OBSERVATIONS ON PEZIZA. 
133 
of any modification, as the result of any conditions in which the 
plant would sustain life. Peziza succosa appears to be always 
brittle and juicy ; P. cupularis dry, and P. omphalodes little more 
than a drop of gelatine. 
9. Asci. These are cylindrical in nearly all the large species of 
the genus. In the few species in which the asci are clavate, there is 
a manifest suspicion of their being degraded forms of Ascophanus. 
To this group belong P. salmonicolor , P. hcemastigma , P. scatigena 
and P. cijnocopra. At the best they are not good typical forms of 
Peziza. Not long since Mons. Boudier expounded a very in- 
genious theory for the classification of the Discomycetes*, based on 
the mode of dehiscence of the asci. Notwithstanding its ingenuity, 
it is unfortunately absolutely impracticable. “ It is only by ex- 
amining the species in a fresh state that any perfection can be 
attained in a study so difficult as the classification of the Pezizce ,” 
he says, and intimates also that fresh specimens are necessary for 
the determination of the dehiscence. The greater part of the new 
species which will have to be recorded will be on the basis of dried 
specimens, for which dehiscence cannot be determined. Hence, 
such a suggestion is analogous to proposing that for the future 
only living insects should be named and classified, a suggestion 
which would scarcely commend itself to the entomologist. The 
use of iodine as a re-agent in the study of the asci is open to a 
similar objection ; it is only to be relied upon when fresh speci- 
mens are employed. Some authors seem to place almost equal 
reliance upon the length of the asci, as upon the dimensions of the 
sporidia. We do not object to the length of the asci being given, 
but we do not accord to this the value which has been assumed for it. 
10. Paraphyses. We have no hesitation in according to the 
paraphyses a higher rank in classificatory importance than the asci. 
They are undoubtedly subsidiary organs in the life of the plant, 
but they possess more character, participate less actively in the 
great functions of the hymenium, are less subject to change, and 
of more practical value to the mycologist. Wherever these organs 
partake of a specialised character it is maintained not as the acci- 
dental eccentricity of an individual, but as an attribute of the 
species ; at least, such is our opinion, based upon a multitude of 
observations. The mode and extent of branching may not always 
be identical. In some individuals they seem to be more highly 
developed than in others. Still, there is a general type peculiar 
to certain species, and another type common to other species, 
which facilitates determination, even where the sporidia are so 
similar as to furnish but little assistance. 
11. Sporidia. However much we deprecate a system so artifi- 
cial as the establishment of genera based on the form and septation 
of sporidia, we accord the place of honour to sporidia, in the series 
of features to be taken into account, in the diagnosis of a species. 
* Grevillea,” Vol. viii., p. 45. 
