uXoTThe 8 



Mr. Hart has taken a good deal of interest in the suhject, more 

 especially in endeavouring to determine the species of fungus cultivated 

 in so interesting a manner by these ants. Several communications were 

 addressed to Kew, but the material unfortunately did not arrive in a 

 living condition, hence it win impo^ible to determine to what species 

 the lung,,, belon ■, I. N^,-. tlude- .hi. material, in addition to a well - 

 ptepared microscopic ,Iide. communicated hv the Hon. J. E. Tanner, has 

 enabled Mr. M.ssee to recognise it as the conidial stage of Rozites 

 f/oiir/t/fop/iora, Moller. 



An exhaustive mamoir on " The Mushroom (hardens of some South 

 American Ants'' has quite recently been published by Alfred Moller.* 

 The thoroughness of this work is in some respect due to the fact that 

 the author studied his subject on the spot. He made his observations 

 in the province of Smt-i Gatherum, IJnuil, in the neighbourhood of 

 Blumenau, where ants of various specie-; ab >und. The statements made 

 by B'lt respecting the, cutting up of leaves by ants for the formation of 

 n pabulum on which a fungus was grown that served as food has been 

 corroborated. The. method of leaf cutting, the various species of plants 

 used, and the formation of the - ; m i- _ . n in detail, 



but the most intere-ting and hitherto unknown portion is that relating 

 to the fungus cultivate 1 by the ants in their •• niushro >m gardens." A 

 series of cultures has proved this to be the mycelium and conidial stage 

 of a tine agaric, which according to the Friesian system would belong to 

 the sub-trenus I'/mlmta of Arju ricit*. but which has been called by 

 Moller /tn-i/rs yon/i/fop/ionr. The agaric grows in den>c tufts, and 





if/era, Mayr. ; A. hy 

 'erostigma, Mavr., and 





Although M oil. i did not directly study the fungus cultivated by the 

 Trinidad species {(Kct><hn>Ht r, phulnh v) there i- now little doubt that it 

 is identical with that described by him as liozitts gonyylophora, and 

 hence a very interesting problem in botanical investigation has 

 apparently been solved. 



-WORMWOOD AS A FODDER PLANT IN 

 INDIA. 



