Coprophilous Fungi . II, 59 
Many very interesting species belonging to the Hypho- 
mycetes and to the Sphaeropsideae — groups frequently placed 
under the heading Fungi imperfecti — are common on the dung 
of various animals. Some recent authors have entirely omitted 
the above groups from their schemes of natural arrangement 
of the Fungi, for the reason that certain forms belonging to 
these groups have been shown to be phases only in the life- 
cycle of other Fungi belonging to the Ascomycetes or the 
Basidiomycetes. Such relationship has in some few instances 
been proved beyond doubt, but it must be admitted that in 
the majority of cases this genetic relationship between Hypho- 
mycetes and Ascomycetes is based on contiguity alone, or in 
the persistent sequence in development of two given forms on 
a particular substratum, a condition of things which, while 
admittedly suggesting genetic relationship, cannot be held to 
prove such, lacking as it does the definite proof formulated 
by De Bary ( 4 ) as follows : — ‘ Das erste Postulat einer morpho- 
logisch-entwickelungsgeschichtlichen Untersuchung [ist] der 
Nachweis der zu irgend einer Zeit nothwendig vorhandenen 
organischen Continuitat successiver Entwickelungszustande, 
bei welcher also das spater auftretende Glied als ein Theil des 
nachstfriihern beginnt.’ Under the circumstances we have 
deemed it advisable to consider as entities, for the time being, 
all those Hyphomycetes, &c., that have not been proved to be 
phases in the life-cycle of other Fungi. 
It is very important that the species of Hyphomycetes 
should not be placed in water for examination, as in this 
medium the conidia immediately fall away from their support; 
so that their mode of origin, arrangement, &c., cannot be 
determined, and serious mistakes, such as that recorded at 
p. 82 of this paper, are likely to occur. 
Material for microscopic examination should be placed in 
glacial acetic acid, when the conidia remain in situ , and not at 
all contracted as is the case when placed in alcohol. Such 
material can be afterwards stained with methylene blue, and 
preserved in glycerine. 
Summarizing our results from a systematic standpoint, the 
