Prof. G. de Notaris on the Tribe Sphexriace. 223 
later works of Montagne, Berkeley and Corda. I shall observe 
however that the asci present two essential modifications which 
correspond with the characters of the nucleus. 
When the perithecium has an anhistous appearance and the 
nucleus is amylaceous, the asci from the moment in which they 
become visible under the microscope are found detached from the 
walls of the perithecium and steeped, so to speak, in a sort of 
mucous matter, in which we may frequently observe little bubbles. 
I never succeeded in determining what relation these had to the 
walls of the perithecium, but I am almost inclined to think that 
the formation of the asci is repeated by a process similar to that 
by which pollen is developed in the cavity of the anthers. All 
species of analogous structure seem constituted of a single mem- 
brane, which, when the inclosed sporaceous mass has scarcely 
divided itself ito sporidia, is re-absorbed or dissolved in the 
‘water with which the perithecia are penetrated, and entirely dis- 
appears. ‘The sporidia however adhering together preserve for 
some time their normal position, and are seen dispersed in the 
surrounding mucous matter in groups or rows of eight which 
retain the figure of the asci, and often show traces of a thread, 
which, proceeding from the inferior sporidium, is lost in the mu- 
cous matter m which the sporidia are suspended. 
The sporidia in the species belonging to the series in question 
are very small, cylindrical in shape, mostly curved, continuous 
or obscurely septate, transparent and of a yellowish colour, like 
oil or pearls. ach of the sporidia frequently incloses a spori- 
diolum of a roundish form, and which is endued with a rapid 
motion when liberated, as may be observed if one is isolated in a 
drop of water on the object-glass. The paraphyses are scarcely 
to be traced at all, or are entirely wanting. 
Besides the case described, the asci, whether they spring from 
the base of the perithecium or from the surface of its internal 
walls, often remain adhering by their base, which is generally 
attenuated like a peduncle, and preserve for an indefinite time 
and even to the maturity of the sporidia their position, by which 
the study of them is rendered much less difficult. It is easy to 
see in them the internal membrane which lines the walls. 
In the species of this series the various forms of the sporidia 
are innumerable; spherical, elliptic, reniform, semilunar, semi- 
circular, lanceolate, fusiform, cylindrical, filiform, straight, curved, 
contorted, sigmoid, didymous, simple, articulate, cellulose, po- 
lished, facetted, torulose, provided with membranaceous appen- 
dages, diaphanous, trapezoidal, &c. The episporium is most 
evident in them, and sometimes equal in thickness to the endo- 
-sporium. 
When the development of the sporidia is completed, the asci 
