THE MYXOMYCETES OF PICTOU COUNTY. — MOORE. 167 



the sixiraiiiiiiuii, Avitli ])oints of attaeliincnit to tilie walk of the 

 latter, or to the cohnuella when present, or to both. The threads 

 Of tnbules frequently present expansions or thickenings, gener- 

 ally at ithe nodes of the net, and the expansions m^ay take the 

 form of vesicles filled with grannies of the carbonate of lime. 

 In other cases the ca])illiTiiim consists of simple or branched free 

 threads or elaters exhibiting, as in tho Trichias, spiral markings 

 and recalling the elaters of some of the Hepatics. 



The spores are small and for the most part s^Aerical. In 

 the different species they vary in size from 3 /x — 20 fj- in 

 diameter, a great many falling between the limits, T/a — 12/x. 

 They are provided ^nth a firm cellnlose wall which may be 

 almost smooth Init more frequently exihibits thickenings, in the 

 form of spines, warts or reticulating bauds. Those of a great 

 many species germinate readily when placed in water at a tem- 

 perature in the vicinity of 20 (legs. (A, and cases are recorded 

 where the power of germination has been retained by sporeis 

 preserved in the herbarium fnr several years. The time 

 re(]uired for germination varies with the species, those of some 

 species germinating in a few hours after being placed in water, 

 while others require several days. My own obseiwations on the 

 germination of spores have been wholly confined to those of 

 Fuligo 01 at a. These I found to germinate readily in ordinary 

 tap water in from four to fixf? hours after inmiersion. The 

 material used had in every instance been in collection for several 

 lurinths. 



The Swarmers. The swarmers, which are developed from 

 the germinating spores, exhilu't a hyaline peripheral and granu- 

 lar interior portion. During the flagellate stage they are 

 generally more or less pear siliaped, the flagelluni proje('ting 

 from the narrow anterior end. Xear this end, also, is found the 

 nucleus and in the broader, posterior part, one or more con- 

 tractile vacuoles. The posterior border is rendered more or less 

 irregnjlar by pseudopodia which are continually jtrojected and 



