the Ascocarp in Monascus . 223 
and the Hemiasci with one exception, viz. Dipodascus, appear 
to be asexual organisms. The likely forms are thus limited 
to Dipodascus , the heterogamous Gymnoascaceae, and perhaps 
the Erysipheae. The features which ought to be specially 
noticed are the extent of the development of the sporophyte 
and the nature of the asci. The sporophyte in Dipodascus is 
very little developed. According to Juel (15) and Lager- 
heim (16) the £ sporangium 5 is formed by the fusion of two 
very similar hyphae. One of these, which is regarded as the 
female branch, then continues to grow considerably in length, 
and a large number of spores are eventually formed in this 
outgrowth. The nuclear behaviour, described by Juel, consists 
in the passage of a nucleus from the male branch into the 
female hypha, where it fuses with one of the nuclei of the 
latter, both branches being multinucleate. The fertilized 
nucleus then divides repeatedly, and eventually, around each 
of these daughter-nuclei, protoplasm collects and spores are 
formed as in a typical ascus, the only difference being in the 
total number of spores produced. The sterile nuclei of the 
female branch seem to persist until spore formation, but take 
no part in it. Juel regards the ‘sporangium’ as equivalent 
to the whole system of ascogenous hyphae and asci. The 
c sporangium ’ is accordingly to be looked upon as the sporo- 
phyte. Dipodascus therefore presents to those Oomycetes, in 
which the oospore itself on germination becomes a zoosporan- 
gium, exactly the same resemblances as Monascus does to 
the Oomycetes, which form promycelia. The resemblance 
is even closer, because in the other case the development 
of a simple form of ascocarp adds another complication. 
Dipodascus and Monascus seem thus to stand in much the 
same relation to one another as do Albugo Candida and 
Peronospora omnivor a, the distinction being rather greater, 
however, owing to the more highly evolved sporophyte in 
Monascus. The homology of the c sporangium ’ of Dipodascus 
to the zoosporangium of the Oomycetes thus appears at 
first to correspond with the homology of the ascus of Mon- 
ascus to the latter ; but this would make the ascus and the 
