confluens and the Morphology of the Ascocarp . 339 
combinations as the safranin-gentian violet-orange, or acid 
fuchsine and iodine green, when used on material fixed in 
Merkel’s solution. The earliest stages figured are from pre¬ 
parations stained with acid fuchsine and iodine green. The 
fertilization-stages were mostly drawn from preparations 
treated with Flemming’s triple stain. For the nuclear phe¬ 
nomena in the ascus the Flemming fixing-solution, weaker 
formula, and the triple stain were used. 
I have mentioned the slight differences in the habit of the 
Fungus studied from what is described for Pyronema confluens 
in Europe. I have no doubt, however, that our plant is the 
same species. The general specific characters agree very well, 
and the reproductive organs in the fresh preparations I have 
studied might have served for Tulasne’s drawings. 
The mycelium is made up of cells of varying length which 
are regularly multinucleate, containing from six to twelve or 
more nuclei (PI. XIX, Fig. 2). They are filled rather evenly with 
protoplasm of a loose spongy structure, there being as a rule 
no conspicuous large central vacuole. As a whole the myce¬ 
lium is extremely sparse and loose, never making densely 
felted layers in my experience. The sexual organs are, how¬ 
ever, very abundant, especially at the centre of the mycelium, 
so that when the ascus-fruits are mature they are frequently 
densely packed together, forming continuous irregularly circular 
turfs. Toward the margin of the mycelium the reproductive 
organs are progressively more sparse, and the resulting fruits 
stand isolated. The whole arrangement indicates peripheral 
growth of a mycelium from a central point about which most 
of the fruits are developed. Such a condition would naturally 
result if each such radially growing mycelium were the pro¬ 
duct of the growth of a single spore. Whether this is the 
true interpretation in every case is doubtful. It is quite 
possible that this arrangement of the mycelia indicates the 
relative distribution of moisture, food material, &c., favourable 
for the life of the Fungus. The centre of most vigorous 
growth would then indicate a point at which conditions were 
especially favourable. A filament of a neighbouring mycelium 
A a 2 
