36 Ward. — Recent Researches on the Parasitism of Fungi . 
of nuclei (often amounting to scores or even hundreds in a short length), 
and the shortness and stoutness of the branches. 
Klebahn ( 94 , p. 255) has this year called attention to the rarity of 
septa and the abundance of nucleus-like bodies in the hyphae of this Fungus, 
and has drawn one of the haustoria. 
Now it is a noteworthy point that Eriksson figures and describes 
his * protomycelium ’ — i. e. according to him the youngest stage developed 
from his alleged mycoplasm— as devoid of distinct nuclei. 
We find that the nuclei become more and more indistinct, and for 
the most part diminish in size, as the mycelium ages, or if we starve it 
by cutting off carbohydrate food-supplies ; and, without further information, 
we should certainly have interpreted Eriksson’s (66) Fig. 11, on PI. II, 
as either older hyphae or starved ones. 
In no case have we been able to confirm Eriksson’s statement as to 
the absence of a membrane to the hyphae. It appears very unlikely that 
among the thousands of preparations, in all stages, examined by us, the 
so-called ‘ protomycelium ’ has been overlooked. Indeed, as already said, 
we identify it with some of our stages of older or starved hyphae ; but 
these have always a distinct clothing membrane. 
It is impossible to avoid the suspicion that, had Eriksson cut serial 
sections through the patches at the margins of which he finds his ‘ proto- 
mycelia ’ and ‘ mycoplasm,’ he would have discovered the sub-stomatal 
vesicle and entering germ-tube, for it should be mentioned that in the 
very Wheat he has recommended as so susceptible — viz. Michigan Bronze — 
we have seen excellent cases of entry on the eighth day , i.e. two days 
before spore formation may be expected ; and in another susceptible Wheat 
(Red King) we have found the entering hyphae at the stoma on the ninth 
day. The fact is, the whole of Eriksson’s work demands repetition from 
this point of view : we want not only the preparations from the margins 
of the young pustular-patches, but from every part of the infected area 
to its centre. At that centre the presumption is that he will find some 
of the cases of entry described, and will then see that he is reading the 
phenomena backwards, as I have all along contended he is doing. 
With regard to the haustoria, it is the less necessary to say much, since 
Eriksson has now accepted my explanation, and withdrawn his erroneous 
interpretation of the ‘ oorpuscules speciaux ’ (66, p. 17). Klebahn had also 
noticed the similarity of these ‘ corpuscules ’ to haustoria ( 95 , p. 89) 
in 1900. 
We are, however, unable to confirm several of Eriksson’s statements 
respecting the mutual behaviour of the haustorium and cell-nucleus, and 
are quite unable to explain his identification of the ‘ swollen nuclei ’ in 
his Fig. 11 a and b (66, Taf. II). The criticism of these and other details 
may be reserved for the full paper. 
