108 
N. C. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
large somewhat and soon a protuberance can be seen at some spot on 
the surface. This protuberance increases in length, becomes septate 
and constitutes the germ tube, the beginning of the mycelium. 
The Species of the Fungus. 
The species under consideration has by recent writers been regarded 
as Sclerotinia libertiana Fuckel which is thus described 19 : 
“Sparsa, stipitata, nuda, pallida, cyathoidea, 4-8 man. lat.; stipite 
tenui subflexuoso, Sclerotio tuberiformi, nigro innato, plus minus elon- 
gato, ssepissime 3 cm. long; ascis cylindraceis, 130-135 x 8-10, apice 
jodo dilute coerulescentibus; sporidiis monosticliis, ellipsoideis, vulgo 
minute guttulatis, 9-13 x 4-6.5; paraphysibus parcis, clavulatis.” 
Comparison of the fungus under discussion with the description 
of eleven species which most nearly agreed with it showed that all 
failed to agree with it in some important point except Sclerotinia liber¬ 
tiana and S. kauffmanniana; the latter considered a synonym of S. 
libertiana by some authors. 
Physiology. 
The Mycelium. 
Media. —This fungus lends itself readily to culture upon either arti¬ 
ficial or live media. Its growth upon various media was first studied 
to ascertain the best medium to employ in experimental work and the 
best medium, for stock cultures. 
Upon lettuce leaves in culture dishes a great mass of mycelium of 
loose cottony consistence, which very quickly collapsed on exposure to 
the air, was produced and very few sclerotia were formed. 
In lettuce broth a vigorous mycelium developed. 
Lettuce agar gave only a very thin surface layer of mycelium, and 
very few sclerotia. 
Four-per-cent, pea-agar gave about the same growth as did lettuce 
agar. 
Sterilized corn meal, wet with apple juice, gave excellent growth 
and produced by far the greatest number of sclerotia. The mycelium 
while mainly coating the surface of this medium was very compact 
and dense. Corn meal wet with lettuce broth was equally satisfactory. 
In all of the foregoing media a much more abundant mycelium was 
formed if the medium was slightly acid. 
The corn-meal-apple-juice mixture was adopted for the study of 
the development of sclerotia and as a medium on which to maintain 
stock cultures. Lettuce broth was used to grow mycelium for tests 
regarding the effects of soluble chemicals, since the mycelium devel¬ 
oped well, and uniformly, in this medium and was readily wetted by 
the solutions employed in the experiments which was not the case 
when media leading to the development of a profuse aereal mycelium 
were employed. 
Experiment 9, Inoculated 11-30-1906. To determine the temperature 
relations of the fungus. 
