1905] OLIVE—MORPHOLOGY OF MONASCUS 59 
fusion which is known to occur in the young asci, whereas his fusions 
in M. Barkeri belong to the early sexual fusions, as are seen in Pyro- 
nema and other forms. 
As BARKER and others have pointed out, the development of Mon- 
ascus from the germination of the ascospores or the conidia up to the 
formation of the fructifications may be readily followed out in hanging 
drop cultures. Observations of living cultures of Monascus in hang- 
ing drops show that a fusion appears to take place between the basal 
cell of the antheridial branch and the tip portion of the ascogonial 
branch, which BARKER likens to a trichogyne. It appears likely 
that in some cases, at least, this fusion takes place after the cutting 
off of the tip of the ascogonium, although BARKER asserts that the 
act must take place before the wall is thrown across. The swelling 
up of the central cell and later an appearance which suggests the 
pushing in or imvagination of the swollen central cell by some body 
which enters generally near the side on which the stalk is seen; 
further, the enlargement of this invaginated part until the central 
cell seems to be entirely displaced by it; and, finally, the appearance 
of vacuole-like bodies within the invaginated cavity and the final 
formation of spores, which adhere for a time in little groups, all may 
be readily traced in hanging crop cultures. 
When one attempts to explain these appearances, however, by 
an examination of sections, one meets with many difficulties, as is 
evidenced by the remarkable differences obtained by the investigators 
above mentioned. I have seen in but few instances, in fact, a hypha- 
like outgrowth from the central cell, and, perhaps somewhat less 
rarely, the actual pushing in of a hypha-like bocy into the sice of 
the central cell, thus forming the “‘nest,” or invaginated cavity, in 
which the ascogenous hyphae cevelop. Another theory than that 
held by BARKER has suggested itself to the writer, which is borne 
out by many observations. Instead of the ascogenous hypha arising 
from the central cell, it may have its origin in the “‘trichogyne-like”’ 
end of the ascogonial branch. The following observations point 
to this conclusion. First, the rarity of protuberances from the 
central cell which are long enough to furnish absolute conviction 
that the outgrowth is a hyphal branch. They may as well be, as 
BARKER himself intimates, a bulging out of the swelling central 
