194 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 
Several other interesting forms of the sclerotinia have been 
studied. Wakker ! made a study of a destructive disease of 
hyacinth and scilla bulbs. 
The period of time that elapses before germination of 
sclerotia begins seems to vary somewhat. Brefeld found 
that some germinated immediately while others did not do so 
till the following spring, while some which had been dry for 
several years soon germinated when moistened. Humphrey 
observed that cucumber sclerotia began to develop one month 
after they were placed in a moist chamber on sand. 
The specimens from sunflowers were placed in a wide 
mouthed bottle, the lower inch and a quarter containing 
coarse sand. The sand was then moistened with distilled 
water and a dozen or more sclerotia were placed on the sand 
in September, 1890. A tight fitting cork prevented evapora- 
tion. The bottle was then allowed to stand in the laboratory. 
In the spring of 1891 brownish strands developed, but there 
was no indication of fruiting bodies nor did any develop that 
summer; but about the middle of March, 1892, yellowish 
brown bodies made their appearance. In several cases a single 
sclerotium bore twenty-four tapering stalks, whose tips were 
somewhat darker than the base. These bodies were rough 
by the outgrowth of tufts of hyphae. The cork was then 
placed on the bottle loosely. As some water was lost by evap- 
oration, the stalked bodies began to droop. Water was added, 
which caused them to straighten out and assume their normal 
condition. The bottle was left standing at one side of the 
room, which caused the stalked affairs to bend to the light. 
The whole bottle was then covered up except a small hole 
through which the light penetrated. The stalked bodies 
again exhibited a tendency to bend to the light. 
This is well described by Humphrey as follows: ‘* These 
stalks, in their aerial portion, are very sensitive to light. In 
cultures before a window, the young stalks grew from the first 
strongly toward the window. When the culture chamber was 
turned through 180 degrees to make them point away from the 
window, they very promptly responded to the stimulus of the 
1 Contributions a la pathologie végétale. Archives néerlandaises, 
_ XXXII, pp. 373-400; Journal Mycology, Vol. V, p. 224. : 
