764 Blackman and Wei ford . — The Development of the 
projecting hyphae already described, but in no case could the ascogonial 
hypha be followed through the stoma in the form of a specially differentiated 
trichogyne, as described by Fisch and Frank. As already stated, the apex 
of the ascogonium usually ends blindly in the tissues (PL LXX, Figs. 12 and 
13) some distance from the stoma. In fact, of all the hundreds of ascogonia 
examined, in only three or four cases could the ascogonium be traced upwards 
towards the stoma, and even then it did not project as a differentiated 
trichogyne. In one of these cases the ascogonium lost itself in an ordinary 
hypha a little below the stoma (Fig. 11). In another case (PI. LXXI, 
Fig. 14) the ascogonium was clearly abnormal, for it was much branched 
towards the epidermis, and gave origin to several slightly differentiated 
hyphae which could be traced upwards towards the hyphae projecting 
from the stoma. The projecting hyphae were unusually long, but were 
of ordinary vegetative nature and not comparable with the trichogynes 
described by Fisch. Only in one case was a broad hypha of a trichogyne- 
like nature seen projecting from the stoma, and then there was no evidence 
of its connexion with an ascogonium. In all other cases the projecting 
hyphae (PI. LXX, Fig. 5) were clearly of vegetative nature, and in no case 
was a spermatium found attached to any of them. 
The number and size of the cells which make up the ascogonium is 
very variable, but the majority of the cells are multinucleate, a few uninu- 
cleate cells being occasionally found. The basal cell, which connects the 
ascogonium with an ordinary vegetative hypha, is commonly larger than the 
others, and contains a large number of small nuclei (PI. LXXI, Fig. 15) ; the 
majority of the other cells contain about four nuclei. The nuclei usually show 
a chromatin network and a well-marked nucleolus, but the nuclear membrane 
is not generally to be distinguished. In a few of the cells of each ascogonium 
there is generally to be found — either alone or with other ordinary nuclei— 
a nucleus without a distinct chromatin network, but with a huge nucleolus 
(PI. LXX, Fig. 12, and PI. LXXI, P'ig. 16 b). The origin of these special 
nuclei could not be traced. No convincing evidence of fusion of ascogonial 
nuclei could be obtained, though the common close association of the nuclei 
in pairs and the difference in the size of the nuclei of a single cell (Fig. 16) 
suggest that such fusions may still take place in spite of the abortive nature 
of the ascogonia. 
In some cases two ascogonia may develop together, but this occurrence 
was not nearly so common as Fisch’s description would lead one to expect. 
The outgrowths of the large cells of the ascogonium figured by Plsch 
and described as ascogenous cells were not observed. Our observations show 
that the cells of the ascogonia do not become emptied of their contents, as in 
the functional ascogonia of Ascobolus i Humaria , &c., but retain their contents 
duringthe process of disorganization, and so appear as darkly staining masses ; 
this is well seen in Figs. 17 and 18 and particularly clearly in Fig. J9. 
