562  Growth  and  Development  of  Claviceps  purpurea.  { AmNo0vU,r'i87^rni* 
pletely  fill  some  of  the  grains  till  they  protruded  far  beyond  the  glumes. 
In  two  or  three  days  the  sclerotium  stage  of  the  mycelium  began  to 
change  color  and  assumed  a  purplish  brown  tinge.  The  sclerotium 
seemed  now  to  have  arrived  at  what  was  formerly  termed  the  "  sphace- 
lia  "  condition,  and  was  soft,  while  the  upper  portion  was  wrinkled. 
The  exterior  was  white  from  the  growth  of  the  hyphae,  which  seemed 
to  grow  with  marvelous  rapidity  till  at  length  only  a  small  portion  of 
the  pistil  remained  free.  Although  the  conidia  were  so  numerous,  I 
never  noticed  any  on  the  andrcecium,  even  when  examined  with  a  one- 
sixth  of-an-inch  object  glass,  while  close  to  them  four  or  five  of  the 
caryopsides  were  completely  filled  with  the  little  conidia,  which  are 
blunt  and  ellipsoid  bodies  about  1050  0  mm.  to  j-^-qj  mm.  in  length, 
and  from  1  030  Q  mm.  to  y-^oVo  mm-  m  Dreackh.  They  are  curved  and 
divided  into  two  parts,  each  part  containing  a  nucleus.  On  touching 
them  with  a  drop  of  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  a  cilium  or  minute  flagel- 
lum  was  extruded,  and  when  placed  in  water  had  a  vibratile  motion. 
On  examining  suspected  flour,  bread  or  pastry,  the  microscope  would 
always  show  these  conidia,  especially  with  the  addition  of  a  little 
chromic  acid. 
In  the  third  week  of  May  several  small  drops  of  a  syrupy  substance 
made  their  appearance  on  the  stem  near  the  spikelet.  If  dissolved  in 
a  little  distilled  water  and  placed  under  the  microscope,  the  solution 
would  be  seen  to  contain  the  conidia,  and  hence  I  suppose  gave  rise  to 
the  supposition  that  the  honey-dew  was  intimately  connected  with  the 
formation  of  ergot  by  aiding  the  growth  of  the  mycelium.  But  it 
most  probably  only  attracts  and  adheres  to  insects,  who  by  this  means 
convey  the  conidia  to  other  spikelets  and  thus  spread  the  infection  to 
other  grains.  This  saccharine  mixture  instantly  reduces  the  copper 
solution  of  Trommer's  test,  thus  showing  the  presence  of  sugar. 
When  boiled,  a  slight  milkiness  is  produced  and  not  removed  by  nitric 
acid  in  excess,  pointing  out  the  presence  of  albumen.  At  this  period 
the  ergot  attains  its  full  development  and  gives  no  blue  with  iodine, 
because  by  the  well-known  metastatic  power  of  fungi  all  starch  is 
removed  and  an  oil  substituted.  Of  this  oil,  ergot  sometimes  contains 
about  a  third  pait  of  its  weight. 
At  this  period  of  its  growth  each  sclerotium  gives  ofF  the  odor  of 
trimethylamin  when  treated  with  potassa,  and  produces  a  red  color. 
With  spontaneous  evaporation,  after  mixing  the  honey-dew  with  alco- 
