16 
tracted period of moist weather, but efforts with many sporophores 
at different locations resulted in little success. Sporophores of the 
annual form of F. roseus were revived to cast a few spores after 20 
months in the laboratory. 
Xo data are at hand relative to the length of the spore-casting 
period of Lentinus lepideus. Sporophores of this fungus will some- 
times revive in moist atmosphere after having been kept dry a few 
months (six months at least) and will cast spores. The chief diffi- 
culty in obtaining prints is that molds growing on the fleshy pilei 
contaminate them. A single fruit body will liberate a large number 
of spores in a short time. A large one. about 10 centimeters in 
diameter, will overnight cover an area half the size of a sheet of 
paper of letter size with a heavy layer of spores. Attempts to revive 
sporophores of this fungus 16 and 19 months old were unsuccessful, v 
Since these fungi fruit within mills (and at least three of them 
(Lenzites sepiaria. L. traded, and Lentinus lepideus) are known to 
cast spores in abundance under mill conditions) it is probable that 
basidiospores play an important part in the dissemination of the 
fungi therein. 
OBSERVATIONS OX THE DISSEMINATION OF THE BASIDIOSPORES OF TRAMETES 
SERIALIS. 
The works of Falck (14) and Buller (8) have given us some infor- 
mation on the dissemination of the basidiospores of hymenomycetous 
fungi. Falck showed how the spores were dispersed uniformly 
within closed glass vessels, even to some height within narrow con- 
tainers. His method of determining the dissemination was by col- 
lecting spore deposits upon shelves or ledges at various locations 
throughout the chamber. He showed with what ease currents of air. 
invisible and imperceptible, caused by temperature changes could 
transport the basidiospores. He found that insulated fruit bodies 
in insulated glass chambers have a higher temperature than the 
surrounding atmosphere and formulated a theory that the ability 
to produce this higher temperature was an adaptation serving to 
warm the layers of air beneath the pilei for the purpose of producing 
convection currents to disseminate the spores. He went farther and 
maintained that the thickened pilei of fleshy hymenomycetes were 
symbiotic adaptations providing food for maggots, whose respiration 
produces heat. Buller (8) demonstrated basidiospore dissemination 
by means of his beam-of-light method. His work was more com- 
prehensive than Falck's, and while agreeing with Falck's general 
conclusions as to the ease of dissemination of these spores, he could 
not regard it as demonstrated that the heat of the pileus was of 
material help in disseminating spores in the open. He maintained 
that the convection currents naturally present at all times out of 
