MONOGRAPH OF THE LABOULBENIACE^E. 



237 



that the nucleus divides, and that the two resultant nuclei separate before the wall is 

 formed between them. 



Although a considerable amount of time has been expended in an endeavor to 

 determine the nature of the nuclear changes which take place in the female organ 

 during and after fertilization, I do not as yet feel in a position to make any definite 

 statement concerning them, and have not ventured to give any drawings of the often- 

 conflicting phenomena observed. Any one having an opportunity to study an un- 

 limited series of specimens of Stigmatomyccs Baeri, for example, in a fresh condition, 

 would probably meet with no great difficulty in determining these matters; since from 

 the considerable size of this species, its densely gregarious habit, and the nature of its 

 trichogyne, it is peculiarly well adapted for this purpose. Of all the Laboulbeniacece 

 none, however, is better suited for study in these respects than the form described 

 below as Eaarthromyces indicus, by reason of its large size and great simplicity ; but, as 

 a rule, observations of this nature are made with the greatest difficulty, owing chiefly 

 to the lack of unlimited material in the proper condition of development and the 

 impervious character of the envelope, which so seriously interferes with the action of 

 stains. 



Abnormal Morphology and Development. In examining a large body of material, 

 cases are often met with in which the course of development, usually characteristic 

 of a given species, is modified in various ways, and some of these modifications are 

 sufficiently curious to call for mention in this connection. Among the simpler in- 

 stances, abnormal septation in individuals of the cells, for example, of the receptacle, 

 frequently occur in genera like Laboulbenia, in which the latter consists, with few 

 exceptions, of an invariable number of cells. Such an instance is represented in fig. 

 9, Plate XX, the basal and sub-basal cells being thus divided, while in some cases a 

 much more complicated cell division has been observed. 



An abnormal production of branches in the appendages, due, as a rule, to breakage 

 and subsequent renewal, is very common, especially in species in which the latter are 

 more or less filamentous, and result in an irregularity of form and branching which 

 does not occur in normally developed plants. The multiplication of appendages, nor- 

 mally single or definite in number, sometimes occurs, however, not as a result of in- 

 jury ; as in Stigmatomyces, the normally single appendage of which is rarely furcate 

 near the base, each branch becoming a functional appendage. 



The same is true in regard to the production of accessory perithecia. While in 

 many forms more than one is usually produced, in a majority of genera it is typically 

 solitary. In the latter class, however, instances are sometimes met with of the produc- 



