140 FUNGI. 



spore, and its free and pointed extremity finally dilated into 

 a sac, at first globose and empty. This afterwards admits 

 into its cavity the plastic matter contained in its support, 

 and, increasing, takes exactly the form of a new spore, 

 without, however, quite equalling in size the primary or 

 mother spore. The spore of the new formation long retains its 

 pedicel, and the mother spore which produced it, but these 

 latter organs are then entirely empty and extremely transparent. 

 Sometimes two secondary spores are thus engendered from the 

 same spore, and their pedicels may be implanted on the same or 

 on different sides, so as to be parallel in the former case, and 

 growing in opposite directions in the latter. The fate of these 

 secondary spores was not determined. 



In Dacrymyces deliquescens are found mingled amongst the 

 spores immense numbers of small round or ovoid unilocular 

 bodies, without appendages of any kind, which long puzzled 

 mycologists. Tulasne ascertained that they are derived from 

 the spores of this fungus when they have become free, and rest 

 ou the surface of the hymenium. Each of 

 the cells of the spore emits exteriorly one 

 or several of these corpuscles, supported on 

 very short slender pedicels, which remain 

 after the corpuscles are detached from, 

 them. This latter circumstance evidences 

 that new corpuscles succeed the firstborn 

 one on each pedicel as long as there remains 

 any plastic matter within the spore. The 

 latter, in fact, in consequence of this 

 sp^^^co^i^o? labour of production, becomes gradually 

 Sucrymyce, deliquescens. em pti e d, and yet preserves the generative 

 pedicels of the corpuscles, even when it no longer contains any 

 solid or coloured matter. These pedicels are not all in the same 

 plane, as may be ascertained by turning the spore on its longi- 

 tudinal axis ; but it often seems to be so when they are looked 

 at in profile, on account of the very slight distance which then 

 separates them one from another. It will also be remarked that 

 they are in this case often implanted all on the same side of the 



