424 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
the coast, and studied three distinct areas of warm spots north of Cape 
Cod. Further data were provided by B. M. Davis’s survey ; and now 
Setchell, who has made extensive collections along the coast of New 
England, sums up the facts and discusses the zones of temperature of 
the coastal waters, and the effect of the seasons and other conditions. 
A map is provided in which the lines of the isotherms and isocry mes 
are displayed. A. G. 
Fung-i. 
Chytridiacese on Codium mucronatum. — Sanford M. Zeller 
(. PuU . Puget Sound Biol. Station , 1918-20, 2, 121-4, 1 pi.). Zeller 
found two species of Chytridiacese while studying the morphology of 
Codium — Chytridium codicola and Rhizophidium codicola. Full descrip- 
tions of these are given, and of the zoospores which were seen escaping 
from the sporangia. A species of Hyphomycete, Stemphylium Codii, 
was also formed on the alga ; the parts attacked by it were pallid green, 
and, where the fungus was abundant, there was disintegration. All the 
fungi are new to science. A. Lorrain Smith. 
Preliminary Study of Claviceps purpurea in Culture. — Walter 
W. Bonns ( Amer . Journ. BoL, 1922, 9, 339-52, 6 pis.). The work 
was undertaken to find out if Claviceps purpurea , the ergot of commerce, 
could be cultivated in sufficient quantities to supply commercial demands, 
the war having stopped the main source of supply from Russia. The 
writer describes the culture media used and the development of the 
fungus. He was able to follow the formation of the conidial stage 
directly from the sclerotium without the formation of ascospores. The 
data presented by the experiments seem to indicate that essential 
elements of ergot are absent in the cultures. The chemistry and 
toxicology of ergot and the presence or absence of the essential alkaloids 
in the cultures are fully described. A. L. S. 
Little-known Forms of Endomycetacese. — G. Mangenot {Bull. 
Soc. Mycol. France , 19,22, 38, 42-55, 2 pis.). The author gives a 
short account of the mode of fertilization in Eremascus and in the 
various species of Endomyces where there is “ seriation ” based on the 
disappearance of sexuality. In some species there is well-marked copu- 
lation between two cells, in others the development is parthenogenetic. 
He then gives a full account of his observations on two species. In 
E. javanensis the mycelium is reduced and tends to break up into 
separate cells. Ascospores may arise in any of these cells, recalling 
strongly the spore-formation of yeasts. Another species, E. Lindner i, 
has been exhaustively studied. In the mycelium there is constant 
anastomosis before the formation of the asci, a new instance of sexuality 
“ on the way to abolition.” Another species, E. Hordei, was found to 
be closely akin to E. Lindneri , but entirely parthenogenetic. E. Lindner i 
is used for making beer in China. A. L. S. 
Cordyceps in New Zealand.— G. H. Cunningham {Trans. New 
Zealand Inst., 1921, 53, 372-82, 4 pis., 7 figs.). The author recognizes 
five species and two doubtful species' for New Zealand ; all of these are 
parasitic on various larvae. An account of their life-history is given, 
