44 



The h'ish Naturalist. 



February, 1915. 



The southern side of the peninsula and the demesne were \isited and 

 explored for higher plants and fungi, and demonstrations of the geological 

 features were given by J. dc W. Hinch who with the President, conducted 

 this excursion. Among the plants found in late flower the Goat's beard 

 {Tragopogon pratensis) aroused some interest, as being fully expanded 

 at the unusual hour and date of 2 p.m. on November 7. The fact that 

 some Frogs were also seen was a tribute to the mildness of the air. 



November 10, — Conversazione. — The winter session of 1914-5 was 

 inaugurated with a conversazione in the Royal Irish Academy House, at 

 which the Vice-President (Professor Carpenter) presided, and a short 

 address, illustrated with numerous lantern slides, was given by the Presi- 

 dent, N. CoLGAN, M.R.I. A., on " Scrambles after Alpine Plants." The 

 attendance number3d about eighty, and great interest was shown both 

 in the lecture and in the large number of exhibits which were on view 

 in the Library. 



DUBLIN MICROSCOPICAL CLUB. 



January 13. — The Club met at Leinster House, D. M'Ardle 

 (President), in the chair. 



Dr. G. H. Pethybrtdge exhibited a series of microscopical prepa- 

 rations illustrating the life history of the fungus Hypomyces Solani R. & B,, 

 as determined from the study of its behaviour in pure cultures, some of 

 which were also exhibited. The perithecial or ascospore -stage of the 

 fungus was first described in 1879 by Reinke and Berthold, who believed 

 that its conidial stage was Fusisporium {Fusarium) Solani. It occurs not 

 infrequently upon decayed potato tubers, butit is a saprophytic conco- 

 mitant of decay, and not an actual parasite upon the potato. Pure 

 cultures were obtained from material supplied by W. F. Gunn in August, 

 1913, and exhibited by him at the Club meeting on March iith, 1914 

 (see Irish Naturalist, vol. xxiii., 1914, p. 121) the starting points being 

 single ascospores. From these, growths were obtained on various media 

 which produced Fusarium -like conidia as well as chlamydospores. Careful 

 study of these conidia and spores and comparison with those of certain 

 species of Fusarium, also grown in pure culture, show, however, that they 

 differ from the latter, and the conclusion is arrived at that Hypomyces 

 Solani is not the perithecial stage of a true Fusarium. After having been 

 grown in pure culture for about twelve months success was obtained in 

 inducing the development of perithecia, this being the first time that this 

 has been done with this species. Several culture? in which these peri- 

 thecia were present were exhibited. 



J. N. Halbert exhibited a specimen of the ants nest mite Discopoma 

 pulcherrima, Berlese, found last September in compan}^ with the black ant 

 Formica fusca in a decayed birch trunk at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow. 

 This handsomely'' sculptured species has not been previously recorded 

 from the British Isles. It was originally described by Dr. Berlese, from 

 Italian specimens which were found in rotten wood, and also in ants' nests, 

 though in this case the species of ant with which it was found has not been 

 recorded. 



