i8 
METHODS OF SPORE DISPERSAL 
audible snicking, and remain adhering to it. The surprising 
distance to which a sporangium is thrown may be well seen 
if the sporophores are placed in the middle of a large table 
covered with white paper. 
In Ascobolus and Saccobolus (Ascomycetes which occur 
on dung in meadows) the ascus is prolonged at maturity 
above the surface of the disc. In the former each spore in 
an ascus is surrounded by mucus ; in the latter all the spores 
are held together in a bundle by mucilage. The spores are 
ejected with considerable force, and adhere to the surround¬ 
ing grass and herbage, which are browsed by cattle, when 
they germinate in the alimentary canal, and ultimately pro¬ 
duce ascophores on the dung. 
Worthington Smith states that the earth-star Geasier 
Micheliamis, when mature, “ will sometimes throw itself 
elastically some 9 inches from its place of growth.” 
It has been asserted that some agarics are able to throw 
their spores to a distance, because it usually happens that 
the spores are thrown down over a considerable area around 
specimens confined under a bell-glass or other receptacle. 
But the statement is open to doubt. Spores, being so very 
minute, are easily removed a little distance by the slightest 
air current. I have noticed in such cases that the colour of 
the spore mass is always more intense in some one direction, 
at once indicating that an air current was responsible for the 
phenomenon. 
2. By Water .—The sporophores of large woody polypores, 
etc., growing on trees overhanging rivers and streams may 
sometimes be carried long distances down the stream. I 
have noted by experiment that these woody fungi can remain 
many days in water before they become completely water¬ 
logged. 
3. By Air. — In the majority of fungi the spores are 
easily dispersed over wide areas by air currents. The object 
of the stem, especially in species which grow amongst long 
