DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 



General Considerations 



The data of tables III - VI show, in the first place, 

 that the growth rates of each of thes<* four fungi, as asr<i 

 measured, differ very markedly with different maintained tem- 

 peratures. As for other organisms and for other physiologi- 

 cal processes, it appears that the rate of enlargement of these 

 mycelial disks ia \ r ery low for certain temperatures, compara- 

 tively very high for certain higher temperatures, and a^ain 

 very low for certain still higher temperatures. 



Students of proces3-rates have employed the term optimal 

 to indicate this group or range of temperatures for which the 



rates are greatest. For certain processes, especially many of 

 those studied in laboratories of physics and chemistry, serious 

 attempts have bean made to determine the cptimium tempera- 

 ture with enough precision so that it hscomes practicable to 

 consider an optimal temperature rather than an optimal tempera- 

 ture rang* , but of course, the significance of such optimal 

 temperatures depends en the relative precision with which the 

 determinations have been. made. 



For several reasons, it seems best to condider merely 

 that there is a group or range of temperatures that give high- 

 est rates for any given process arid for any given set of non- 

 temperature conditions. This range is of course smaller 



in 30me cases than in others, and it is smaller in any par- 

 ticular case as determinations are pjade with grdt,;) precision 



