548 - SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Carteria.* — Herr R. France lias studied tlie relationship to one 
another of the species of this genus of Chlamydomonadineae, of which 
he considers three to be well established — C. multijilis , Klebsii , and 
minima. He maintains that no good specific character can be framed 
from the form of the chlorophore, which is subject to great variation in 
the same species ; and this is probably true of all the Chlamydomona- 
dineie. The usual position of the pyrenoid is parietal beneath the 
nucleus ; but this is also not invariable. The gametes coalesce com- 
pletely by their anterior ends into a naked sphere ; the nuclei unite 
before the complete coalescence of the gametes. 
Ccelastrum.f — Prof. R. Chodat has traced the development of Coelas- 
trum splisericum from a protococcoid state. It is certainly nearly related 
to Pediastrum , the two genera having a similar origin from unicellular 
conditions. 
Two new species of Chlamydomonas are described, C. pertusa and 
stellata, and a new species of Pteromonas, P. alata. 
Fungi. 
Oxidising Ferments of Fungi4 — MM. E. Bourquelot and G. 
Bertrand find, in a very large number of species of Fungi examined, an 
oxidising ferment which has the effect of producing a bright colour in 
the tissue on exposure to the air. This is the case with almost all 
species of Lactarius, Pussula , and Boletus. The substance was extracted 
from Boletus cyanescens by treatment with boiling alcohol. 
Formation of Carbon bisulphide by Schizophylium lobatum.§ — 
Herr F. A. F. C. Went has established by chemical tests the correctness 
of the statement that this fungus, found chiefly on dead bamboo and 
sugar-cane stems in Java, has the power of forming carbon bisulphide. 
The conditions under which this process does or does not take place 
have not yet been determined. 
Hew Chytridiace8S.|| — M. E. de Wildeman describes the following 
new species of Chytridiaceae : — Olpidium Qillii, parasitic on diatoms, 
Olpidium (?) Mesocarpi on Mesocarpus , Cladochytrium cornutum on decay- 
ing tissues. He also gives detailed descriptions of several other little- 
known species, together with a monograph of the genus Olpidiopsis. 
Structure of Peronosporese.^lF — According to M. L. Mangin the cell- 
wall of the Peronosporeae consists of an intimate combination of cellu- 
lose and callose. The callose, however, only rarely occurs in a form in 
which it can be directly stained ; in many cases it must be treated first 
with eau-de-javelle or potash or soda lye. The mycele is subject to 
very great irregularities ; the same filament often varies very greatly in 
diameter in different parts ; the structure cf the filaments also often 
* Termeszetrajzi Fuzetek, xix. (1896) pp. 105-13 (1 pi.). See Bot. Centralbl., 
Beih., vi. (1896) p. 87. 
f Bull. Herb. Boissier, iv. (1S96) pp. 273-80 (25 figs.). Cf. this Journal, 1895, 
p. 212. 
X Bull. Soc. Mycol. France, 1896, pp. 18 and 27. See Bot. Centralbl., Beih., vi. 
(1896) p. 92. § Ber. Deutseh. Bot. Gesell., xiv. (1896) pp. 158-63 (1 pi.). 
|| Ann. Soc. Beige Micr., xx. (1896) pp. 19-61 (3 pis. and 1 fig.). Cf. tliis 
Journal, 1895, p. 460. 
Bull. Soc. d’Hist. Fat. d’Autun, viii. (1895) 58 pp. ancl 2 pis. Sec Bot. Ccn- 
tralbl., Beih., vi. (1896) p. 97. Cf. this Journal, 1895, p. 206. 
