24 
Mycologia 
which are so like the conidia of the fungus that if a conidium and 
ascospore were placed side by side they could hardly be told apart. 
Such examples might be multiplied many times but only a few 
more need be enumerated. Gnoinonia, Psendopecisa, Sclerotinia, 
Botryosphaeria, Guignardia, Cryptosporella and others further 
considered possess this same parallelism. 
One might say that the rule does not hold in certain genera of 
the Sphaeriaceae where the ascospores are two-celled and the 
conidia of the alternate stage one-celled. This may be explained 
in all the cases with which the writer is familiar when one observes 
the germination of the conidia. For example, the conidia of 
Endothia parasitica are unicellular but germinate and produce my- 
celium from both ends. Eventually, there are four germ-tubes 
produced, two from each end of the conidium. This is exactly 
what happens when the ascospore germinates, two germ-tubes 
being derived from each cell of the ascospore.^ (Fig. 2.) At the 
beginning of the germination, the conidium sometimes assumes 
almost the exact shape of the two-celled ascospore of the fungus. 
However, the interesting condition remains that, so far as germi- 
nation is concerned, the pycnospores are parallel with the as- 
cospores. 
Another condition exists commonly among the species which 
possess pleomorphic conidial stages, where, of course, one would 
expect to find only one of the conidial forms similar tO' the asco- 
spores. Such a species as Curcurhitaria Labttrni may be cited 
here. This species is said to have three types of conidia produced 
successively in pycnidia of varying form. The first twO' of these 
conidial stages produce spores which bear no resemblance to the 
ascospores, but the third and last conidia produced are almost 
exactly like the ascospores, which are brown and pluricellular- 
compound. (Fig. 3.) In this case, as well as in genera like 
7 Anderson, P. J., and Rankin, W. H. Endothia Canker of Chestnut. Cor- 
nell Agric. Exp. Sta. Bulletin 347: 566-567. 1914. Since this paper was 
read, the bulletin cited here has appeared. The action of the nuclei during 
this process of germination can hardly be as Anderson and Rankin have stated, 
that “ the nuclei pass out into the germ tubes almost as soon as they start.” 
If this were literally true, only two germ-tubes could be derived from one 
spore, as there would be no nuclei left in the spore to give rise to the two later 
germ tubes which are developed. Evidently, the writers meant to convey the 
idea that those nuclei which pass out into the tubes do so immediately. 
