460 
SUMMARY OP CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Fungi. 
Cell-wall of Fungi. — Further investigation of the composition of 
the cell-wall of Fungi (sclerote of Clavicejps purpurea, receptacle of 
Agaricus campestris ) leads M. E. Gilson * * * § to the conclusion that its 
chemical constitution and physical properties are very different from 
those of cellulose. It is insoluble in cupric ammonium oxide, and is not 
coloured blue either by chlor-zinc-iodide or by sulphuric acid. More- 
over, it contains nitrogen. The author proposes for this substance the 
term mycosin. He prepared its crystalline chloride, and from it derives 
the formula for mycosin, C 14 H 28 N 2 O 10 . 
M. E. Gilson f has further established the presence, in the cell-wall 
of a number of Fungi belonging to the Basidiomycetes, of chitin, a sub- 
stance not hitherto detected in the vegetable kingdom. True cellulose 
is never present in these cases, but the chitin is always accompanied by 
other carbohydrates. 
Herr E. Winterstein t confirms this observation in the cases of 
Agaricus campestris , Boletus edulis , and Morchella esculenta. 
Sclerotes and Mycelial Cords.§ — M. C. Bommer points out that the 
degree of development of the mycele has no relationship to the genetic 
relationships of a fungus, being dependent on its mode of life. In rela- 
tion to this function he classifies myceles under four heads, viz. : — (1) 
Those that perform the function of attachment ; (2) those that protect 
against injurious external influences ; (3) those that serve for propaga- 
tion ; (4) those that serve for the accumulation of reserve substances. 
The first kind are rare, and are illustrated by the haustoria of parasitic 
fungi. The second kind are much more common, as in the cortex of 
many Hymenomycetes. The third kind are represented by a variety of 
structures exhibiting great differences in their complexity. Under the 
fourth head come sclerotes. which may be of two types, the first con- 
sisting of myceles which have undergone but slight modification, the 
second of a mass of metamorphosed hyphse. They form a pseudo- 
parenchymatous tissue enclosed in a cortex, and contain a quantity of 
oil and glycogen. They are peculiar to the Ascomycetes and Basidio- 
mycetes, and do not occur in the lower orders of Fungi. 
Influence of Snails and Toads on the Spread of Agaricini.|| — * 
Sig. P. Yoglino discusses the part played by snails and toads in the 
propagation of certain Fungi. In the digestive canal of these animais 
he finds abundance of spores of species of Russula, Tricholoma, Lactarim , 
and other Agaricini, the power of which to germinate has not been 
destroyed by passing through the body of the animal. 
New Chytridiaceae.l — M. E. De Wildeman records observations on 
a number of parasitic Chytridiacese, and describes the following new 
* La Cellule, xi. (1895) pp. 5-15. See Bot. Centralbl., lxi. (1895) p. 289. Cf. 
this Journal, 1894, p. 215. f Comptes Rendus, cxx. (1895) pp. 1000-2. 
X Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiii. (1895) pp. 65-70. Cf. this Journal, 1894 r 
p. 234. 
§ ‘ Sclerotes et cordons myce'liens,’ Bruxelles, 1894. See Bot. Centralbl., Ixii. 
(1895) p. 51. || Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Itah, ii. (1895) pp. 181-5. 
^ Ann. Soc. Belg. Microscopie, xix. (1895) pp. 63-82, 88-117 (3 pis. and 3 figs.). 
