PROGRESS OF MICROSCOPICAL SCIENCE. 
205 
author, who, as is well known, has given considerable attention to the 
study of Entomophthora (better kuown in this country as Empusa), has 
come to the legitimate conclusion that, as all observation has failed to 
discover the resting spores of E. muscce in the bodies of flies, those 
spores must be developed in some other host. His paper, however, 
does not fill up the gap in the life-history of the above-named fuugus, 
but deals mainly with its congener E. radicans found on the cabbage 
caterpillar in autumn. Nearly two years ago the resting spores of 
(as was supposed) this species were found in small quantity inside 
the caterpillars, hut these spores did not germinate in the following 
spring. Last autumn the fungus was found in great abundance ; and 
as germination in the spring did not succeed, another method, that of 
inoculation, was followed in order to show if the resting spores were 
indeed genetically connected with the mycelium and ordinary spores 
of the caterpillar pest. For each series of inoculations 120 cater- 
pillars were chosen ; of these 100 were inoculated with fresh ordinary 
spores, while the rest were placed aside for a control experiment. Of 
the first 100 inoculated, 81 showed the disease, and 19 were rendered 
useless either by their passing into the pupa state, or by their being 
attacked by animal parasites ; 62 of the above 81 showed normal 
eruption of the fungus, and 19 only slight signs of its presence. The 
dry shrivelled bodies were found filled with resting spores. In the 
second experiment, the caterpillars here being inoculated with spores 
from the first series, 50 were attacked (as evinced by eruption), and 
28 dried up. Of the third series, inoculated with spores from the 
preceding, 39 showed eruption of the fungus, and 38 dried up ; 54 of 
the fourth series became shrivelled and 29 had the eruption. Of the 
fifth series only 14 showed eruption ; and in the sixth all dried up. 
All the uninoculated caterpillars remained sound. Dr. Brefeld holds 
that these resting spores arise asexually ; by means of them, of course, 
the fungus passes through the winter. He refers to the resting state 
of E. radicans Fresenius’ E. spheerosperrua ; moreover, the genus 
Tarichium of Cohn must disappear altogether ; indeed, he thinks it 
possiblo that Tarichium megaspermum, Cohn, may he the resting-spore- 
hearing state of Empusa muscce. In addition, a further conclusion is 
stated which must eventually either stand or fall with the accepted 
asexuality or sexuality of the higher Fungi. It is this ; that in all 
essentials the structure and development of the Entomophthorece 
correspond to the same of the lower Basidiomycetes, such as Exohasi- 
diurn and Tremellinece, except that the Entomophthoreous basidium is 
one-spored ; hut we certainly think it unwarrantable to adduce the 
occurrence of these presumed asexually-produced resting spores as an 
additional proof of asexuality of Basidiomycetes. Indeed Nowakowsky’s 
conclusion is a directly opposite one, for he asserts that he has seen 
zygospores not only in E. radicans , hut also in two new species 
(E. curcispora and E. ovispora). These zygospores are produced in 
the manner that Brefeld himself discovered in the case of Piptocephalis, 
viz. as an excrescence from one of the lateral outgrowths of two 
conjugating cells. Nowakowsky, moreover, arranges the Entomo- 
phthorece as a special group of Zygomycetes near Piptocephalidece. 
Nothing daunted, however, Brefeld holds to his original opinion, and 
