58 Mas see and Salmon. — Researches on 
been removed, the dung was covered with a profuse growth 
of P ilair a anomala , Schroet., Pilobolus crystallinus , Tode, 
Mucor mucedo, L., Ckaetocladium Jonesii, Fres., parasitic on 
the Mucor , and Coprinus niveus , Pers. A second portion of 
rabbit-dung, obtained under conditions similar to those de- 
scribed above, yielded at the expiration of a fortnight all 
the species enumerated above under the first experiment, 
and in addition Gymnoascus Reessii , Baran., Hmnaria granu- 
lata , Sacc., Sporormia intermedia, Wint., and Sordaria decipiens , 
Wint. A third experiment conducted with sheep - dung, 
obtained directly from the intestine as before, and only re- 
moved from it when placed under a bell-jar, yielded P ilair a 
anomala , Schroet., Pilobolus crystallinus , Tode, Ckaetocladium 
Jonesii, Fres., Ascobolus immersus , Pers., and a Hyphomycete 
belonging to the genus Geotrichum , Pers. 
The above experiments, conducted with all possible care 
to prevent contamination with spores from outside sources, 
prove conclusively that the various species of Fungi occurring 
on dung originate from spores swallowed by the animal along 
with its food. This statement applies more especially to those 
Ascomycetes having the spores accompanied by mucilage (e. g. 
Thelebohis stercoreus , Zukal, Ascobolus glaber, Pers., A. per - 
plexans , Mass, and Salm., species of Sordaria , &c.), and to the 
species of Phycomycetes. We may observe here that we have 
found in May the agglutinated masses of the spores of some 
species of Ascobolus on dead grass growing round the place 
where dung had been deposited in the previous winter. With 
the Hyphomycetes, where the conidia are dry and powdery, 
inoculation may frequently be caused by wind-borne conidia ; 
besides which, very few, if any, of the Hyphomycetes are con- 
fined to dung, but occur indiscriminately on various kinds of 
decaying or dead vegetable substances. Rabbit - dung was 
selected for the experiments described above for two reasons — 
the facility with which the animal could be procured, and the 
frequency of Fungi on such dung. Saccardo (3) enumerates 
seventy-two different species of Fungi recorded as occurring on 
rabbit-dung. 
