289 
and other Mycetozoa. 
nished some points of interest. I may mention that in 
preparing spores for cultivation, a drop of methylated spirit 
is first applied to expel the air from among them and 
water is immediately added ; the spirit does not appear to 
have any injurious effect, for even minute spores, such as 
those of Lycogala , germinate freely after the process. 
Spores of Chondrioderma difforme prepared in this manner 
were covered with a thin glass square, supported on one side 
to prevent pressure. In a few hours swarm-cells were pro- 
duced, and increased rapidly by division for some days, when 
a large number changed to microcysts, the resting stage de- 
scribed by De Bary 1 , and a great proportion of the remainder 
assumed a sluggish amoeboid condition. After an interval of 
several days a number of the amoeboid bodies were seen to 
unite and form small plasmodia ; their nuclei were observed 
to remain distinct after many had coalesced (Fig. 5). 
The plasmodia increased daily in size and numbers. I 
once observed two approach each other with very slow move- 
ment (Fig. 6); there appeared to be no mutual attraction until 
they were only separated by a distance of 40 //, when a lobe 
from one was pushed out towards its companion, the inter- 
vening swarm-cells were thrust aside, and they came into 
contact ; the hyaloplasm of each blended at a single point, 
and a thin stream of granular matter was seen to pass, then 
with a return flow of the streaming in the larger of the two 
the channel was widened and a gush of its contents poured 
into the smaller one, when union was complete, and the system 
of circulation became common to both (Fig. 7). 
Many microcysts were incorporated by the plasmodia 
(Figs. 6 a and 7 a), and lay enclosed in vacuoles for three or 
four hours, during which time they became gradually and 
entirely assimilated — the sluggish amoeboid cells were often 
seen to be absorbed in the same manner. Thirteen separate 
plasmodia were counted in the preparation, and no other 
instance of union between them was seen to take place during 
the thirty-five days that the observation lasted. 
1 loc. cit., p. 427. 
U 
