226 Observations on Brefeldia maxima, Rost. 
formation did not evidently commence at the same time, or 
if so, the time taken for completion was considerably longer 
by, in the last to finish, something like forty hours. At the 
first centre under observation, spore formation was completed 
in about twenty-six hours and throughout the mass, in about 
seventy-two hours. The development of this large mass of 
plasmodium suggested that it might possibly have divided 
into a number (about five) of smaller ethalia, and that in each 
case, fruiting development had commenced at or near the 
centre and gradually extended outwards in all directions to 
the extreme edges. Thus, while in the mass, development 
proceeds from the centre outwards, in the individual sporangia 
as in Badhamia utricularis, Physarum nutans, etc, development 
proceeds from the outer edge inwards, the last formed spores 
being at or near the centre of the sporangium. 
An interesting point noticed, was that about twenty hours 
after fruiting commenced, a large quantity of water had 
collected round the base of the developing ethalium. This, 
by slightly raising the dish at one end, I drained to the opposite 
end, and the volume was considerably increased during the 
next thirty hours. Unfortunately, I did not measure the 
water exuded, but should estimate it at not less than one 
tenth the volume of the ethalium. It was evidently the excess 
of water being discharged from the plasmodium during the 
process of protoplasmic condensation preceeding spore form- 
ation. The same process is often noticed in such species as 
Physarum nutans, Badhamia utriculanis, Trichia decipiens, 
where the sporangia (more or less spherical) arise separately. 
In these cases, the excess water is passed out through the 
sporangium wall and is rapidly evaporated. Each sporangium 
being small, a comparatively large surface is offered for evapor- 
ation, which is therefore rapid, though sometimes the water 
is seen as a small drop on the top of the sporangium. In the 
case of Brefeldia, the excess water was practically all passed 
away downwards and issued from the base of the ethalium, 
and in the case of a large ethalium, such a method seems an 
advantage, as the total amount of water to be discharged, 
compared with the surface of sporangia exposed is relatively 
large, much too large to be got rid of by evaporation from the 
surface as rapidly as it is passed out.* In order to make more 
careful observations as to time required for fruiting etc, I 
kept a separate mass under observation at the same time. 
From this, beginning after eighteen hours, I fixed portions 
every fifteen minutes until the change in colour was marked, 
(about thirty hours). From examination of sections of this 
i eee 
* Tam much indebted to Mr. C. A. Cheetham for so kindly undertaking 
the photographic part. 
Naturalist, 
