xiii, c, 4 Brown: Fungi Cultivated by Termites 225 
any similar fungus in termite nests in Australia or America, but in all 
the countries in which the fungus on the termite comb has been carefully 
examined the species is the same, as far as can be determined from a 
conidial form only. 
In discussing the connection of these spheres with higher fungi 
occurring on termite combs Petch 8 says : 
It has been the aim of all mycologists who have studied the subject to 
establish a connection between the conidial fungus, (Aegerita Duthei) 
and one of the other termite fungi, but so far all these attempts have 
proved fruitless. 
THE XYLARIA 
When the combs from the vicinity of Manila or Los Banos 
were removed from the nests and placed in covered battery 
jars, a sterile form of what appeared to be a Xylaida always 
grew from them. These growths had a white core surrounded 
by a dense black layer which was tomentose with white to black 
hyphae. Branched specimens were rare except in cases where 
the developing fungus had come in contact with a solid object. 
The growths showed two very distinct types between which there 
were all degrees of intergradation. The largest (Plate IV, fig. 
3) had a rudimentary stalk above which there was an oval 
shaped portion which usually tapered into a long whiplike 
extremity. The two largest specimens of this type were re- 
spectively 2.5 and 1 cm in diameter in the widest portion and 
52 and 99 cm in length. The other extreme type (Plate IV, 
fig. 2) was a threadlike form averaging about 2 mm in diameter 
and 30 cm in length. The longest was 3 mm in its greatest 
diameter and 152 cm in length. Others were less than 1 cm 
long. The production of these two types seemed to be in- 
fluenced by the age of the combs, the smaller type appearing 
in general on the oldest combs. The smallest specimens of the 
smaller type were produced under very dry conditions. A va- 
riety of these sterile forms is shown in Plate IV, fig. 3 while 
Plate IV, fig. 2 represents a cone bearing a large number of 
the smaller type. 
The Xylaria - like growths do not seem to come from the 
conidial spheres on the combs as after the combs are removed 
from the nests the spheres turn brown and disappear in a few 
days. On the second day after the combs are placed in the 
battery jars they become covered by a very sparse growth of 
white mycelium, which comes out from the substance of the 
comb and not from the spherical bodies. On the third day 
' Petch, T., op. cit. 
