274 The Philippine Journal of Science i9i6 



tion on banana agar at tropical room temperature, about 30°.^ 

 On such media the basic masses develop extensively and irreg- 

 ularly, assuming bizarre forms (fig. 30). These represent .the 

 earliest attempts of the parasitic forms to produce a mycelium. 

 They are to be seen after several days of cultivation. The deeply 

 staining figures become larger and more irregular from day to 

 day and finally grow out of the containing cell and become defi- 

 nitely mycelial. After fifteen days or more, what remains of the 

 tissue bit within which this development occurs appears whitish 

 and delicately fuzzy with hyphous growth. Smears now show 

 mycelium and great numbers of calcium oxalate crystals. 



One feature of smears from banana cylinders is the occur- 

 rence of vesicular bodies (fig. 31), which might be thought to 

 develop from the gelatinous form of the parasite. They usually 

 are, in reality, cells of the banana pulp and are sometimes of 

 interesting appearance. One podlike cell shown in fig. 32 had 

 ruptured ; one with an unusually delicate wall is shown in fig. 33 

 doubled upon itself. It is possible that the body in fig. 30 is such 

 a banana cell within which basic parasitic forms of the fungus 

 are developing, though this cannot be asserted. 



CULTITRAL FEATURES OF MYCELIAL FORM 



Once the mycelial type of growth has been established, sub- 

 cultures grow rapidly and very luxuriantly on practically all 

 media, often growing up along the glass of the test tube within 

 a few days. 



On solid media. — The downy, pure white growth is a tangled 

 mycelium with many long, straight hyphse radiating from the 

 inoculation point (figs. 37 and 38). After a day or two it 

 becomes tangled, appearing as if small fluffy snowflakes had 

 become entangled in the loosely interwoven mass (fig. 36). 



On glycerin, dextrose, and maltose agars the growth is partic- 

 ularly rapid and luxuriant. On potato and banana plugs it 

 grows less luxuriantly, but on banana agar it develops very 

 rapidly (compare figs. 37 and 38). Any of these cultures, when 

 a few days old, have a typical "yeasty" odor which is striking. 

 This I have never noted in cultures of any other mycelial fungus. 



■Banana media, whether cut cylinders or banana pulp (10 per cent or 

 more), in ordinary agar or bouillon, must be sterilized intermittently 

 (Arnold sterilizer) and not autoclaved. The use of this material was sug- 

 gested to me by Dr. J. A. Johnston, of this institution, who knew of its 

 previous use here by Dr. F. Schmitter, of the United States Army Medical 

 Corps, in the study of pathogenic fungi. In what form he used it has 

 not been learned, as no report of such work has appeared under his name. 



