338 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Division of the Nucleus and Formation of the Spores in the 
Ascus of the Ascomycetes. * * * § — Herr R. A. Harper has followed out 
these processes, which appear to be very uniform throughout the group, 
chiefly in Peziza Stevensoniana and Ascdbolus furfuraceus. The nuclei 
of the young asci are much larger than those of the paraphyses or of the 
cells which give birth to paraphyses. They exhibit a cyanophilous 
framework and a strongly erythrophilous nucleole. At the period when 
the substance of the spindle is absorbed into the cytoplasm, a cyano- 
philous body makes its appearance in both daughter-nuclei at the previous 
point of attachment of the spindle ; these bodies appear to correspond to 
the polar extremities of the old spindle. In essential points the karyo- 
kinesis of ascospores agrees with that of the pollen-mother-cells of Larix 
and Lilium, a portion of the substance of the nucleoles being used up in 
the formation of the spindle. 
Parasitic Fungi. — M. P. Vuillemin f describes a case of natural 
infection of Uncinaria Prunastri from the sloe Primus spinosa to the 
maple. 
Herr G. Lopriore | has investigated the disease known as the black 
of cereals, and attributes it to the attacks of Pematium pullulans, but 
this fungus he regards only as a stage in the cycle of development of 
the polymorphic Cladosporium herbarum. It appears not to be poisonous 
to animals. 
Mr. D. M £ Alpine§ identifies TJromyces Amygdali , which grows on 
the leaves of the peach and almond in Queensland, with Puccinia Pruni , 
which is common on various species of Prunus. 
On groundsel in Tasmania the same author |] finds a species of 
Puccinia belonging to the section Pucciniopsis, with three forms of 
teleutospore, uniseptate, biseptate, and non-septate. 
Prof. B. T. Galloway % gives in detail the life-history of Uncinula 
spiralis ( Oidium Tuclceri), which attacks species of both Vitis and 
Ampelopsis. 
Germination of the Spores of Penicillium glaucum.** — M. P. Lesage 
finds the conditions necessary for the germination of the spores of this 
fungus to be heat, moisture, and the presence of oxygen. The optimum 
temperature was found to be between 22° and 26° C., the uj>per and 
lower limits 1 • 5° and 43°. 
Aspergillus Wentii sp. n.fj — Dr. C. Wehmer describes a new species 
of Aspergillus , A. Wentii, used in Java for making Soja sauce and bean- 
mash. It thrives on rice, starch, gelatin, beer-wort, and sugar solutions. 
The starch is dissolved and saccharised ; gelatin is peptonised. On the 
cultivation media the snow-white mycele consists of branched septate 
hyphse, which penetrate below the surface of the medium, nnd also 
develope luxuriantly aerial liyphse. In the course of a few days tliero 
* Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiii. (1 895) Gen.-Vers.-Heft. pp. G7-78 (1 pi.). Cf. 
this Journal, ante , p. 214. f Comptes Rendus, cxxi. (1895) pp. 734-7. 
X Landw. Jahrb., xxiii. pp. 969-100G. See Bot. Centralbl., lxv. (1896) p. 229. 
§ Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, x. (1895) pp. 440-G0 (3 pis.). 
|| Tom. cit., pp. 461-8 (3 pis.). 
Bot. Gazette, xx. (1895) pp. 486-91 (2 pis.). 
** Ann. Sci. Nat. (Bot.) i. (1895) pp. 309-22. 
ft Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., 2 te Abt., ii. (1896) pp. 140-50 (1 pk). 
