399 
& 
Sugar-Cane in the West Indies . 
action of the fungus on canes. Several of the drops contained 
one spore, and this fact and that of the aerial development 
of the hyphae in the hanging drops enabled pure cultures to 
be obtained. 
These were made on pieces of sterile cane, on bundles of 
sterile leaf-sheaths, and also with wire baskets of earth con- 
taining a portion of a young cane-shoot, the whole having 
been sterilized. In all cases the results were the same, 
namely, the production of a brilliant white mycelium, which 
showed a tendency to collect into feathery strands on the 
walls of the glass tubes and which, in several cases, produced 
dark-coloured, branched rhizomorphs when about nine months 
old (Fig. 14). Portions of these and of the white mycelium 
in the culture when ten months old were found to be alive, 
and to develop a growth of white mycelium when transferred 
to a fresh substratum. Thus the fungus can readily pass into 
a resting condition, a fact of some significance from the 
practical standpoint as will appear later. 
Cultures were now made with the white mycelium charac- 
terized by clamp- connexions found on the leaf-sheaths of 
diseased canes. By placing some of these leaf-sheaths in 
a moist chamber the white mycelium thereon produced tufts 
of hyphae in a few hours, which were used to infect hanging 
drops. In this way cultures were obtained which were 
uniform in appearance, and which agreed with those from 
the toadstool spores. The further results on cane-slabs, 
cane-trash, and in the sterilized baskets of earth were 
identical with those obtained above with the hyphae from 
the toadstool spores. It appeared, therefore, very probable 
that the toadstools are genetically connected with the white 
mycelium on the leaf-sheaths of the diseased canes. Com- 
plete proof was obtained later when identical toadstools were 
developed from the mycelium derived from spores and from 
that on the leaf-sheaths. 
The rhizomorphs (Fig. io) obtained in these cultures werfe 
found to have a definite rind made up of dark-brown, thick- 
walled, septate hyphae arranged somewhat irregularly, which 
