more marked. The principal feature to bear in mind, in the use 

 of this form of apparatus, is to regulate the inflow and outflow so 

 that the pressure of the air under the bell glass coincides with 

 that outside of it. The amount of carbon dioxide which plants 

 absorb is sufficiently large so that with the use of either of these 

 appliances a slight error in the determination does not prevent 

 their being utilized for demonstration purposes. Such experi- 

 ments may well precede those with the Pfeffer gas-balloon, in 

 which case more careful details in regard to pressure and tension 

 have to be insisted upon. 



Massachusetts Agricultural Collk(;e, Amherst, Mass. 



OBSERVATIONS ON PHALLUS RAVENKLII 



By Howard J. Danker 



In the fall of 1900, several beds of Phalhts Ravciielii were found 

 in piles of sawdust at Williamsport, Pa., with the plants in all 

 stages of development. " Eggs " were found in abundance from 

 the size of a mustard seed to that of a walnut. In a space less 

 than three feet square over a hundred and fifty were gathered, all 

 larger than a pea while hundreds of smaller ones were to be 

 found. The sawdust was penetrated in every direction by long 

 strings of cord-like mycelium. Most of the smaller "eggs" 

 failed to mature, being checked by the frost, but the plants per- 

 sisted in coming up until the middle of December or until the 

 ground actually froze hard. 



One of the beds was located under a pile of lumber, where it 

 was more shaded and more moist. The PJialli in this bed were 

 larger and of more vigorous growth than those in the open. 

 Tempted by their size, the writer made an effort to crawl under 

 the lumber pile to them. The sawdust was found to be remark- 

 ably full of what was taken to be masses of "eggs" and un- 

 usually matted together by the mycelium, but it was too dark to 

 see clearly of what the material consisted. A quantity was 

 therefore gathered and on returning to the light proved to be 

 very different from what was expected. There was a dense mass 



