252 



Introduction to Botany. 



144. The preparation under the bell jar will finally enter 

 into a resting condition, and sporangia containing spores 

 may be produced. Examine the sporangia in a drop of 

 water with a high power of the microscope, and draw the 

 spores. Draw the sporangia as seen under low power. 



DISCUSSION. 



150. The Nature of Slime Moulds. The slime moulds, or 

 Myxomycetes, are very low organisms which stand at the 



FIG. 132. 



Myxomycete or Slime Mould, i, a bit of plasmodium. 2, a small plasmodium. 

 3, a spore. 4 and 5, protoplast escaping from the spore. 6 and 7, stages suc- 

 ceeding 5, motile protoplasts which finally fuse to form 2 and i. 8 and 9, dif- 

 ferent forms of sporangia bearing spores such as 3. After PRANTL and MASSEY. 



boundary line between the lowest plants and animals, but 

 the character and nature of formation of their spores seem 

 to warrant their classification among plants. In its vegeta- 

 tive or plasmodium state (see Fig. 132) a slime mould creeps 



