788 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Scrofa, Trigla Hirundo, Lahrus species, Merluccius vulgaris, and Saia species, 

 showed no indications of phytophagy. A gasteropod, Aplysia species, was 

 also found to feed on Algae. 



K'ew Diatoms.* — From fossil marine deposits in Barbadoes, Dr. H. H. 

 CLase and Mr. 0. W. Walker describe the following new species : — 

 Triceratium Weissflogii, T. fractum, T. granulaium, T. caribseum, T. minutum, 

 and Stephanopyxis pulcher. 



Fungi. 



Prolification in the Mycelium of Fungi.j — This phenomenon, which 

 Herr P. Lindner defines as the bulging of the septum which divides two 

 cells into one of the cells, and then growing into a filament inclosed in it, 

 has been at present observed, among fungi, in Saprolegnia, CTisetomium, and 

 Inzengsea. Herr Lindner now describes its occurrence in several mould- 

 fungi, including Epicoccum purpurascens, Allernaria species, and Botrytis 

 cinerea. The phenomenon is especially observable in both the aerial 

 hyphas and in the mycelial filaments which grow within the substratum 

 of Epicoccum purpurascens, a somewhat rare fungus, distinguished by its 

 intensely purple-red mycelium, belonging probably to the Ascomycetes, 

 but of which the conidial mode of reproduction only is at present known. 



Saccliarine Substances in the Phalloidese.J — Sig. F. Morini gives the 

 following as the main results of his investigations on several species of 

 fungi belonging to this group : — 



The mature gleba of Glaihrus cancellatus contains dextrose and a sugar 

 which is probably my cose or trealose ; it also exhibits a special gummy 

 mucilage. In the gleba of Phallus impudicus the glucose consists chiefly 

 of dextrose ; levulose was in fact observed in much smaller quantities. In 

 addition, a gummy substance is found in some abundance homologous to 

 that in C. cancellatus. In the gleba of Mutinus caninus, the glucose is 

 accompanied by a small quantity of a mucilaginous substance. The 

 receptacles of C. cancellatus, and P. impudicus contain levulose and smaller 

 quantities of dextrose and trealose ; that of M. caninus glucose, and a very 

 small quantity of trealose. 



The glucoses of the gleba owe their origin chiefly to metamorphosis of 

 the mucilaginous substance produced by a gelification of the membrane of 

 the sporigenous hyphse. The glycogen is mostly transformed into glucose, 

 and this is the ordinary form in which the carbohydrates are transferred 

 from one part to another in the course of development. 



Tubercular Swellings on the Roots of Leguminos8e.§ — Prof. H. 

 Marshall Ward finds that the tubercles on the roots of the Leguminosge 

 are due to the action of a parasitic fungus. Not only has he produced the 

 tubercles by infection from without, but he has also found the infecting 

 agent, and repeatedly seen and figured the infecting hypha passing down 

 inside a root-hair and across the cortex of the root into the youug tubercle. 

 Here the hyphal branches bud off yeast-like cells, which are extremely 

 minute and numerous, and resemble bacteria at first sight ; they differ in 

 their mode of multiplying by budding. The action of the minute germ-like 

 bodies causes the protoplasm of the cells of the root to assume plasmodium- 

 like characters, and induces the flow of nutritive substances to these cells, 



* Cliase, H. H., and Walker, 0. W., ' Notes on some new and rare Diatoms,' series 

 ii., iii., 12 pp. and 3 pis , 1887. 



t Ber. Deutsch. Dot. Gesell., v. (1887) pp. 153- 61 (1 pL). 



X Malpighia, i. (1887) pp. 360-83 



§ Proc. Key. Soc. Lond., xlii. (1887) p. 331. Of. this Journal, ante, p. 610, 



