192 



ROLAND THAXTER ON THE 



37 X 40,a-40 x 4:5a. Conidiophores arising from single cells of hyphae, simple, much swol- 

 len terminally, this swelling developing into a peculiar piece, the basidium, which is dis- 

 charged with the spore. Secondary conidia like the primary, sometimes produced on a 

 capillary conidiophore. Resting spores, zygospores, spherical, with an irregularly pitted 

 or folded epispore; 25—45," in diameter; pale orange yellow or nearly colorless, sometimes 

 opaque from a dark brown incrustation of the epispore ; produced by the conjugation of 

 two adjacent cells of a hypha, or of two conidial spores, through the absorption of the in- 

 tervening cross partition ; the union being preceded by the appearance of two finger-like 

 projections, one from either cell, which are applied to one another and, becoming septate 

 near their tips, persist as appendages to the mature spore. 



On the excrement of frogs. 



Habitat. Cambridge, Mass.; Europe. 



Beyond the hitherto unrecorded occurrence, in America, of this most interesting form, 

 I have nothing new to add to the admirable monograph of Eidam above cited. The 

 fungus appeared on the excrement of frogs kept in the biological laboratory at Cam- 

 bridge for purposes of dissection, and was obtained by filtering the water in which the 

 frogs were kept and placing the sediment in a tin box. I was unable at the time to make 

 artificial cultivations of the spores, by means of which the studies of Eidam were carried 

 out, and the figures given on plate 21 are derived from specimens growing on the nat- 

 ural substratum of the fungus. It is probably for this reason that the production of zyg- 

 ospores seems to vary slightly from that described by Eidam, in that they appear to be 

 formed near the branched extremities of very large and sparingly septate hyphae. The 

 early stages of the process I did not observe, and for a complete morphological history of 

 the species the beautiful plates of Eidam should be consulted. 



LIST OF PAPERS CONSULTED. 



American. 



Arthur, J. C. A. On a new larvae Entomophthora. Bot. Gazette, Vol. xi, p. 14 (1886), with plate. 



B. Entomophthora Phytonomi in Bull. N. Y. Agr. Exp. Station, Jan., 1886, witli cut. 

 Bessky, C. E. A new species of insect-destroying fungus. Amer. Naturalist, Vol. xvii, pp. 1280 and 1286 (Dec, 1883). 



Peck, C. H. Massospora cicadina n. g. et sp. 31st Rep. of State Botanist of N. Y., p. 44 (1879). 

 In addition to the above oue or two catalogue references to E. Muscae and E. Calopteni. 



European. 



Bail. Ueber Pilzepizootien der forstverlieerenden Raupen. Schriften der naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Danzig, neue 



Folge, Band n, Heft 2, Danzig (1869). 



Braun, A. Algarum unicellularum genera nova et minus cognita. Leipsic (1855), p. 105. 



Brefeld, O. A. Entwickelungsgeschichte der Empusa Muscae und Empusa radicans. Botanische Zeitung, xxvin, pp. 177 

 and 161 (1870). 



B. Untersuchungen ueber die Entwicklung der Empusa Muscae und E. radicans. Abhandlung der Naturforsch- 

 enden Gesellschaft zu Halle, Bd. XH, Heft 1, p. 1 (1871). Plates. 



C. Ueber die Entomophthoreen und ihre Verwandten. Botanische Zeitung, xxxv, pp. 345 and 368 (1877). 



D. Entomophthora radicans. Botanische Untersuchungen ueber Schimraelpilze, Heft iv, p. 97, Leipzig (1881). 

 Plate. 



B. Conidiobolus utriculosus und C. minor. Botanische Untersuchungen ueber Schimmelpilze, Heft vi, p. 35, 

 Leipzig (1884). Plates. 



