564  Growth  and  Development  of  Claviceps purpurea.  { AmNJ0°u,r 
noticeable  as  long  as  the  condition  of  sclerotium  continued,  but  directly 
the  mature  Claviceps  appeared  the  oil  oxidized,  dried  up  and  was  found 
no  longer.  The  round  heads  of  the  fungus  now  became  covered  with 
a  large  number  of  brown  dots,  which  eventually  became  the  openings 
of  pear-shaped  sacs  or  asci  of  the  perithecium.  If  a  section  was  made 
with  a  sharp  scalpel  each  ascus  was  seen  to  be  filled  with  a  glutinous 
substance  containing  seven  or  eight  spores.  These  last  adhered  to  the 
ergot,  looking  like  a  powdery  coating  and  causing  the  production  of 
many  thousands  of  conidia  on  each  ergot  and  ready  for  the  evolution 
of  fresh  mycelium. 
This  seems  to  me  the  true  mode  of  development  of  Claviceps.  It 
commences  and  proceeds  with  the  vegetative  growth  till  it  reaches  the 
sclerotium  stage  and  at  that  period  possesses  in  the  greatest  vigor  the 
medicinal  characteristics  of  ergot. 
I  have,  I  think,  conclusively  found  that  ergot  has  the  greatest  med- 
icinal power  in  the  month  of  August,  and  that  the  experience  of  six 
or  seven  years  shows  that  the  same  changes  take  place  in  the  plant  at 
the  same  period  of  every  year. 
It  has  been  known  to  medical  men  that  the  so-called  essences  of 
ergot  are  so  uncertain  in  their  efficacy  that  many,  in  order  to  ensure 
success,  have  determined  to  use  the  powder  itself.  Dr.  Kluge,  of 
Berlin,  observed  some  years  since,  that  for  some  reason  or  other  the 
properties  of  ergot  varied  according  to  whether  it  was  gathered  before 
or  after  the  harvest.  In  the  former  case  it  had  an  energetic  action,, 
while  in  the  latter  it  was  frequently  powerless. 
The  sheep  were  distinctly  seen  to  choose  the  young  green  grasses 
and  to  particularly  avoid  the  older  and  ripe  ones,  probably  directed  by 
the  odor  of  trimethylamin,  for  I  found  that  I  could  not  produce  this 
odor  till  the  sclerotium  was  fully  developed  and  the  starch  completely 
gone. 
I  therefore  think  the  following  conclusions  may  be  safely  drawn  : 
1.  That  for  all  medical  purposes,  or  pharmaceutical  preparations, 
ergot  ought  to  be  gathered  in  the  months  of  August  or  September. 
2.  That  ergot  always  attains  its  greatest  intensity  at  the  end  of  the 
vegetative  period. 
3.  That  the  medicinal  powers  of  ergot  diminish  or  disappear  as 
soon  as  the  fructifying  period  commences. 
I  have  chemically  and  microscopically  examined  the  ergots  produced 
