342 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. 9, 
the end of a week were transferred to tubes on rye-screenings agar, standing 
at room temperature. 
Sixteen days after transfer to test tubes a very slight growth was in- 
dicated, and three weeks later this was distinct in character and identical 
in all tubes. It had neither bacterial nor gross mycelial characters, re- 
sembling in general appearance some Actinomyces in culture. Under low 
magnification (20 diameters) it showed a smooth, glistening, greyish- white, 
gelatinous-like surface, peculiarly vermiculated. Repeated transfer to 
fresh tubes resulted in all cases in growth of similar nature, sometimes 
progressing directly from the inoculum, and at times first appearing on 
the surface of the slant at some distance from the point of inoculation 
as small pustules scattered over the surface of the slant, finally coalescing 
to form an area similar to the parent growth. 
After several transfers the work was interrupted, and, pending re- 
sumption of the study, the tubes were sealed in September, 1919, and 
kept at room temperature. It may here be noted, bearing in mind Meyer's 
observations of the longevity of conidiospores, that these cultures retained 
their viability for over a year. This is also in line with Stager's (14) 
findings that the conidiospores are viable after wintering over a period 
of ten months. 
No gross mycelial characters had developed in any tubes up to this 
time, nor did any appear in a period of more than eight months. The 
consistent nature of successive transplants warranted the assumption of 
a pure culture, but no detailed microscopic study had been possible. 
Whether a pure culture of Claviceps, originating from sclerotial tissue, 
had been obtained, or merely a fortuitous contaminating organism of a 
parasite on the sclerotium, remained to be established.^ In January, 
1920, smears from several tubes showed a dense stroma, at the periphery 
of which short hyphal elements and an occasional conidiospore were evident, 
but no further work towards identification of the fungus was then possible. 
In April, 1920, work was resumed by inoculating Petri dishes and 
tubes of the three kinds of agar with the preceding September cultures. 
Typical growths appeared on the third day following inoculation, both 
in tubes and in dishes. 
The primary growth preceding mycelium formation was the same as 
that noted the preceding summer. Smears showed this to be an almost 
solid field of oval spores in resting condition and in all stages of germination 
(PI. XVII, fig. 2). Occasionally a hyphal thread could be noted, and in 
the majority of these the protoplasmic contents were distinctly segmented, 
with rounded ends and vacuolate areas between. 
Five days from date of inoculation mycelial development began and 
1 Field inoculations on rye with growths on agar were made in 1920, with apparently 
positive results. The evidence, however, was rendered circumstantial by loss of identi- 
fication tags in a severe windstorm. 
