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1900 | DEVELOPMENT OF TRICHURUS AND STYSANUS 517 
its growth. Finally, the threads themselves cease to elongate, 
their ends become rounded and enlarged, and begin bearing 
chains of spores like the basidia ( fig. 79). Thus the hyphae of 
the stalk finally terminate in basidia. Septa are formed in the 
threads of the stipe somewhat later than the basidia, but their 
formation progresses in the same order, from the base upwards. 
The basidia, as has been said, appear as short, curved, rather 
blunt branches. Like all growing parts they are at first hyaline, 
and their tips remain colorless throughout. They elongate 
slightly, resembling a short bottle in shape. The first spore 
begins to appear at the end of the basidium as a globular swell- 
ing which increases in diameter until it has reached the normal 
size of a mature spore. Before the first spore has completed its 
growth the tip of the basidium just beneath it enlarges, and a 
second spore appears below the first. The tip of the basidium 
continues thus to elongate and to cut off spores until a long 
chain is formed, or until the nutriment is exhausted. The exact 
number of gonidia thus formed in a chain cannot be well deter- 
mined, as they are very much tangled in the head, and when 
mounted in water they break apart instantly. Sometimes, how- 
ever, a gonidiophore which has sunk down into the agar is found 
with some of its chains partially unbroken. In these chains fif- 
teen to eighteen spores were often counted, but the total number 
is probably much greater. The individual spores are connected 
by a short isthmus which can be distinguished with difficulty, in 
the mature chains, but when spores lying on the agar have 
begun to germinate, it can be distinctly made out as a short tube 
connecting the swollen spores. 
The sterile threads push out from the heads soon after the 
formation of gonidia has begun, When first seen they are 
Straight, being directed at right angles ‘to the long axis of the 
head. They are at first hyaline, but as they grow longer they 
become brown. As the setae grow they twist about in various 
directions, but never become branched. Septa are formed at 
short intervals in their older parts. : 
In describing the perfect sporophore of this plant attention 
