Bibliographical Notices. 293 



had been cooked, tliey produced a delicate and weakly mycelium, 

 the vitality of which not being sufficient to reproduce the primary 

 form, the i^reservation of the species was provided for by the con- 

 densation of its protoplasm into a secondary formation ; that is, the 

 mycelium became covered with terminal and interstitial macroco- 

 nidia. These macroconidia produced a mycelium identical with that 

 from a spore ; in short, they reproduced directly the fundamental 

 form of the species, from which M. Carnoy concludes that spores 

 and macroconidia are physiologically identical. 



In its mucedinous phase {vie muced'meenne) Mucor romanus be- 

 comes under many circumstances completely metamorphosed. It 

 assumes an appearance altogether new, and so diflerent from the 

 first that it would be impossible to recognize it without following 

 out its change of form. This species {M. romanus) is far from 

 being as polymorphic as many others of the same genus; but never- 

 theless it presents five sorts of fructification, corresponding to as 

 ma:iy different forms : — -1, the ferment-form (forme leimre) ; 2, the 

 FeniciUiiDJi-ioTm (forme penicillienne) ; 3, the Botri/tis-iorm ; 4, the 

 Jbr»7rt-form ; 5, the Ascomycetous (?) form. 



I. The Ferment-form. — The spores of Mucor romanus and of the 

 Mucors in general, when cultivated on dry or unsuitable soil, deve- 

 lope solid internal nodules. If placed iipon the pulp of an orange, 

 the nodules disappear and the spores germinate normally. When the 

 spores do not germinate normally, the nodules become granular at 

 the centre, and the spore iisually bursts and discharges the nodules, 

 which become enlarged, exhibit a central cavity, and begin to bud. 

 The same phenomenon may be seen in Mucor vuhjaris, M. caninus, 

 and iwRMzopus; and the several products (levures) are not distinguish- 

 able ; they are of the nature of the organisms called by Halher Cryp- 

 toeoccus. Other forms, such as Protococcus and Arthrococcus, would 

 certainly be obtained by cultivating the spores in different media. 

 The nodules are morbid growths arising from the spore not being 

 able, from want of nourishment, to develope itself normally ; it 

 therefore organizes its protoplasm in a manner appropriate to the 

 medium in which it finds itself, and extracts from the protoplasm 

 germs destined to produce an inferior form which requires less 

 sustenance to develope itself. 



The Ferment-form of Mxwor romanus developes rapidly, and forms 

 a thick crust of a rosy-grey colour. If the Fermeyit be sown on dry 

 orange-peel, it produces PenicilUurn (jlaucum ; and the author has 

 observed the same result to arise from the cultivation of ferments 

 derived from different Fungi. He alleges that he has sufficient data 

 to state positively that all Fungi cultivated under certain conditions 

 are transformed into Fenicillium glaucum, and that this is the reason 

 why the latter fungus is so universally present. The Ferment always 

 produces the mycelium of a PemciUimn, never of a Mucor ; and the 

 spores of Penicillium again produce Ferment. Thus there is a pas- 

 sage from Mucor to Ferment, from Ferment to PeniciUmin, and from 

 Penicillium there is a return to Ferment; but there is no direct re- 

 tm-n from Ferment to Mucor. 



