M. J. Le Goc. 
128 
inaccurate. This divergence of results is perhaps an instructive 
disagreement. It allows us to suggest that we may be dealing here 
with two different strains of the same fungus. 
This difference of behaviour of the same species of fungus is 
not unique and it is a phenomenon which deserves to be still more 
generally investigated. Shear and Wood (17, p. 98) have given an 
interesting example in the fungus Glomerellacingulata and conclude 
that “ the production or non-production of the perithecial stage 
of Glomerella seems to be a fairly well fixed hereditary race 1 charac¬ 
ter.” The results of investigations on the fungus Hirneola auricula- 
jtulae point to the existence of two strains of this species which 
behave somewhat differently from one another. 
Fig. 5. Stout irregular hyphae in Elder wood decoction + gelatine. x600. 
Pure Cultures of the Fungus. 
(a) Cultures in decoctions of Elderwood-\-agar or gelatine. 
Elderwood decoction was solidified with 2% agar or 10% gelatine 
after previous sterilization by the usual methods. Plate cultures 
were obtained in the usual manner. In agar ^cultures the spores 
germinate quite easily and after some fifteen days patches of mycelia 
become visible to the naked eye. These mycelia grow with some 
difficulty and not always with equal success. Cultures ten months 
old show no attempt to produce fructifications. 
