‘ 
1881.] Botany. 53 
ally coming to the exterior surface, where by constriction each 
gives rise to one or more spheroidal conidia. These conidia 
constitute the white powdery substance spoken of above. Con- 
idia have been observed to germinate in water, sending out 
long thick hyphz. Doubtless they serve in some way to quickly 
communicate the parasite from host to host, but the particular 
manner of their doing this has not yet been made out. 
2. Larichium stage-—In the same host which sustained the 
Empusa stage, or possibly in another, the hyphe develop the 
sexual organs. These are similar to those found in other Sapro- 
legniacez, and give rise to odspores, which have thick and some- 
times reticulated walls. The hyphe and ripe odspores occupy 
the cavity of the body of the host asa pulverulent mass. The 
oospores (the hypnospores of Cohn) are disseminated by the decay 
of the body of the host, and after a period of rest reproduce the 
parasite again. . 
There are doubtless many species of Entomophthora in the 
United States, but so far as the writer is aware they have been 
but little studied. 
Giard describes a species (£. calliphore,) which is found in 
France parasitic upon Musca (Calliphora) vomitoria ; and as this 
host is one of our common meat flies it is altogether likely that 
its enemy is to be found here also. The fungus long ago 
described by Leidy (although not named by him) as occurring in 
the abdomen of the seventeen-year Cicada, appears from his fig- 
ures to be a species of this genus, Peck, in the Thirty-first Report 
of the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History, describes what is 
probably the Tarichium stage of the same parasite under the new 
genus Massospora, and says, “ it apparently belongs to the Con- 
iomycetes.” The species he names JZ cicadina. Probably the 
‘“muscardine ” of the silk-worm (the so-called Botrytis basstana) 
will be found to belong here also. 
BENNETT'S CLASSIFICATION OF THE CRYPTOGAMS.—In the recent 
meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of 
Science, A. W. Bennett proposed a considerable modification of 
the classification given by Sachs in the fourth edition of the — 
“Lehrbuch.” The following sketch will convey to the student 
who is familiar with Sachs’ work, a good idea of the proposed 
classification. 
I, THALLOPHYTA. 
Crass I, PROTOPHYTA. 
Sub-class Protomycetes, 
Order Schizomycetes. 
Under this order Saccharomyces is regarded as an aberrant form. 
Sub-class Protophycez. 
Orders, Protococcacee, Nostocacee, Oscillatoriee, Rivulariee, 
Myxomycetes, 2 low group supplementary to the Protophyta, not exhibiting true sex- 
ual conjugation. ~— . 
