ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 299 



a mycelium growth with spores. He was able to cultivate the fungus 

 and to trace its development. Care was of course taken during "jthe 

 sowing, &c., to prevent the entrance of foreign spores. He dis- 

 tinguishes the following stages : (1) Seven hours after sowing, some 

 of the spores had formed at one end a small increasing sphere, at first 

 homogeneous, but soon exhibiting refracting granules ; (2) after an 

 equal lapse of time, a third expansion from the primitive spore was ob- 

 served, and occasionally two symmetrically situated ; (3) in three or 

 four days these expansions have elongated, and formed numerous inter- 

 twining lateral branches; (4) the interior of the mycelium tubes 

 becomes gi'anular, apparently containing refracting bodies, and the 

 partitions make their appearance ; (5) the ends of the lateral branches, 

 or sometimes of the terminal expansions, become swollen ; in the 

 centre of the swelling a small refracting and protoj)lasmic mass 

 becomes visible; (6) the first spore is thus formed, or if the branch 

 has bifurcated a primitive spore is produced at the end of each fork. 

 If the conditions are favourable the further fructification is quickly 

 developed, behind the first spore a second is formed, and so on ; a 

 chaplet of twenty to twenty-five may be formed, but the number is 

 very variable. The oldest, that is, the most terminal, are sometimes 

 separated off. 



The spores themselves were elliptical, measured 6-36 fx by 

 5 '26 jLi, exhibited a double contour and translucent contents, be- 

 coming granular as germination began. They varied considerably 

 in contour and content, according to the season and the surroundings. 

 M. Galippe is uncertain whether the fungus was originally in the 

 saliva, or whether the spores insinuate themselves from the hospital 

 or laboratory atmosphere into the filtering apparatus, but inclines to 

 the latter hypothesis. 



According to Prof. P. Van Tieghem the fungus is neither an 

 Aspergillus nor a Penicillium, while Prof. M. Cornu referred it to the 

 genus Monilia. M. Galippe has therefore defined it as M. sputicola 

 nov. sp. 



New Diseases of Cultivated Plants.* — Herr E. Eostrup records 

 the following new observations : — 



In a field of clover consisting of TrifoUum repens, hjhndum, and 

 pratense, and Medicago lupulina, many of the plants of Medicago were 

 found to be dying. On both root and stem were found black 

 tuberous sclerotia, which on germinating developed a fungus with a 

 layer of acicular paraphyses, and club-shaped asci with numerous 

 minute spores. It was named by the author Vibrissea sclerotiorum. 



In a field of barley many of the plants were sickly, the leaves 

 discoloured and flaccid, and the whole plant overrun by Penicillium, 

 Cladosporium, and Macrosporium. The cells of the stem were found 

 to be almost entirely filled by a mycelium, producing smooth yellow 

 spores closely resembling those of Pythium deBaryanum, not pre- 

 viously observed on barley. 



* ' Oversigt ov. d. i 188i indlobne Foresporgsler angaaende Sygdomme hos 

 Kulturplanter,' Copeuhagen, 1885. See Bot. Ceutralbl., xxiv. (1885) p. ^y. 



