Dec. 1903] Notes from Mycological Literature 
241 
species are listed) ; (3) the spores are smooth (not echinulate 
or tuberculate as in the other species). The plants are oval to 
globose, only 3-4^ mm. in diameter, and inconspicuous before 
dehiscence takes place. It affects the same situation as Lycoper- 
don leprosum, with which it is often associated, but the individuals 
are scattered—-never growing in close clusters. 
Die Mikrosporen von Anthoceros dichotomus Raddi, 
Tilletia abscondita Syd. nov. spec., Ann. Mycolog. 11174-76, 
March 1903, von H. u. P. Sydow, refers to the microspores found 
in the genus Sphagnum; after quoting a paragraph from Nawa- 
schin, he adds: ‘‘Die ‘Mikrosporen’ von Anthoceros dichotomus 
gleichen nun sehr denjenigen der Sphagnum-Arten. Sie sind 
kugelig oder fast kugelig, seltener elliptisch, hellbraun, mit war- 
zig-netzformiger Struktur, analog den meisten Ustilagineen- 
Sporen, versehen; sie messen 11-17 [± ini Durchmesser (selten 
bis 20 ,u lang), sind also grosser als die Mikrosporen der Sphag- 
num-Arten, welche nur 11-12 u diam. erreichen. Das Epispor ist 
etwa 2\ fj.. breit. Wir sind uberzeugt, dass auch diese ‘Mikro¬ 
sporen' einer Ustilaginee angehoren und benennen unsere Art als 
Tilletia? abscondita Syd. nov. spec.” 
Jakob Eriksson, in Arkiv for Botaniic, Band i (pp. 139- 
146), presents a paper read May 13, 1903, commenting on the re¬ 
searches of Professor BI. Marshall Ward and the objections urged 
to the Mycoplasm Idypothesis. He takes occasion to reaffirm 
strongly his original view of this matter and I therefore trans¬ 
cribe the following portion of the paper: “I first beg to draw at¬ 
tention to the fact that my theory consists of two essential mo¬ 
ments. I11 the first place I have asserted, that when it is a ques¬ 
tion of explaining the origin of soral flecks (spots or sori of ure- 
dospores) in general, we have to take into account not only ex¬ 
ternal infection from the surroundings (Uredo—and Aecidium- 
pustules), but also a hitherto unnoticed internal germ of disease 
in one form or another, and I have based my assertion of the 
existence of an internal germ of disease on such numerous ob¬ 
servations in the open and such numerous experiments in isolated 
glass houses, that I venture to regard this existence as proved, at 
least until sufficiently comprehensive proofs to the contrary have 
been produced from some other quarter. In the next place, when 
attempting to explain the form in which such an internal germ 
of disease could be thought to exist, I have expressed the hypo¬ 
thesis—grounded on anatomical examinations—that in the life 
of the fungus there may be a period of development previous to 
the mvcelium-stage when the fungus exists in a latent symbiotic 
life with the protoplasm of the host, and I have proposed the 
name ‘Mycoplasm’ for the double organism I had thus supposed. 
I have, however, expressly emphasized that it was not my inten¬ 
tion that this very intricate question should by any means be con¬ 
sidered as exhaustively solved, but that I merely wished to main- 
