i86 
Wager .— The Life- hi story and 
and the protoplasmic body grows out into a sporangium in which zoospores 
are formed similar to those formed in the asexual sporangia. 
I have made many attempts to obtain the germination of the spiny 
form, but have only once succeeded. A culture containing a large number 
of mature zygotes had been kept under continuous observation for five 
months, May to November, without any change taking place. Suddenly, 
however, at the beginning of November, on a dull foggy morning, I noticed 
that very active germination was in progress, and I was fortunate enough to 
be able to follow out the whole process under the microscope. I have 
tried many times since to induce the germination of zygotes in my cultures, 
but, notwithstanding that I have tried all sorts of methods and placed the 
mature zygotes under varying conditions, I have never been able to repeat 
my observations. 
The process of germination takes place exactly as described by 
Nowakowski for the smooth-walled form, and, except for the necessary 
rupturing of the outer spiny wall of the zygote, the growth of the spor- 
angium and the changes which take place in it leading to segregation 
of the zoospores are, as already mentioned, similar in all essential details to 
those which occur in the formation of the asexual sporangia. 
The observations about to be described began at 8.15 a.m. and were 
continued for more than twelve hours until the zoospores escaped. The 
first indication of germination is the rupture of the outer wall of the zygote 
and the protrusion of a delicate hyaline sphere, consisting of a quantity of 
hyaline or slightly granular protoplasm, surrounded by a very delicate 
membrane (Fig. 6). This slowly increases in size ; fatty granules of 
irregular shape pass into it, together with the granular protoplasm (Figs. 7, 
8, 9). The fatty masses begin to break up at once into smaller granules, and 
finally into minute particles which show a tendency to aggregate into short 
irregular rows (Figs, jo, 11), giving the protoplasm a filamentous appearance, 
as described by Nowakowski. At this stage the protoplasm becomes 
vacuolar, and a delicate cell-wall appears separating the sporangium from 
the nearly empty zygote. Very few oil-drops are now to be seen, and 
the filamentous structure becomes more apparent, especially in surface 
view. A little later the larger oil-drops completely disappear and the 
protoplasm now shows the filamentous arrangement of the minute oil-drops 
all through (Fig. 12). The oil granules then become rearranged to form a 
more regular network surrounding vacuolar spaces which gradually become 
more numerous (Figs. 13, 14). The minute oil granules at the same 
time become more distinct and tend to separate from one another. At 
2.30 p.m. the vacuolar spaces had become still more numerous, with the 
oil granules arranged regularly around them, presenting the appearance 
in optical section of rings of granules. At 2.45 these rings of granules 
began to assume an irregular appearance and then began to fuse together 
