192 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Basidiomycetes into two primary groups, tlie Stichobasidie.® and the 
Chiastobasidie.®. The former is probably the original arrangement ; and 
the Uredinece may be regarded as the primary form of Basidiomycetes ; 
from them have sprung the Coleosporieae, Auriculineae, Dacryomycetes, 
and Tulostomineae. The lowest group of the Chiastobasidieae are the 
Tremellineas, from which are derived the Tulasnellineae and the 
Hymenomycetes. 
Spores of Hymenomycetes.* * * § — Dr. M. Lanzi discusses the value of 
the characters derived from the spores of the Hymenomycetes for the 
purposes of classification and diagnosis. Of these he finds the most 
constant to be those belonging to the form and colour, though the 
apparent form often varies according to the aspect in which the spore is 
viewed. Characters derived from the size of the spores are not so 
reliable, though they can be used within certain limits. In the same 
individual the size of the spores often varies according to their position 
on the hymenium. 
Rabenhorst’s Cryptogamic Flora of Germany (Fungi ImperfectiXt 
— The two most recently published parts of this work complete the genus 
Phoma, of which the total number of species described is 574. Macro - 
phoma is then disposed of, with 80 species, and the genus Aposphseria 
described, with (so far) 12 species. 
Staining Protoplasm with the Pigments of Fungi.; — M. L. Matru- 
chot has, by cultivating simultaneously a Fusarium and a Mortierella on 
the same medium, succeeded in staining the protoplasm of the latter 
with the pigment of the former which had become diffused in the nutri- 
tive substratum. The author quotes other examples, such as the staining 
of Mucor racemosus with the pigment of Penicillium ; of the staining of 
uncoloured parts of a fungus with the pigment of the coloured parts, e.g. 
Monascus purpureus , Eurotiopsis Gayoni, and E. Saussinei. 
This natural staining may be used for investigating the structure of 
living organisms. 
Blastomycetes and Carcinoma.§ — Dr. D. B. Roncali describes a case 
of adeno-carcinoma of the transverse colon (papilloma infectans), in 
which he found Blastomyces vitrosimile degenerans. Pure cultures in- 
jected into guinea-pigs caused death in 15-30 days. Deposits were found 
in various tissues and organs. These deposits presented the appearance 
of granulomata, but with characters more akin to those found in malig- 
nant neoplasms than in inflammatory deposits. 
Pathogenic Action of Blastomycetes. || — Dr. M. P. Nesczadimenko 
made a series of experiments on mice, rats, rabbits, guinea-pigs, and 
dogs, for the purpose of testing the pathogenic action of Blastomycetes. 
Cultures were injected into the peritoneal sac. The animals died in 
from 8-12 days. In rats and guinea-pigs, besides a fibrinous inflamma- 
tion, there were small nodules on the peritoneum. These nodules were 
composed of leucocytes, round cells, and Blastomycetes. Cultivations 
* Atti Accad. Poutif. Nuovi Lincei, li. (1898) pp. 61-4. 
t Lief. 63, 64. Cf. this Journal, 1898, p. 660. 
X Coruptes Rendus, cxxvii. (1898) pp. 881-4. 
§ Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., l te Abt., xxiv.(1898) pp. 61-9, 158-65, 212-34, 306-15, 
353-9 (2 pis.). || Op. cit.., xxv. (1899) pp. 55-8 (1 fig.)! 
