540 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [VOL XXXIII 
a complete disappearance of this substance been shown by the ex- 
periments, conclusive proof would then have been afforded of the 
primary nature of the aldehyde. HM R 
Light and the Respiration of Fungi.'— By a series of carefully 
arranged experiments, chiefly with Aspergillus glaucus and Penicillium, 
it is shown that the action of light increases (circa 10 per cent) the 
respiration of these fungi, and that this increase is independent of 
the food supply and of the morphological condition of the culture. 
As the author says, this increase, though not great, is quite contrary 
to what our knowledge of these forms would lead us to expect. He 
refrains from drawing any conclusions from the present data, evid ently 
purposing to pursue the matter further. The results recorded are 
noteworthy and, if supported by further ones, are of considerable 
importance. HMR 
Spore Development in the Hemiasceæ.? — Two forms of this 
heterogeneous group are considered in detail as to their spore 
development. These are Ascoidea and Protomyces. In the former 
it appears that the spores when ripe lie in a mass of protoplasm 
analogous to the condition generally found among the Ascomycetes, 
but the multinucleate condition of the ascus and the behavior of these 
contained nuclei do not seem to correspond to the observations 
recorded in the late researches on this last-named group. In Proto- 
myces, on the other hand, the spores do not lie imbedded in a mass of 
unused protoplasm, but are free within the remnant of the protoplas- 
mic sac which still adheres to the wall of the sporangium. This 
condition the author regards as more nearly akin to that found in 
the Phycomycetes. The result of the observations seems to show 
that these two members of the Hemiasci, aside from their radical dis- 
similarity in other ways, are not closely related in the matter of spore 
formation. This it will be noticed does not agree with the arrange- 
ment of these forms adopted by Brefeld, but to the average observer 
who has seen Protomyces, points of similarity of that form with the 
phycomycetous fungi are not surprising. H. M. R. 
A New Work on Lichens. — Lieferung 180 of Die natürlichen 
Lflanzenfamilien forms the first portion of Fiinfstiick’s account of the 
1 Kolbswitz, R. Ueber den Einfluss des Lichtes auf die Athmung der niederen 
Pilze, Prings. Jahrb., Bd. xxxiii, Heft 1, p. 123, 1898. 
* Canna, M. L. Popta. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Hemiasci, Flora, Bd. 
Ixxxvi, Heft 1, p. 1, 1899. : 
