eee BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JANUAR 
In the same way I have also found great difficulty in obtain 
ing satisfactory figures of the nuclear division in the cell from 
which the basidium is cut off, and prefer to reserve judgment on 
the whole process until more satisfactory methods of prepara- ~ 
tion have been worked out for this material. Maire in both his 
papers referred to describes the nuclear division as of the conju- 
gate type, the same as in the rusts. Still the evidence is not 
uncommonly found which point to a different process. Fd 
example, in fig. 4 it is seen that one nucleus is already in the 
young basidium, while one has remained in the stalk cell. It 
would seem as if the next step would be the division of these 
nuclei im situ, giving two sister-nuclei, for the young basidium 
and anothet pair of sister-nuclei for the stalk cell. 
The stalk cells contain quite regularly two nuclei after the 
basidia have been cut off. (figs. 2and 7). I have also found 
number of cases in which the two nuclei of the mother-cell of 
are not, in my opinion, to be regarded as at all typical. Mai e 
States that all the Hymenomycetes studied by him show four 
chromosomes in these mycelial nuclei, but in the absence | 
figures it is difficult to judge of the evidence on which this c 
_ Clusion is based, 
The pair of nuclei in a young basidium grow rapidly with 
growth of the basidium. This very notable increase in the 
the host-plant cells which surround the fungus. The signil 
cance of such changes in nuclear volume is not clear, but the 
