1899] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 323 



served ; the latter generally receives more or less atten- 

 tion at the hands of the collector of fungi. The vegeta- 

 tive phase differs from the correspondent phase of all 

 other plants in that it exhibits extreme simplicity of 

 structure, if structure that may be called which consists 

 of a simple mass of protoplasm destitute of cell-walls, 

 proteid in form and amoeboid in its movements. This 

 phase of the Slime-mould is described as plasmodial and 

 it is proper to designate the vegetative phase in any 

 species, as the jplasmodium of the species. It was form- 

 erly taught that the plasmodium is unicellular, but more 

 recent investigation has shown that the plasmodial pro- 

 toplasm is not only multi-nuclear but karyokinetic ; its 

 cells divide and redivide, as do the reproductive cells of 

 plants and animals generally. Nevertheless, in its plas- 

 modial phase, the Slime-mould is hardly to be distin- 

 guished from any other protoplasmic mass, may be com- 

 paired to a giant amoeba, and justifies in so far the views 

 of those systematists who would remove the Slime-mould 

 from the domain of the botanist altogether, and call them 

 animals. The plasmodium is often quite large. It may 

 frequently be found covering with manifold ramifications 

 and net-like sheets the surface of some convenient sub- 

 stratum for the space of several square feet. 



The substance of the plasmodium has about the consis- 

 tency of the white of an egg ; is slippery to the touch, 

 tasteless, and odorless. Plasmodia vary in color in dif- 

 ferent species and at different times in the same species. 

 The prevailing tint is yellow, but may be brown, orange, 

 red, ruby-red, violet, in fact anything but green. Young 

 Plasmodia in certain species are colorless, many have a 

 peculiar creamy tint difficult to define. Not only does 

 the color change, sometimes more than once in the course 

 of the life history of the same species, but it may be the 

 same for several forms, which in fruit are singularly di- 

 verse indeed, so that the mere color of the plasmodium 



