140 Baden—Observations on the Germination of 
Brefeld has not worked on this particular species of Coprinus> and 
it is very likely that different conditions may be needed here for germina¬ 
tion. In preparing his media, Brefeld ( 5 , p. 32) never subjected them to a 
higher temperature than 8o°-90° C. The Bacteria have to me proved very 
hard to kill, and the medium had first to be passed through a candle filter 
' and then heated for two hours at I44°C., in order to completely sterilize it. 
Brefeld thought that heating above 90° C. altered the chemical constituents 
of the medium, but it may equally well have the effect of killing the 
Bacteria and in that way of rendering it unfit for germination purposes. 
Formation of the mycelium. The spores of Coprinus sterquilinus , Fr., 
measure 0-15 mm.-o-i8 mm. in length, and 0-008 mm.-o-oi2 mm. in breadth, 
and they do not seem mature until about three weeks after they have been 
shed; but if dried for two days at 40° C., they will germinate at once. 
This resting-period, which was also noticed by Falck ( 9 , pp. 1-3), may be 
an adaptation on the part of the spores to retard germination until the 
substratum has become fairly dry and such Fungi as Mucor have dis¬ 
appeared. 
The stages in the formation of the mycelium agree in the main with 
those figured by Brefeld ( 2 , pp. 14^16) for other species of Coprinus * Fig. 1 
shows the clear, light-refracting * Blaschen ’ which first appears, and from 
which, in about two days, one or more germ-tubes are put out (Figs. 2-5). 
The vesicle never attains the size of the spore as described by Brefeld 
(2, pp. 14-16) for C ’. stercorarius , scarcely even becoming one-half as 
big (Figs. 2-5). 
After two or three days a much-branched mycelium is formed, growth 
proceeding very quickly once germination has taken place. Fusions 
between neighbouring hyphae appear very abundantly after the fourth 
or fifth day. These fusions are characteristic of the mycelia of many 
Basidiomycetes. Brefeld ( 2 , p. 19) has only figured fusions between hyphae 
of the same mycelium in Coprinus stercorarius , but he says : ‘Nicht ganz 
ohne Interesse schienen mir Versuche zu sein, wie sich zwei verschiedene 
Mycelien zu einander verhalten mochten.’ Fusions between hyphae, from 
different mycelia, which run closely parallel with one another, have often 
been observed in cultures of C. sterquilinus (Figs. 8 and 9). The significance 
of such fusions is difficult to determine. Brefeld ( 2 , p. 19) suggests that 
those between hyphae of the same mycelium are for balancing the cells. 
The same idea may also hold for those between different mycelia, and the 
fusions may be an advantage when several spores are germinating in a con¬ 
fined space. Thus the different mycelia may help instead of hindering one 
another. 
Many attempts have been made to obtain pure cultures of Coprinus on 
solid media, but without success. 
