176 
Several germ tubes may be produced from a single spore. The mycelial 
threads begin to branch immediately and are somewhat flexuous in 
their course. From all parts of the mycelium short fertile branches 
soon arose of 1, 2, or 3 cells 7 length, which resemble the basidia and 
produce spores. Sometimes these fertile branches or basidia arise 
directly from the spore. In the solid medium the spores from a single 
basidium, when not crowded by the basidia and other spores, are 
clustered around the end. Each succeeding spore pushing the one 
which has just become free to one side. The sharply pointed basal end 
of the spore favors this. After several days there is a beautiful crown 
cluster of spores about the end of the basidium, all lying parallel to 
each other. Spores are sometimes produced within 24 hours from the 
time of sowing. 
Besides the production of spores, certain of the branches, either near, 
or remote from, the center of growth, produce at their ends peculiar en¬ 
larged cells, olive brown in color, varying in their outline, but always 
of greater diameter than the hyphse which produce them. These bodies 
frequently produce immediately a normal hypha resembling the others 
of the mycelium. This iu turn may soon produce another special cell, 
or may grow to considerable length, produce basidia and spores, or as 
a basidium or fertile hypha direct from the special cell produce spores. 
In other cases the special cell immediately begins to bud in an irregular 
manner, producing cells similar in color but very closely compacted into 
an irregular oval or elongated or flattened imperfect sclerotium. After 
one or two weeks’ growth a large number of these special cells and im¬ 
perfect sclerotia are produced near the center of growth, i. e ., original 
spore. At the same time the basidia have become very numerous at 
this point, arising from the mycelium or by the branching of the older 
ones, and the mass of spores assumes the roseate tint. In several cases 
I have been able to have the production of the dark-brown setm borne 
on these special bodies or cells in the artificial cultures. 
Cultures were also started in pure water and in a weak nutrient me¬ 
dium. In water the germ tubes, almost invariably, when once or twice 
the length of the spore, produced the special cell. If these produced 
another tube it was only to give rise to another cell of the dark color. 
In no case were spores produced nor any appreciable length of myce¬ 
lium. In the weak nutrient medium the special cells were produced 
freely. Also a number of hyplim produced one to four or five spores. 
While the vegetative growth exceeded that of the spores sown in pure 
water, there was but little compared with the growth in a rich nutrient 
medium, and the spores did not seem to live long. 
These special dark-brown cells, produced soon after germination more 
freely in weak nutrient media, remind one of secondary spores, but the 
fact that they are produced in rich nutrient media when ordinary spores 
are abundant, and especially since they grow by an irregular process 
of budding to cellular bodies resembling sclerotia, and in both cases 
