wish to subdivide A. fumigatus 

 into a number of forms differing in part by their pathological 

 behaviour ; and they also describe new allied species : A. Lignieres 

 and A. virido-yriseus. With regard to races of A. fumigatus and 

 pathogenic species, compare SAVOFF(!.), SAVOURE (I.), BODIN (I.), 

 GUEGUEN (III.), and MACE (II.). 



Aspergillus luchuensis, Inui. According to INUI (III.), this 

 recently described mould fungus plays a similar part in the 

 preparation of " Awamori " a beverage resembling whisky in 

 the Loochoo islands to that filled by the rice Aspergillus in 

 making Sake, is similar, morphologically, to A. Wentii, though 

 more like A. niger in colour. The conidiophores (Fig. 172), 



