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THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES
VOLUME XIV.
List of Volumes already Published in
THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES.
Fourth Edition.
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For List of forthcoming Books in the Series see the Catalogue at th
end of this Book.
FUNGI: THEIR NATURE,
INFLUENCE, AND USES
BY
M. C. COOKE, M.A., LL.D.
EDITED BY THE
Rev. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A., F.L.S.
Henry S. King & Co.
65 CORNHILL and 12 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR.
As my name appears on the title-page of this volume, it is
necessary that I should exactly state what part I had in its
preparation. I had no doubt originally engaged to undertake
the work myself ; but finding, from multiplicity of engagements
and my uncertain health, that I could not accomplish it satis-
factorily, I thought the best course I could take was to recom-
mend Mr. Cooke to the publishers ; a gentleman well known,
not only in this country, but in the United States. The whole
of the work has therefore been prepared by himself, the manu-
script and proof sheets being submitted to me from time to
time, in which I merely suggested such additions as seemed
needful, subjoiniog occasionally a few notes. As the work is
intended for students, the author has had no hesitation in
VI
PREFACE.
repeating what has been stated in former chapters where it
has been thought to prove useful. I have no doubt that
the same high character will justly apply to this as to Mr.
t
Cooke’s former publications, and especially to his “ Handbook
of British Fungi.”
M. J. BERKELEY.
SlEBERTOFT,
November 23, 1874.
CONTENTS.
i.
PAGE
Nature op Fungi 1
II.
Structure ...... 17
III.
Classification 64
IV.
Uses . 82
V.
Notable Phenomena .......... 105
VI.
The Spore and its Dissemination 119
Vlll
CONTENTS,
VII.
PAGE
Germination and Growth . 137
VIII.
Sexual Reproduction .......... 163
IX.
Polymorphism 1S2
X.
Influences and Effects 209
XL
Habitats 233
XII.
Cultivation ............ 253
XIII.
Geographical Distribution 266
XIV.
Collection and Preservation . 287
LIST OT ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
1. Agaric in process of growth . . . . . . . .18
2. Section of common mushroom . . . . . . . .19
3. Sterile cells, basidia, and cystidia, from Gomphidius . . . .21
4. Polyporus giganteus (reduced) ........ 23
5. Hydnum repandum (section) . . . . ■ . . . .24
6. Calocera viscosa . . . . . . . . . .25
7. Tremella mesenterica ......... 25
8. Basidia and spores of Phallus ........ 28
9. Basidia and spores of Ly coper don .30
10. Threads of Trichia .32
11. Arcyria incarnata, with threads and spore . . . . .33
12. Diachcea elegans .......... 34
13. Cyathus vernicosus .......... 34
14. Cyathus, sporangia and spores ........ 35
15. Asterosporium Hoffmanni . . . . . . . .36
16. Barren cysts and pseudospores of Lecythea . . . . .37
17. Coleosporium Tussilaginis . . . . . . . .37
18. Melampsora salicina, pseudospores of 37
19. Cystopus candidus , conidia of . . . . . . . .38
20. Xenodochus carbonarius, pseudospore ...... 39
21. Phragmidium bulbosum, pseudospores ...... 39
22. Pseudospores of Puccinia ........ 40
X
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
23. Thecaphora hyalina, pseudospores ....... 41
24. jEcidium Berberidis, peridia of ....... 41
25. Helminthosporium molle, threads and spores ..... 43
26. Acrothecium simplex ......... 44
27- Peronospora Arenarice ......... 44
28. Polyactis cinerea .......... 45
29 . Peziza FucJceliana, with ascus and sporidia ..... 48
30. Penicillium cTiartarvm ......... 50
31. Mucor mucedo, with sporangia ....... 51
32. Small portion of Botrytis Jonesii . . . . . . .53
33. Section of cup of Ascobolus ........ 57
34. Asci, sporidia, and paraphyses of Ascobolus . . . . .59
35. Perithecium of Sphceria . 61
36. Uncinula adunca, conceptacle with appendages .... 62
37. Agaricus nudus .......... 66
38. Scleroderma vulgar e . . . . . . . . .69
39. Ceuthospora phacidioides . . . . . . . .70
40. Rhopalomyces candidus . . . . . . . . .74
41. Mucor caninus . . . . . . . . . .75
42. Sphceria aquila , cluster of perithecia . . . . . .78
43. Morchella gigaspora, from Kashmir ...... 99
44. Cyttaria Gunnii . . . . . . . . . 101
45. Spores of Agarics 121
46. Spores of Lactarius . . . . . . . . .121
46*. Spores of Gomphidius . . . . . . . . .122
47. Spores of Polyporus , Boletus, and Hydnum 122
48. JDiachcea elegans, capillitium of . . . . . .123
49. Spore of Hendersonia polycystis . . . . . . .124
50. Spores of Dilopliospora graminis . . . . . .124
51. Spores of Disccsia ......... 124
52. Spore of Prosthemium betulinum . . . . . . .124
53. Spore of Stegonosporium cellulosum . . . . . .125
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
XI
FIG. PAGE
54. Stylospores of Coryneum disci forme . . . . . .125
55. Spores of Asterosporium Hoffmanni . . . . . .125
56. Spores of Pestalozzia . . . . . . . . .126
57. Bispora monilioides, concatenate spores ...... 126
58. Psendospores of Thecaphora hyalina . . . . . . 127
59. Pseudospores of Puccinia ........ 127
60. Pseudospores of Triphragmium . . . . ' . .127
61. Pseudospores of Phragmidium bulbosum ...... 127
62. Winter spores of Melampsora salicina . . . . . .127
63. Spores of Helicocoryne ......... 129
64. Sporidium of Genea verrucosa . . . . . . .130
65. Alveolate sporidium of Tuber ........ 130
66. Asci, sporidia, and paraphyses of Ascobolus . . . . .131
67. Sporidium of Ostreichnion Americanum ...... 132
68. Ascus and sporidia of Hypocrea . . . . . . .133
69. Sporidium of Sphceria ulnaspora ....... 133
70. Sporidia of Valsa profusa 133
71. Sporidia of Massaria fcedans . . . . . . . .134
72. Sporidium of Melanconis bicornis . . . . . . .134
73. Caudate sporidia of Sphceria fimiseda ...... 134
74. Sporidia of Valsa thelebola . . . . . . . .134
75. Sporidia of Valsa taleola ........ 135
76. Sporidia of Sporormia intermedia . . . . . . .135
77. Asci and sporidia of Sphceria ( Pleospora ) herbarum . . . .135
78. Sporidium of Sphceria putaminum . . . . . . .135
79. Basidia and spores of Exidia spiculosa . . . . . .139
80. Germinating spore and corpuscles of Dacrymyces . . . .140
81. Germination of AEcidium Euphorbice . . . . . .142
82. Germinating pseudospores of Coleosporium Sonchi . . . .144
83. Germinating pseudospores of Melampsora betulina . . . .144
84. Germinating pseudospore of Uromyces appendiculatus . . .145
85. Germinating pseudospore of Puccinia Molinice . . . .146
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
86. Germinating pseudospore of Triphragmium TJlmarice . . .146
87. Germinating pseudospore of Phragmidium bulbosum. . . .147
88. Germinating pseudospores of Podisoma Juniperi . . . .148
89. Germinating pseudospore of Tilletia caries . . . . .150
90. fseudospore of Ustilago receptaculorum in germination, and secondary-
spores in conjugation . . . . . . . .151
91. Conidia and zoospores of Cystopus candidus . . . . .151
92. Resting spore of Cystopus candidus with zoospores . . . .152
98. Zygospores of Mucor phy corny ces . . . . . . .158
94. Sporidium of Ascobolus germinating ...... 161
95. Zygospore of Mucor . . . . . . . , .165
96. Zygospore of Rhizopus in different stages . . . . .167
97. Conjugation in Achlya racemosa ....... 169
98. Conjugation in Peronospora . . . . . . . .171
99. Antheridia and oogonium in Peronospora ..... 172
100. Conjugation in Peziza omphalodes . . . . . . .175
100*. Formation of conceptacle in Erysiphe 176
101. Tilletia caries with conjugating cells . . . . . .178
102. Aspergillus glaucus and Euro tium ...... 189
108. Erysiphe cichoracearum, receptacle and mycelium . . . .191
104. Twig with Tuber cularia and Nectria . . . . . .193
105. Section of Tubercularia with conidia . . . . . .194
106. Nectria with Tubercularia , ascus and paraphyses . . . .195
107. Cells and pseudospores of jEcidium Berberidis .... 201
108. Cells and pseudospores of AEcidium graveolens . . . .201
109. Torrubia militaris on pupa of a moth . . . . . .243
FUNGI
THEIR NATURE, USES, INFLUENCES, ETC
I.
. NATURE OF FUNGI.
The most casual observer of Nature recognizes in almost every
instance that comes under bis notice in every-day life, without
the aid of logical definition, the broad distinctions between an
animal, a plant, and a stone. To him, the old definition that an
animal is possessed of life and locomotion, a plant of life with-
out locomotion, and a mineral deficient in both, seems to be
sufficient, until some day he travels beyond the circuit of
diurnal routine, and encounters a sponge or a zoophyte, which
possesses^only one of his supposed; attributes of animal life, but
which he is assured is nevertheless a member of the animal
kingdom. Such an encounter usually perplexes, the neophyte
at first, but rather than confess his generalizations to have
been too gross, he will tenaciously contend that the sponge
must be a plant, until the evidence produced is so strong that
he is compelled to desert his position, and seek refuge in the
declaration that one kingdom runs into the other so imper-
ceptibly that no line of demarcation can be drawn between
them. Between these two extremes of broad distinction, and
no distinction, lies the ground occupied by the scientific student,
who, whilst admitting that logical definition fails in assigning
briefly and tersely the bounds of the three kingdoms, contends
* * B
2
FUNGI.
that such limits exist so positively, that the universal scientific
mind accepts the recognized limit without controversy or con-
tradiction.
In like manner, if one kingdom be made the subject of in-
quiry, the same difficulties will arise. A flowering plant, as
represented by a rose or a lily, will be recognized as distinct
from a fern, a seaweed, or a fungus. Yet there are some flower-
ing plants which, at first sight, and without examination, simu-
late cryptogams, as, for example, many Balanophorce , which
the unscientific would at once class with fungi. It is never-
theless true that even the incipient botanist will accurately
separate the phanerogams from the cryptogams, and by means
of a little more, but still elementary knowledge, distribute the
latter amongst ferns, mosses, fungi, lichens, and algee, with
comparatively few exceptions. It is true that between fungi
and lichens there exists so close an affinity that difficulties arise,
and doubts, and disputations, regarding certain small groups or
a few species; but these are the exception, and not the rule.
Botanists generally are agreed in recognizing the five principal
groups of Cryptogamia, as natural and distinct. In proportion
as we advance from comparison of members of the three king-
doms, through that of the primary groups in one kingdom, to
a comparison of tribes, alliances, and orders, we shall require
closer observation, and more and more education of the eye to
see, and the mind to appreciate, relationships and distinctions.
We have already assumed that fungi are duly and universally
admitted, as plants, into the vegetable kingdom. But of this
fact some have even ventured to doubt. This doubt, however,
has been confined to one order of fungi, except, perhaps,
amongst the most illiterate, although now the animal nature of
the Myxogastres has scarcely a serious advocate left. In this
order the early condition of the plant is pulpy and gelatinous,
and consists of a substance more allied to sarcode than cellulose.
Be Bary insinuated affinities writh Amoeba * whilst Tulasne
* De Bary, “Des Myxomycetes,” in “ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4 ser. xi. p. 153 ;
“Bot. Zeit.” xvi. p. 357. Be Bary's views are controverted by M. "Wigand in
“Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4 ser. (Bot.) xvi. p. 255, &c.
NATURE OF FUNGI.
3
affirmed that the outer coat in some of these productions con-
tained so much carbonate of lime that strong effervescence took
place on the application of sulphuric acid. Dr. Henry Carter
is well known as an old and experienced worker amongst
amoeboid forms of animal life, and, when in Bombay, he devoted
himself to the examination of the Myxogastres in their early
stage, and the result of his examinations has been a firm
conviction that there is no relationship whatever between the
Jtfyxogastres and the lower forms of animal life. De Bary has
himself very much modified, if not wholly abandoned, the views
once propounded by him on this subject. When mature, and
the dusty spores, mixed with threads, sometimes spiral, are
produced, the Myxogastres are so evidently close allies of the
Lycoperdons , or Puffballs, as to leave no doubt of their affinities.
It is scarcely necessary to remark that the presence of zoospores
is no proof of animal nature, for not only do they occur in the
white rust ( Cystopus ), and in such moulds as Peronospora * but
are common in algse, the vegetable nature of which has never
been disputed.
There is another equally important, but more complicated
subject to which we must allude in this connection. This is
the probability of minute fungi being developed without the
intervention of germs, from certain solutions. The observations
of M. Trecul, in a paper laid before the French Academy, have
thus been summarized : — 1. Yeast eells maybe formed in the
must of beer without spores being previously sown. 2. Cells of
the same form as those of yeast, but with different contents,
arise spontaneously in simple solution of sugar, or to which a
little tartrate of ammonia has been added, and these cells are
capable of producing fermentation in certain liquids under
favourable conditions. 3. The cells thus formed produce Peni-
cillium like the cells of yeast. 4. On the other hand, the spores
of Penicillium are capable of being transformed into yeast. +’
The interpretation of this is, that the mould Penicillium may be
* De Bary, “ Recherches sur le Developpement de quelques Champignons
Parasites,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4 ser. (Bot.) xx. p. 5.
f “Popular Science Review,” vol. viii. p. 96.
B 2
4
FUNGI.
produced from a sugar solution by “ spontaneous generation,”
and without spore or germ of any kind. The theory is, that a
molecular mass which is developed in certain solutions or infu-
sions, may, under the influence of different circumstances, pro-
duce either animalcules or fungi. “ In all these cases, no kind
of animalcule or fungus is ever seen to originate from pre-
existing cells or larger bodies, but always from molecules.”**
The molecules are said to form small masses, which soon melt
together to , constitute a globular body, from which a process
juts out on one side. These are the so-called TorulceA which
give off buds which are soon transformed into jointed tubes
of various diameters, terminating in rows of sporules, Penicil-
lium , or capsules containing numerous globular seeds, Aspergil-
lus (sic).
This is but another mode of stating the same thing as above
referred to by M. Trecul, that certain cells, resembling yeast cells
( Torula ), are developed spontaneously, and that these ultimately
pass through the form of mould called Penicillium to the more
complex Mucor (which the writer evidently has confounded with
Aspergillus , unless he alludes to the ascigerous form of Asper-
gillus, long known as Purotium). From what is now known
of the polymorphism of fungi, there would be little difficulty
in believing that cells resembling yeast cells would develop
into Penicillium , as they do in fact in what is called the “vine-
gar plant,” and that the capsuliferous, or higher condition of
this mould may be a Mucor , in which the sporules are produced
in capsules. The difficulty arises earlier, in the supposed spon-
taneous origination of yeast cells from molecules, which result
from the peculiar conditions of light, temperature, &c., in which
certain solutions are placed, It would be impossible to review
all the arguments, or tabulate all the experiments, which have
been employed for and against tjiis theory. It could not be
passed over in silence, since it has been one of the stirring ques-
tions of the day. The great problem how to exclude all germs
* Dr. J. H. flennptt Op the Molecular Origin of Infusoria,” p. 56.
f They have, however, po clqse relation with real Torulce , such as T. moni
lioides, &c. — Cooke’s Handbook, p. 477,
NATURE OF FUNGI.
from tlie solutions experimented upon, and to keep them ex-
cluded, lies at the foundation of the theory. It must ever, as
we think, be matter of doubt that all germs were not excluded
or destroyed, rather than one of belief that forms known to be
developed day by day from germs should under other conditions
originate spontaneously.
Fungi are veritably and unmistakably plants, of a low or-
ganization, it is true, but still plants, developed from germs,
somewhat analogous, but not wholly homologous, to the seeds of
higher orders. The process of fertilization is still obscure, but
facts are slowly and gradually accumulating, so that we may
hope at some not very distant period to comprehend what as
yet are little removed from hypotheses. Admitting that fungi
are independent plants, much more complex in their relations
and development than was formerly supposed, it will be ex-
pected that certain forms should be comparatively permanent,
that is, that they should constitute good species. Here, also,
efforts have been made to develop a theory that there are no
legitimate species amongst fungi, accepting the terms as hither-
to applied to flowering plants. In this, as in allied instances,
too hasty generalizations have been based on a few isolated
facts, without due comprehension of the true interpretation of
such facts and phenomena. Polymorphism will hereafter receive
special illustration, but meantime it may be well to state that, be-
cause some forms of fungi which have been described, and which
have borne distinct names as autonomous species, are now proved
to be only stages or conditions of other species, there is no reason
for concluding that no forms are autonomous, or that fungi which
appear and are developed in successive stages are not, in their
entirety, good species. Instead, therefore, of insinuating that
there are no good species, modern investigation tends rather to
the establishment of good species, and the elimination of those
that are spurious. It is chiefly amongst the microscopic species
that polymorphism has been determined. In the larger and
fleshy fungi nothing has been discovered which can shake our
faith in the species described half a century, or more, ago. In
the Agarics, for instance, the forms seem to be as permanent and
6
FUNGI.
as distinct as in tlie flowering plants. In fact, there is still no
reason to dissent, except to a very limited extent, from what
was written before polymorphism was accredited, that, “with a
few exceptions only, it may without donbt be asserted that more
certain species do not exist in any part of the organized world
than amongst fungi. The same species constantly recur in the
same places, and if kinds not hitherto detected present therm
selves, they are either such as are well known in other districts,
or species which have been overlooked, and which are found on
better experience to be widely diffused. There is nothing like
chance about their characters or growth.” *
The parasitism of numerous minute species on living and
growing plants has its parallel even amongst phanerogams in
the mistletoe and broom-rape and similar species. Amongst
fungi a large number are thus parasitic, distorting, and in many
cases ultimately destroying, their host, burrowing within the
tissues, and causing rust and smut in corn and grasses, or even
more destructive and injurious in such moulds as those of the
potato disease and its allies. A still larger number of fungi
are developed from decayed or decaying vegetable matter.
These are found in winter on dead leaves, twigs, branches,
rotten wood, the remains of herbaceous plants, and soil largely
charged with disintegrated vegetables. As soon as a plant
begins to decay it becomes the source of a new vegetation,
which hastens its destruction, and a new cycle of life com-
mences. In these instances, whether parasitic on living plants
or developed on dead ones, the source is still vegetable. But
this is not always the case, so that it cannot be predicated that
fungi are wholly epiphytal. Some species are always found on
animal matter, leather, horn, bone, &c., and some affect such
unpromising substances as minerals, from which it would be
supposed that no nourishment could be obtained, not only hard
gravel stones, fragments of rock, but also metals, such as iron
and lead, of which more may be said when we come to treat of
the habitats of fungi. Although in general terms fungi may
be described as “ hysterophytal or epiphytal mycetals deriving
* Berkeley’s “ Outlines of British Fungology,” p. 24.
NATURE OF FUNGI.
7
nourishment by means of a mycelium from the matrix,”* there
are exceptions to this rule with which the majority accord.
Of the fungi found on animal substances, none are more
extraordinary than those species which attack insects. The
white mould which in autumn proves so destructive to the
common house-fly may for the present be omitted, as it is
probably a condition of one of the Saprolegniei , which some
authors include with fungi, and others with algce. Wasps,
spiders, moths, and butterflies become enveloped in a kind of
mould named Isaria , which constitutes the conidia of Torrubia ,
a genus of club-shaped S 'pJicerice afterwards developed. Some
species of Isaria and Torrubia also affect the larvse and pupae
of moths and butterflies, converting the whole interior into a
mass of mycelium, and fructifying in a clavate head. It has
been subject for discussion whether in such instances the
fungus commenced its development during the life of the in-
sect, and thus hastened its death, or whether it resulted after
death, and was subsequent to the commencement of decay, j*
The position in which certain large moths are found standing
on leaves when infested with Isaria resembles so closely that
of the house-fly when succumbing to Sporendonema Jlluscce,
would lead to the conclusion that certainly in some cases the
insect was attacked by the fungus whilst still living ; whilst in
the case of buried caterpillars, such as the New Zealand or
British Hepialus , it is difficult to decide. Whether in life or
death in these instances, it is clear that the silk-worm disease
Muscardine attacks the living insect, and causes death. In the
case of the Ouepes vegetantes , the wasp is said to fly about with
the fungus partially developed.
In all fungi we may recognize a vegetative and a reproductive
system : sometimes the first only becomes developed, and then
the fungus is imperfect, and sometimes the latter is far more
prominent than the former. There is usually an agglomeration
of delicate threads, either jointed or not, which are somewhat
analogous to the roots of higher plants. These delicate threads
* Berkeley’s “Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany,” p. 235.
+ Gray, “ Notices of Insects which form the Basis of Fungoid Parasites.”
8
FUNGI.
permeate the tissues of plants attacked by parasitic fungi, oi
they run over dead leaves forming whitened patches, formerly
bearing the name of Himantia , but really the mycelium of some
species of Marasmius. If checked or disturbed, the process
stops here, and only a mycelium of interwoven threads is
produced. In this condition the mycelium of one species so
much resembles that of another, that no accurate determination
can be made. If the process goes on, this mycelium gives rise
to the stem and cap of an agaricoid fungus, completing the
vegetative system. This in turn gives origin to a spore-bearing
surface, and ultimately the fruit is formed, and then the fungus
is complete ; no fungus can be regarded as perfect or complete
without its reproductive system being developed. In some this is
very simple, in others it is as complex. In many of the moulds we
have miniature representatives of higher plants in the mycelium
or roots, stem, branches, and at length capsules bearing sporidia,
which correspond to seeds. It is true that leaves are absent,
but these are sometimes compensated by lateral processes or
abortive branchlets. A tuft of mould is in miniature a forest of
trees. Although such a definition may be deemed more poetic
than accurate* more figurative than literal, yet few could believe
in. the marvellous beauty of a tuft of mould if they never saw it
as exhibited under the microscope. In such a condition no doubt
could be entertained of its vegetable character. But there is a
lower phase in which these plants are sometimes encountered ;
they may consist only of single cells, or strings of cells, or threads
of simple structure floating in fluids. In such conditions only
the vegetative system is probably developed, and that imperfectly,
yet some have ventured to give names to isolated cells, or
strings of cells, or threads of mycelium, which really in them-
selves possess none of the elements of correct classification — the
vegetative system, even, being imperfect, and consequently the
reproductive is absent. As already observed, no fungus is per-
fect without fruit of some kind, and the peculiarities of structure
and development of fruit form one of the most important elements
in classification. To attempt, therefore, to give names to such
imperfect fragments of undeveloped plants is almost as absurd
NATURE OF FUNGI.
9
as to name a flowering plant from a stray fragment of a root-
fibril accidentally cast ont of tlie ground — nay, even worse, for
identification would probably be easier. It is well to protest
at all times against attempts to push science to the verge of
absurdity ; and such must be the verdict upon endeavours to
determine positively such incomplete organisms as floating cells,
or hyaline threads which may belong to any one of fifty species
of moulds, or after all to an alga. This leads us to remark, in
passing, that there are forms and conditions under which fungi
may be found when, fructification being absent — that is, the
vegetative system alone developed— they approximate so closely
to algae that it is almost impossible to say to which group the
organisms belong.
Finally, it is a great characteristic of fungi in general that
they are very rapid in growth, and rapid in decay. In a night
a puffball will grow prodigiously, and in the same short period
a mass of paste may be covered with mould. In a few hours a
gelatinous mass of Heticularia will pass into a bladder of dust,
or a Coprinus will be dripping into decay. Remembering this,
mycophagists will take note that a fleshy fungus which may be
good eating at noon may undergo such changes in a few hours
as to be anything but good eating at night. Many instances
have been recorded of the rapidity of growth in fungi ; it may
also be accepted as an axiom that they are, in many instances,
equally as rapid in decay.
The affinity between lichens and fungi has long been re-
cognized to its full and legitimate extent by lichenologists and
mycologists.* In the “ Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany,” it
* On the relation or connection between fungi and lichens, H. C. Sorby
has some pertinent remarks in his communication to the Royal Society on
“Comparative Vegetable Chromatology ” (Proceedings Royal Society, vol. xxi.
1873, p. 479), as one result of his spectroscopic examinations. He says,
“Such being the relations between the organs of reproduction and the foliage,
it is to some extent possible to understand the connection between parasitic
plants like fungi, which do not derive their support from the constructive
energy of their fronds, and those which are self-supporting and possess true
fronds. In the highest classes of plants the flowers are connected with the
leaves, more especially by means of xanthophyll and yellow xanthophyll,
10
FUNGI.
was proposed to unite them in one alliance, under the name of
Mycetoles , in the same manner as the late Dr. Lindley had united
allied orders under alliances in his “Vegetable Kingdom but,
beyond this, there was no predisposition towards the theory
since propounded, and which, like all new theories, has collected
a small but zealous circle of adherents. It will be necessary
briefly to summarize this theory and the arguments by which it
is supported and opposed, inasmuch as it is intimately connected
with our subject.
As recently as 1868, Professor Schwendener first propounded
his views,* and then briefly and vaguely, that all and every
individual lichen was but an algal, which had collected about it
a parasitic fungal growth, and that those peculiar bodies which,
under the name of gonidia , were considered as special organs of
lichens, were only imprisoned algae. In language which the
Rev. J. M. Crombief describes as “pictorial,” this author gave
the general conclusion at which he had arrived, as follows : —
“ As the result of my researches, all these giowths are not simple
plants, not individuals in the usual sense of the term ; they
are rather colonies, which consist of hundreds and thousands
of individuals, of which, however, only one acts as master, while
the others, in perpetual captivity, provide nourishment for them-
selves and their master. This master is a fungus of the order
Ascomgcetes, a parasite which is accustomed to live upon the work
of others ; its slaves are green algae, which it has sought out, or
indeed caught hold of, and forced into its service. It surrounds
whereas in the case of lichens the apothecia contain very little, if any, of those
substances, but a large amount of the lichenoxanthines so characteristic of the
class. Looking upon fungi from this chromatological point of view, they bear
something like the same relation to lichens that the petals of a leafless parasitic
plant would bear to the foliage of one of normal character — that is to say, they
are, as it were, the coloured organs of reproduction of parasitic plants of a type
closely approaching that of lichens, which, of course, is in very close, if not in
absolute agreement with the conclusions drawn by botanists from entirely
different data.”
* Schwendener, “ Untersuchungen iiber den Flechtenthallus.”
+ Crombie (J. M.) “ On the Lichen-Gonidia Question,” in “ Popular Science
Review” for July, 1874.
NATURE OF FUNGI.
11
them, as a spider does its prey, with a fibrous net of narrow
meshes, which is gradually converted into an impenetrable
covering. While, however, the spider sucks its prey and leaves
it lying dead, the fungus incites the algae taken in its net to
mors rapid activity ; nay, to more vigorous increase.” This
hypothesis, ushered upon the world with all the prestige of the
Professor’s name, was not long in meeting with adherents, and
the cardinal points insisted upon were — 1st. That the generic
relationship of the coloured “gonidia” to the colourless fila-
ments which compose the lichen thallus, had only been assumed,
and not proved ; 2nd. That the membrane of the gonidia was
chemically different from the membrane of the other tissues,
inasmuch as the first had a reaction corresponding to that of
algae, whilst the second had that of fungi; 3rd. That the
different forms and varieties of gonidia corresponded with
parallel types of algae ; 4th. That as the germination of the
spore had not been followed further than the development of a
hypothallus, it might be accounted for by the absence of the
essential algal on which the new organism should become para-
sitic; 5th. That there is a striking correspondence between the
development of the fruit in lichens and in some of the sporidii-
ferous fungi ( Pyrenomycetes ).
These five points have been combated incessantly by lichen-
ologists, who would really be supposed by ordinary minds to be
the most practically acquainted with the structure and develop-
ment of these plants, in opposition to the theorists. It is a fact
which should have some weight, that no lichenologist of repute
has as yet accepted the theory. In 1873 Dr. E. Bornet* came
to the aid of Schwendener, and almost exhausted the subject,
but failed to convince either the practised lichenologist or
mycologist. The two great points sought to be established are
these, that what we call lichens are compound organisms, not
simple, independent vegetable entities ; and that this compound
organism consists of unicellular algae, with a fungus parasitic
upon them. The coloured gonidia which are found in the
* Bornet, (E.), “Recherches surles Gronidies des Lichens,” in “Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” 1873, 5 ser. vol. xvii.
12
FUNGI.
substance, or thallns of lichens, are the supposed algse ; and the
cellular structure which surrounds, encloses, and imprisons the
gonidia is the parasitic fungus, which is parasitic on something
infinitely smaller than itself, and which it entirely and absolutely
isolates from all external influences.
Dr. Bornet believed himself to have established that every
gonidium of a lichen may be referred to a species of algee, and
that the connection between the hypha and gonidia is of such a
nature as to exclude all possibility of the one organ being pro-
duced by the other. This he thinks is the only way in which it
can be accounted for that the gonidia of diverse lichens should
be almost identical.
Dr. Nylander, in referring to this hypothesis of an imprisoned
algal, # writes : “ The absurdity of such an hypothesis is evident
from the very consideration that it cannot be the case that an
organ (gonidia) should at the same time be a parasite on the
body of which it exercises vital functions ; for with equal
propriety it might be contended that the liver or the spleen
constitutes parasites of the mammiferm. Parasite existence is
autonomous, living upon a foreign body, of which nature
prohibits it from being at the same time an organ. This is
an elementary axiom of general physiology. But observation
directly made teaches that the green matter originally arises
within the primary chlorophyll- or phycochrom-bearing cellule,
and consequently is not intruded from any external quarter, nor
arises in any way from any parasitism of any kind. The cellule
at first is observed to be empty, and then, by the aid of secretion,
green matter is gradually produced in the cavity and assumes a
definite form. It can, therefore, be very easily and evidently
demonstrated that the origin of green matter iu lichens is en-
tirely the same as in other plants.” On another occasion, and in
another place, the same eminent lichenologist re marks, t as to
the supposed algoid nature of gonidia — “ that such an unnatural
existence as they would thus pass, enclosed in a prison and
* Nylander, “On the Algo-Lichen Hypothesis, ,J &c., in “ Grrevillea, ” vol. ii.
(1874), No. 22, p. 146.
f In Regensburg “Flora,” 1870, p. 92.
NATURE OF FUNGI.
13
deprived of all autonomous liberty, is not at all consonant with
the manner of existence of the other algce, and that it has no
parallel in nature, for nothing physiologically analogous occurs
anywhere else. Krempelhuber has argued that there are no
conclusive reasons against the assumption that the lichen-gonidia
may be self- developed organs of the lichen proper rather than
algte, and that these gonidia can continue to vegetate separately,
and so be mistaken for unicellular algas.” In this Th. Fries
seems substantially to concur. But there is one strong argu-
ment, or rather a repetition of an argument already cited, placed
in a much stronger light, which is employed by Nylander in the
following words : — “ So far are what are called algse, according
to the turbid hypothesis of Schwendener, from constituting true
algae, that on the contrary it may be affirmed that they have a
lichenose nature, whence it follows that these pseudo-algae are
in a systematic arrangement to be referred rather to the lichens,
and that the class of algae hitherto so vaguely limited should be
circumscribed by new and truer limits.
As to another phase in this question, there are, as Krempel-
huber remarks, species of lichens which in many countries do
not fructify, and whose propagation can only be carried on by
means of the soredia, and the hyphse of such could in themselves
alone no more serve for propagation than the liypha3 from the
pileus or stalk of an Agaric, while it is highly improbable that
they could acquire this faculty by interposition of a foreign
algal. On the other hand he argues : “ It is much more con-
formable to nature that the gonidia, as self-developed organs of
the lichens, should, like the spores, enable the hyphee proceeding
from them to propagate the individual.*
A case in point has been adducedf in which gonidia were
produced by the hypha, and the genus JEmericella,X which is
allied to Iiusseia in the Triclwgastres , shows a structure in the
stem exactly resembling JPalmella botryoides of Greville, and to
what occurs in Synalyssa. Emericella, with one or two other
* Rev. J. M. Crombie, in “ Popular Science Review,” July, 1874.
f Berkeley’s “ Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany,” p. 373, fig. 78a.
J Berkeley’s “Introduction,” p. 341, fig. 76.
14
FUNGI.
genera, must, however, be considered as connecting Trichogastres
with lichens, and the question cannot be considered as satis-
factorily decided till a series of experiments has been made on
the germination of lichen spores and their relation to free algoe
considered identical with gonidia. Mr. Thwaites was the first
to point out* the relation of the gonidia in the different sections
of lichens to different types of supposed algee. The question
cannot be settled by mere a 'priori notions. It is, perhaps,
worthy of remark that in Cliionyphe Carteri the threads grow
over the cysts exactly as the hypha of lichens is represented as
growing over the gonidia.
Recently, Dr. Thwaites has communicated his views on one
phase of this controversy,')' which will serve to illustrate the
question as seen from the mycological side. As is well known,
this writer has had considerable experience in the study of the
anatomy and physiology of all the lower cryptogamia, and any
suggestion of his on such a subject will at least commend itself
to a patient consideration.
“ According to our experience,” he writes, e£ I think parasitic
fungi invariably produce a sad effect upon the tissues they fix
themselves upon or in. These tissues become pale in colour,
and in every respect sickly in appearance. But who has ever
seen the gonidia of lichens the worse for having the ‘ hypha ’
growing amongst them ? These gonidia are always in the
plumpest state, and with the freshest, healthiest colour possible.
Cannot it enter into the heads of these most patient and ex-
cellent observers, that a cryptogamic plant may have two kinds
of tissue growing side by side, without the necessity of one
being parasitic upon the other, just as one of the higher plants
may have half a dozen kinds of tissue making up its organiza-
tion ? The beautifully symmetrical growth of the same lichens
has seemed to me a sufficient argument against one portion
being parasitic upon another, but when we see ail harmony and
robust health, the idea that one portion is subsisting parasitically
upon another appears to me to be a perfect absurdity.”
* “Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” April, 1849.
f In “Gardener's Chronicle” for 1873, p. 1341.
NATURE OF FUNGI.
15
It appears to ns that a great deal of confusion and a large
number of errors which creep into our modern generalizations
and hypotheses, may be traced to the acceptance of analogies
for identities. How many cases of mistaken identity has the
improvement of microscopes revealed during the past quarter
of a century. This should at least serve as a caution for the
future.
Apart, however, from the “ gonidia,” whatever they may be,
is the remainder of the lichen a genuine fungus? Nylander
writes, “ The anatomical filamentose elements of lichens are
distinguished by various characters from the liyphee of fungi.
They are firmer, elastic, and at once present themselves in the
texture of lichens. On the other hand, the hyphm of fungi are
very soft, they possess a thin wall, and are not at all gelatinous,
while they are immediately dissolved by the application of
hydrate of potash, &c.#
Our own experience is somewhat to the effect, that there are
some few lichens which are doubtful as to whether they are
fungi or lichens, but, in by far the majority of cases, there is
not the slightest difficulty in determining, from the peculiar
firmness and elasticity of the tissues, minute peculiarities which
the practised hand can detect rather than describe, and even
the general character of the fruit that they differ materially
from, though closely allied to fungi. We have only experience
to guide us in these matters, but that is something, and we have
no experience in fungi of anything like a Cladonia , however
much it may resemble a Torrubia or Clavaria. We have JPezizce
with a subiculum in the section Tapesia , but the veriest tyro
would not confound them with species of ddarmelia. It is true
that a great number of lichens, at first sight, and casually,
resemble species of the Hysteriacei , but it is no less strange
than true, that lichenologists and mycologists know their own
sufficiently not to commit depredations on each other.
Contributions are daily being made to this controversy, and
already the principal arguments on both sides have appeared in
* “ Grevillea,” vol. ii. p. 147, in note.
16
FUNGI.
an English dress, # hence it will be unnecessary to repeat those
which are modifications only of the views already stated, our
own conclusions being capable of a very brief summary : that
lichens and fungi are closely related the one to the other, but
that they are not identical ; that the “ gonidia ” of lichens
are part of the lichen- organization, and consequently are not
algaa, or any introduced bodies ; that there is no parasitism ;
and that the lichen thallus, exclusive of gonidia, is wholly
unknown amongst fungi.
The Rev. J. M. Crombie has therefore our sympathies in the
remark with which his summary of the gonidia controversy
closes, in which he characterizes it as a “ sensational romance of
lichenology,” of the “ unnatural union between a captive algal
damsel and a tyrant fungal master.”
* W. Archer, in “Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.” vol. xiii. p. 217; vol. xiv.
p. 115. Translation of Schwendener’s “Nature of the Gonidia of Lichens,” in
same journal, vol. xiii. p. 235.
17
II.
STRUCTURE.
Without some knowledge of the structure of fungi, it is scarcely
possible to comprehend the principles of classification, or to
appreciate the curious phenomena of polymorphism. Yet there
is so great a variety in the structure of the different groups,
that this subject cannot be compressed within a few paragraphs,
neither do we think that this would be desired if practicable,
seeing that the anatomy and physiology of plants is, in itself,
sufficiently important and interesting to warrant a rather ex-
tended and explicit survey. In order to impart as much prac-
tical utility as possible to this chapter, it seems advisable to
treat some of the most important and typical orders and sub-
orders separately, giving prominence to the features which are
chiefly characteristic of those sections, following the order of
systematists as much as possible, whilst endeavouring to render
each section independent to a considerable extent, and complete
in itself. Some groups naturally present more noteworthy
features than others, and will consequently seem to receive
more than their proportional share of attention, but this seem-
ing inequality could scarcely have been avoided, inasmuch as
hitherto some groups have been more closely investigated than
others, are more intimately associated with other questions, or
are more readily and satisfactorily examined under different
aspects of their life-history.
Agaricini. — For the structure that prevails in the order to
which the mushroom belongs, an examination of that species
will be almost sufficient. Here we shall at once recognize
O
C
13
FUNGI.
three distinct parts requiring elucidation, viz. the rooting
slender fibres that traverse the soil, and termed the mycelium ,
or spawn, the stem and cap or pileus, which together con-
stitute what is called the Jiymenophore , and the plates or gills
on the under surface of the cap, which bear the Jiymenium.
The earliest condition in which the mushroom can be recognized
as a vegetable entity is in that of the “ spawn” or mycelium,
which is essentially an agglomeration of vegetating spores. Its
normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anasto-
mosing, hyaline threads. At certain privileged points of the my-
celium, the threads seem to be aggregated, and become centres
of vertical extension. At first only a small nearly globose bud-
ding, like a grain of mustard seed, is visible, but this after,
wards increases rapidly, and other similar buddings or swellings
appear at the base.* These are the young hymenophore. As
* A curious case occurred some years since at Bury St. Edmunds, which may be
mentioned here in connection with the development of these nodules. Two children
had died under suspicious circumstances, and an examination of the body of
the latter after exhumation was made, a report having arisen that the child died
after eating mushrooms. As certain white nodules appeared on the inner surface
of the intestines, it was at once hastily concluded that the spores of the mush-
room had germinated, and that the nodules were infant mushrooms. This
appeared to one of us so strange, that application was made for specimens,
which were kindly forwarded, and a cursory glance was enough to convince us
that they were not fungoid. An examination under the microscope further con-
firmed the diagnosis, and the application of nitric acid showed that the nodules
were merely due to chalk mixture, which had been given to the child for the
diarrhetic symptoms under which he succumbed.
STRUCTURE.
19
it pashes through the soil, it gradually loses its globose form,
becomes more or less elongated, and in this condition a longitu-
dinal section shows the position of the future gills in a pair of
opposite crescent- shaped darker- coloured spots near the apex.
The dermal membrane, or outer skin, seems to be continuous
over the stem and the globose head. At present, there is no
external evidence of an expanded pileus and gills ; a longitu-
dinal section at this stage shows that the gills are being deve-
loped, that the pileus is assuming its cap-like form, that the
membrane stretching from the stem to the edge of the young
pileus is separating from the edge of the gills, and forming a
veil , which, in course of time, will separate below and leave the
gills exposed. When, therefore, the mushroom has arrived
almost at maturity, the pileus
expands, and in this act the
veil is torn away from the
margin of the cap, and re-
mains for a time like a collar
around the stem. Fragments
of the veil often remain at-
tached to the margin of the
pileus, and the collar adhe-
rent to the stem falls back,
and thenceforth is known as
the annulus or ring. We
have in this stage the fully-
developed hymenophore, —
the stem with its ring, sup-
porting an expanded cap or
pileus, with gills on the under
surface bearing the hyme-
nium.* A longitudinal section cut through the pileus and down
* Ehrenberg compared the whole structure of an Agaric with that of a mould,
the mycelium corresponding with the hyphasma, the stem and pileus with the
flocci, and the hymenium with the fructifying branchlets. The comparison is no
less ingenious than true, and gives a lively idea of the connection of the more
noble with the more humble fungi. — Elirb. de Mycetogenesi.
c 2
20
FUNGI,
the stem, gives the best notion of the arrangement of the
parts, and their relation to the whole. By this means it will be
seen that the pilens is continuous with the stem, that the sub-
stance of the pileus descends into the gills, and that relatively
the substance of the stem is more fibrous than that of the pileus.
In the common mushroom the ring is very distinct surrounding
the stem, a little above the middle, like a collar. In some
Agarics the ring is very fugacious, or absent altogether. The
form of the gills, their mode of attachment to the stem, their
colour, and more especially the colour of the spores, are all very
important features to be attended to in the discrimination of
species, since they vary in different species. The whole
substance of the Agaric is cellular. A longitudinal slice from
the stem will exhibit under the microscope delicate tubular
cells, the general direction of which is lengthwise, with lateral
branches, the whole interlacing so intimately that it is diffi-
cult to trace any individual thread very far in its course. It
will be evident that the structure is less compact as it approaches
the centre of the stem, which in many species is hollow. The
hymenium is the spore-bearing surface, which is exposed or naked,
and spread over the gills. These plates are covered on all sides
with a delicate membrane, upon which the reproductive organs
are developed. If it were possible to remove this membrane in
one entire piece and spread it out flat, it would cover an
immense surface, as compared with the size of the pileus, for it
is plaited or folded like a lady’s fan over the whole of the gill-
plates, or lamellae, of the fungus.* If the stem of a mushroom
be cut off close to the gills, and the cap laid upon a sheet of
paper, with the gills downwards, and left there for a few hours,
when removed a number of dark radiating lines will be deposited
upon the paper, each line corresponding with the interstices
between one pair of gills. These lines are made up of spores
which have fallen from the hymenium, and. if placed under the
microscope, their character will at once be made evident. If
a fragment of the hymenium be also submitted to a similar
examination, it will be found that the whole surface is studded
* In Paxillus involutus the hymenium may he readily torn off and unfolded.
STRUCTURE.
21
with spores. The first peculiarity which will be observed is,
that these spores are almost uniformly in groups of four
together. The next feature to be observed is, that each spore
is borne upon a slender stalk or sterigma, and that four of these
sterigmata proceed from the apex of a thicker projection, from
the hymenium, called a basidium , each basidium being the sup-
porter of four sterigmata, and each sterigma of a spore.* A
closer examination of the hymenium will reveal the fact that
the basidia are accompained by other bodies, often larger, but
without sterigmata or spores ; these have been termed cysiidia ,
and their structure and functions have
been the subject of much controversy, t
Both kinds of bodies are produced on
the hymenium of most, if not all, the
Agaricini.
The basidia are usually expanded
so as to have more or less
of a clavate form, surmounted by four
slender points, or tubular processes,
each supporting a spore ; the contents
of these cells are granular, mixed
apparently with oleaginous particles,
which communicate through the
slender tubes of the spicules with
the interior of the spores. Corda
, . Fig. 3 —a. Sterile cells, b. Ba-
states that, although only one spore IS sidia. c. Cystidium. From Gom*
-i -li i • i phidius (de Seynes).
produced at a time on each sporo-
phore, when this falls away others are produced in succession
for a limited period. As the spores approach maturity, the con-
nection between their contents and the contents of the basidia
diminishes and ultimately ceases. When the basidium which
bears mature spores is still well charged with granular matter,
it may be presumed that the production of a second or third
* This was well delineated in “Flora Danica,’’ plate 834, as observed in Coprinus
comatus as long ago as 1780.
f A. de Bary, ‘ ‘ Morphologie und Physiologie der Pilze, ” in “Hofmeister’s Hand*
buch,” vol. ii. cap. 5, 1806, translated in “ Grevillea,” vol. i. p. 181.
22
FUNGI.
series of spores is quite possible. Basidia exhausted entirely of
their contents, and which have become quite hyaline, may often
be observed.
The cvstidia are usually larger than the basidia, varying in
size and form in different species. They present the appearance
of large sterile cells, attenuated upwards, sometimes into a
slender neck. Corda was of opinion that these were male
organs, and gave them the name of pollinaires. Hoffmann has
also described* * * § both these organs under the names of pollinaria
and sjpermatia , but does not appear to recognize in them the
sexual elements which those names would indicate ; whilst
de Seynes suggests that the cystidia are only organs returned to
vegetative functions by a sort of hypertrophy of the basidia. t
This view seems to be supported by the fact that, in the section
Pluteus and some others, the cystidia are surmounted by short
horns resembling sterigmata. Hoffmann has also indicated J
the passage of cystidia into basidia. The evidence seems to be in
favour of regarding the cystidia as barren conditions of basidia.
There are to be found upon the hymenium of Agarics a third
kind of elongated cells, called by Corda § basilary cells, and by
Hoffmann “ sterile cells,” which are either equal in size or smaller
than the basidia, with which also their structure agrees, except-
ing in the development of spicules. These are the “ proper cells
of the hymenium” of Leveille, and are simply the terminal cells
of the gill structure — cells wdiich, under vigorous conditions,
might be developed into basidia, but which are commonly
arrested in their development. As suggested by de Seynes, the
hymenium seems to be reduced to great simplicity, “ one sole
and self-same organ is the basis of it ; according as it experiences
an arrest of development, as it grows and fructifies, or as it
becomes hypertrophied, it gives us a paraphyse, a basidium, or
a cystidium — in other terms, atrophied basidium, normal basi-
* “ Die Pollinarien und Spermatien von Agaricus ,” in “Botanische Zeitung,”
Feb. 29 and March 7, 1856.
+ “ Essai d’une Flore mycologique de la Region de Montpellier.” Paris, 1863.
£ Hoffmann, “ Botanisclie Zeitung,” 1856, p. 139.
§ Corda, “ leones Fungorum hucusque cognitorum,” iii. p. 41. Prague, 1839.
STRUCTURE.
23
dium, and hypertrophied basidium ; these are the three elements
which form the hymenium.”*
The only reproductive organs hitherto demonstrated in Agarics
are the spores, or, as sometimes called, from their method of
production, basidiospores. f These are at first colourless, but
afterwards acquire the colour peculiar to the species. In size
and form they are, within certain limits, exceedingly variable,
although form and size are tolerably constant in the same
species. At first all are globose; as they mature, the majority are
ovoid or elliptic ; some are fusiform, with regularly attenuated
extremities. In Hygrophorus they are rather irregular, reniform,
or compressed in the middle. Sometimes the external surface is
rough with more or less projecting warts. Some mycologists
are of opinion that the covering of the spore is double, consist-
ing of an exospore and an endospore , the latter being very fine
and delicate. In other orders the double coating of the spore
has been demonstrated. When the spore is coloured, the exter-
nal membrane alone appears to pos-
sess colour, the endospore being con-
stantly hyaline. It may be added here,
that in this order the spore is simple
and unicellular. In Lactarius and
Russula the trama, or inner substance,
is vesicular. True latex vessels occur
occasionally in Agaricus , though not
filled with milk as in Lactarius.
Polyporei. — In this order the gill
plates are replaced by tubes or pores,
the interior of which is lined by the
hymenium ; indications of this struc-
ture having already been exhibited in some of the lower
Fig. 4 .—Polyporus giganteus (re-
duced).
* Cooke, M. C., “Anatomy of a Mushroom,” in “Popular Science Review,”
vol. viii. p. 380.
+ An attempt was made to show that, in Agaricus melleus , distinct asci were
found, in a certain stage, on the gills or lamellm. We have in vain examined the
gills in various conditions, and could never detect anything of the kind. It is
probable that the asci belonged to some species of Hypomyces, a genus of para-
sitic Sphceriaceous fungi.
24
FUNGI.
Agaricini. In many cases the stem is suppressed. The sub-
stance is fleshy in Boletus, but in Polyporus the greater number
of species are leathery or corky, and more persistent. The
basidia, spicules, and quaternate spores agree with those of
Agaricini .* In fact there are no features of importance which
relate to the hymenium in any order of Hymenomycetes (the
Tremellini excepted) differing from the same organ in Agaricini ,
unless it be the absence of aystidia.
Hydnei. — Instead of pores,
in this order the hymenium
is spread over the surface of
spines, prickles, or warts.f
Auricularini. — The hyme-
nium is more or less even,
and in —
Clavariei the whole fungus
is club-shaped, or more or
less intricately branched, with
the hymenium covering the
outer surface.
Tremellini. — In this order we have a great departure from
the character of the substance, external appearance, and internal
structure of the other orders in this family. Here we have a
gelatinous substance, and the form is lobed, folded, convolute,
often resembling the brain of some animal. The internal struc-
* It is not intended that the spores are always quaternate in Agaricini , though
that number is constant in the more typical species. They sometimes exceed
four, and are sometimes reduced to one.
t The species long known as Hydnum gelatinosum was examined by Mr. F.
Currey in 1860 ( Journ . Linn. Soc.), and he came to the conclusion that it was
not a good Hydnum. Since then it has been made the type of a new genus
( Hydnoglcea B. and Br. or, as called by Fries, in the new edition of “Epicrisis,”
Tremellodon, Pers. Myc. Eur.), and transferred to the Tremellini. Currey says,
upon examining the fructification, he was surprised to find that, although in its
external characters it was a perfect Hydnum , it bore the fruit of a Tremella.
If one of the teeth be examined with the microscope, it will be seen to consist of
threads bearing four-lobed sporophores, and spores exactly similar to Tremella.
It will thus be seen, he adds, that the plant is exactly intermediate between
Hydnei and Tremellini , forming, as it were, a stepping-stone from one to the other.
STRUCTURE.
25
ture has been specially illustrated by M. Tulasne,* through the
common species, Tremella mesenterica. This latter is of a
fine golden yellow colour, and rather
large size. It is uniformly composed
throughout of a colourless mucilage,
with no appreciable texture, in which
are distributed very fine, diversely
branched and anastomosing filaments.
Towards the surface, the ultimate
branches of this filamentous network
give birth, both at their summits and
laterally, to globular cells, which ac-
quire a comparatively large size. Fig- 6. -Caiocera viscosa.
These cells are filled with a protoplasm, to which the plant
owes its orange colour. When they have attained their normal
dimensions, they elongate at the summit into two, three, or
four distinct, thick, obtuse tubes, into which the protoplasm
gradually passes. The development
of these tubes is unequal and not
simultaneous, so that one will often
attain its full dimensions, equal, per*
haps, to three or four times the dia-
meter of the generative cell, whilst
the others are only just appearing.
By degrees, as each tube attains its
full size, it is attenuated into a fine
point, the extremity of which swells
into a spheroidal cell, which ulti-
mately becomes a spore. Sometimes these tubes, or spicules,
send out one or two lateral branches, each terminated by a spore.
These spores (about *006 to *008 mm. diameter) are smooth, and
deposit themselves, like a fine white dust, on the surface of the
Tremella and on its matrix. M. Leveille f was of opinion that
* Tulasne, L. R. and C., “Observations on the Organization of the Tremellini,”
in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 3me s4r. xix. (1853), pp. 193, &c.
f M. Leveille, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 2rae s4r. viii. p. 328 ; 3me sdr. is.
p. 127 ; also Bonorden, “Handbuch der Mycologie,” p. 151.
FUNGI.
26
the basidia of the Tremellini were monosporous, whilst M.
Tulasne has demonstrated that they are habitually tetrasporous,
as in other of the Hymenomycetes. Although agreeing in this,
they differ in other features, especially in the globose form of
the basidia, mode of production of the spicules, and, finally, the
division of the basidia into two, three, or four cells by septa
which cut each other in their axis. This division precedes the
growth of the spicules. It is not rare to see these cells, formed
at the expense of an unilocular basidium, become partly isolated
from each other ; in certain cases they seem to have separated
very early, they then become larger than usual, and are grouped
on the same filament so as to represent a kind of buds. This
phenomenon usually takes place below the level of the fertile
cells, at a certain depth in the mucous tissue of the Tremella.
Besides the reproductive system here described, Tulasne also
made known the existence of a series of filaments which produce
spermatia. These filaments are often scattered and confused
with those which produce the basidia, and not distinguishable
from them in size or any other apparent characteristic, except
the manner in which their extremities are branched in order to
produce the spermatia. At other times the spermatia-bearing
surface covers exclusively certain portions of the fungus, espe-
cially the inferior lobes, imparting thereto a very bright orange
colour, which is communicated by the layer of spermatia,
unmixed with spores. These spots retain their bright colour,
while the remainder of the plant becomes pale, or covered with
a white dust. The spermatia are very small, spherical, and
smooth, scarcely equalling '002 mm. They are sessile, some-
times solitary, sometimes three or four together, on the
slightly swollen extremities of certain filaments of the weft of
the fungus.* Tulasne found it impossible to make these cor-
puscles germinate, and in all essential particulars they agreed
with the spermatia found in ascomycetous fungi.
In the genus Dacrymyces , the same observer found the structure
* Tulasne, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (loc. cit.) xix. pi. x. fig. 29. Tulasne,
“ New Notes upon Tremellinous Fungi,” in “ Journ. Linn. Soc.” vol. xiii. (1871),
p. 31.
STRUCTURE.
27
to have great affinity with that of Tremellci . The spores in the
species examined were of a different form, being oblong, very
obtuse, slightly curved ('018 — '019 x *004 — *006 mm .), at first
unilocular, but afterwards triseptate. The basidia are cylin-
drical or clavate, filled with coloured granular matter ; each of
these bifurcates at the summit, and gradually elongates into two
very open branches, which are attenuated above, and ultimately
each is crowned by a spore. There are to be found also in the
species of this genus globose bodies, designated “ sporidioles ”
by M. Leveille, which Tulasne took considerable care to trace to
their source. He thus accounts for them : — Each of the cells or
the spore emits exteriorly one or several of these corpuscles,
supported on very short and very slender pedicels, which remain
after the corpuscles are detached from them, new corpuscles
succeeding the first as long as there remains any plastic matter
within the spore. The pedicels are not all on the same plane ;
they are often implanted all on the same, and oftenest on the
convex side of the reproductive body. These corpuscles, though
placed under the most favourable conditions, never gave the
least sign of vegetation, and Tulasne concludes that they are
spermatia, analogous to those produced in Tremella. The spores
which produce spermatia are not at all apt to germinate, whilst
those which did not produce spermatia germinated freely. Hence
it would appear that, although all spores seem to be perfectly iden-
tical, they have not all the same function. The same observer
detected also amongst specimens of the Dacrymyces some of a
darker and reddish tint, always bare of spores or spermatia on
the surface, and these presented a somewhat different structure.
Where the tissue had turned red it was sterile, the constituent
filaments, ordinarily colourless, and almost empty of solid matter,
were filled with a highly-coloured protoplasm ; they were of less
tenuity, more irregularly thick, and instead of only rarely pre-
senting partitions, and remaining continuous, as in other parts
of the plant, were parcelled out into an infinity of straight or
curved pieces, angular and of irregular form, especially towards
the surface of the fungus, where they compose a sort of pulp,
varying in cohesion according to the dry or moist condition of
28
FUNGI.
the atmosphere. All parts of these reddish individuals seemed
more or less infected with this disintegration, the basidia divided
by transverse diaphragms into several cylindrical or oblong
pieces, which finally become free. Transitional conditions were
also observed in mixed individuals. This sterile condition is
called by Tulasne “ gemmiparous,” and he believes that it has
ere now given origin to one or more spurious species, and misled
mycologists as to the real structure of perfect and fruitful
Dacrymyces .
Phalloidei. — In this order the hymenium is at first enclosed
within a sort of peridium or universal volva, maintaining a
somewhat globose or egg-shape. This envelope consists of an
outer and inner coat of somewhat similar texture, and an inter-
mediate gelatinous layer, often of considerable thickness. When
a section is made of the fungus, whilst still enclosed in the
volva, the hymenium is found to present numerous cavities, in
which basidia are developed, each surmounted by spicules (four
to six) bearing oval or oblong spores.* It is
very difficult to observe the structure of the hy-
menium in this order, on account of its deliques-
cent nature. As the hymenium approaches ma-
turity, the volva is ruptured, and the plant rapidly
enlarges. In Phallus, a long erect cellular stem
bears the cap, over which the hymenium is
Fig. 8. — Basidia Spread, and this exnands enormously after escap-
and spores oi Pliai- r J r
ing the restraint of the volva. Soon after expo-
sure, the hymenium deliquesces into a dark mucilage, coloured
by the minute spores, which drips from the pileus, often diffus-
ing a most loathsome odour for a considerable distance. In
Clathrus, the receptacle forms a kind of network. In Aseroe ,
the pileus is beautifully stellate. In many the attractive forms
would be considered objects of beauty, were it not for their
deliquescence, and often foetid odour.f
* Berkeley, M. J., “On the Fructification of Lycoperdon, Phallus, &c.,” in
“Ann. Nat. Hist.” 1840, vol. iv. p. 158, pi. 5. Berkeley, M. J., “Introduc-
tion Crypt. Bot.” p. 346.
t Tulasne, L. R. and C., “Fungi Hypogoei.” Paris. Berkeley and Broome,
STRUCTURE.
29
Podaxinei. — This is a small but very curious group of fungi,
in which the peridium resembles a volva, which is more or less
confluent with the surface of the pileus. They assume hymeno-
mycetal forms, some of them looking like Agarics, Boleti, or
species of Hydnum , with deformed gills, pores, or spines ; in
Montagnites , in fact, the gill structure is very distinct. The
spores are borne in definite clusters on short pedicels in such of
the genera as have been examined.*
Hypogcei. — These are subterranean puff-balls, in which some-
times a distinct peridium is present ; but in most cases it consists
entirely of an external series of cells, continuous with the in-
ternal structure, and cannot be correctly estimated as a peridium.
The hymenium is sinuous and convolute, bearing basidia with
sterigmata and spores in the cavities. Sometimes the cavities are
traversed by threads, as in the Myxogastres. The spores are in
many instances beautifully echinulate, sometimes globose, at
others elongated, and produced in such numbers as to lead to
the belief that their development is successive on the spicules.
When fully matured, the peridia are filled with a dusty mass
of spores, so that it is scarcely possible in this condition to gain
any notion of the structure. This is, indeed, the case with
nearly all G aster omycetes. The hypogoeous fungi are curiously
connected with Phalloidei by the genus Hysterangium.
TRiCHOGASTRES.f — In their early stages the species contained in
this group are not gelatinous, as in the Myxogastres , but are rather
fleshy and firm. Very little has been added to our knowledge
of structure in this group since 1839 and 1842, when one of us
wrote to the following effect If a young plant of Lycoperdon
ccelatum or L. gemmatum be cut through and examined with a
common pocket lens, it will be found to consist of a fleshy mass,
“British Hypogoeous Fuugi,” in “Ann. Nat. Hist.” 1846, xviii. p. 74. Corda,
“leones Fungorum,” vol. vi. pi. vii. viii.
* Tulasne, “ Sur le Genre Secotium,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1845), 3me
ser. vol. iv. p. 169, plate 9.
t Tulasne, L. R. and C., “De la Fructification des Scleroderma comparee a
celle des Lycoperdon et des Borista” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 1842, xvii. p. 5.
Tulasne, L. R. and C., “ Sur les Genres Polysaccum et Geaster,” in ‘ ‘Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” 1842, xviii. p. 129, pi. 5 and 6.
30
FUNGI.
perforated in every direction with minute elongated, reticulated,
anastomosing, labyrinthiform cavities. The resemblance of these
to the tubes of Boleti in an early stage of growth, first led me to
suspect that there must be some very close connection between
them. If a very thin slice now be taken, while the mass is yet
firm, and before there is the slightest indication of a change of
colour, the outer stratum of the walls of these cavities is found
to consist of pellucid obtuse cells, . placed parallel to each other
like the pile of velvet, exactly as in the young hymenium of an
Agaric or Boletus. Occasionally one or two filaments cross from
one wall to another, and once I have seen these anastomose.
At a more advanced stage of growth, four little spicules are
developed at the tips of the sporo-
phores, all of which, as far as I have
been able to observe, are fertile and of
equal height, and on each of these
spicules a globose spore is seated. It
is clear that we have here a structure
identical with that of the true Hy-
menomycetes, a circumstance which
accords well with the fleshy habit and
mode of growth. There is some diffi-
culty in ascertaining the exact struc-
ture of the species just noticed, as
the fruit-bearing cells, or sporophores,
are very small, and when the spicules are developed the substance
becomes so flaccid that it is difficult to cut a proper slice, even
with the sharpest lancet. I have, however, satisfied myself as
to the true structure by repeated observations. But should any
difficulty arise in verifying it in the species in question, there
will be none in doing so in Lycoperdon giganteum. In this
species the fructifying mass consists of the same sinuous cavities,
which are, however, smaller, so that the substance is more com-
pact, and I have not seen them traversed by any filaments. In
an early stage of growth, the surface of the hymenium, that is of
the walls of the cavities, consists of short threads composed of
two or three articulations, which are slightly constricted at the
Fro. 9. — Basidia and spores
of Lycoperdon.
STRUCTURE.
81
joints, from which, especially from the last, spring short branch-
lets, often consisting of a single cell. Sdmetimes two or more
branchlets spring from the same point. Occasionally the threads
are constricted without any dissepiments, the terminal articula-
tions are obtuse, and soon swell very much, so as greatly to
exceed in diameter those on which they are seated. When arrived
at their full growth, they are somewhat obovate, and produce
four spicules, which at length are surmounted each with a glo-
bose spore. When the spores are fully developed, the sporophores
wither, aud if a solution of iodine be applied, which changes
the spores to a rich brown, they will be seen still adhering by
their spicules to the faded sporophores. The spores soon
become free, but the spicule often still adheres to them ;
but they are not attached to the intermingled filaments.
In Bovista plumbea , the spores have very long peduncles.* As
in the Hymenomycetes , the prevailing type of reproductive organs
consisted of quaternary spores borne on spicules ; so in Ga&tero-
mycetes , the prevailing type, in so far as it is yet known, is very
similar, in some cases nearly identical, consisting of a definite
number of minute spores borne on spicules seated on basidia.
In a very large number of genera, the minute structure and
development of the fructification (beyond the mature spores)
is almost unknown, but from analogy it may be concluded that
a method prevails in a large group like the Myxogastres which
does not differ in essential particulars from that which is known
to exist in other groups. The difficulties in the way of studying
the development of the spores in this are far greater than in the
previous order.
Myxogastres. — At one time that celebrated mycologist, Pro-
fessor De Bary, seemed disposed to exclude this group from the
vegetable kingdom altogether, and relegate them to a companion-
ship with amoeboid forms. But in more recent works he seems
to have reconsidered, and almost, if not entirely, abandoned,
that disposition. These fungi, mostly minute, are characterized
in their early stages by their gelatinous nature. The substance
* Berkeley, “On the Fructification of Lycoperdon, &c.,” in “Annals of
Natural History ” (1840), iv. p. 155.
32
FUNGI.
of which they are then composed bears considerable resemblance
to sarcode, and, did they never change from this, there might be
some excuse for doubting as to their vegetable nature ; but as the
species proceed towards maturity they lose their mucilaginous
texture, and become a mass of spores, intermixed with threads,
surrounded by a cellular peridium. Take, for instance, the genus
Tricilia , and we have in the matured specimens a somewhat
globose peridium, not larger than a mustard seed, and some-
times nearly of the same colour ; this ultimately ruptures and
exposes a mass of minute yellow spherical spores, intermixed
with threads of the same colour.* These threads, when highly
magnified, exhibit in themselves a spiral arrangement, which
has been the basis of some controversy, and in some species
these threads are externally spinulose. The chief controversy
a.
Fig. 10.— a. Threads of Trichia. &. Portion further magnified, with spores, c. Por-
tion of spinulose thread.
on these threads has been whether the spiral markings are
external or internal, whether caused by twisting of the thread
or by the presence of an external or internal fibre. The spiral
appearance has never been called in question, only the structure
from whence it arises, and this, like the striae of diatoms, is
very m uch an open question. Mr. Currey held that the spiral
* Wigand, “Morphologie des Genres Trichia et Arcyria,” in “Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” 4me ser. xvi. p. 223.
STRUCTURE.
33
appearance may be accounted for by supposing the existence
of an accurate elevation in the wall of the cell, following a
spiral direction from one end of the thread to the other. This
supposition would, he thinks, accord well with the optical
appearances, and it would account exactly for the undulations
of outline to which he alludes. He states that he had in
his possession a thread of Trichia chrysosperma, in which the
spiral appearance was so manifestly caused by an elevation of
this nature, in which it is so clear that no internal spiral fibre
exists, that he did not think there could be a doubt in the mind
of any person carefully examining it with a power of 500
diameters that the cause of the spiral appearance was not a
spiral fibre. In Arcyria , threads of a different kind are present ;
o
Fig. 11. — Arcyria incarnata , with portion of threads and spore, magnified.
they mostly branch and anastomose, and are externally furnished
with prominent warts or spines, which Mr. Currey * holds are
also arranged in a spiral manner around the threads. In other
Myxogastres, threads are also present without any appreciable
spiral markings or spines. In the mature condition of these
fungi, they so clearly resemble, and have such close affinities
with, the Trichogastres that one is led almost to doubt whether
it was not on hasty grounds, without due examination or
consideration, that proposals were made to remove them from
the society of their kindred.
Very little is known of the development of the spores in
this group ; in the early stages the whole substance is so pulpy,
and in the latter so dusty, whilst the transition from one to
* Currey, “On Spiral Threads of Trichia,” in “Quart. Journ. Micr.
Science” (1855), iii. p. 17.
D
34
FUNGI.
the other is so rapid, that the relation between the spores and
threads, and their mode of attachment, has never been definitely
It has been supposed that the spinulose projections
from the capillitium in some species are the remains
of pedicels from which the spores have fallen, bufc
there is no evidence beyond this supposition in its
favour, whilst on the other hand, in Stevionitis , for
instance, there is a profuse interlacing capillitium,
and no spines have been detected. In order to
strengthen the supposition, spines should be more
commonly present. The threads, or capillitium, form
a beautiful reticulated network in Stemonitis , Oribra-
ria , Diachcea , Dictydium , &c. In Spurn aria, Reticu-
laria , Ly cog ala, &c., they are almost obsolete.* In
no group is the examination of the development of
structure more difficult, for the reasons already
alleged, than in the Myxogastres.
hfrouLARiACEi. — This small group departs in some
important particulars from the general type of struc-
chcea eiegans. ture present in the rest of the Gasteromycetes.f
The plants here included may be described under three parts,
the mycelium, the peridium, and the sporangia. The mycelium
is often plentiful, stout, rigid, interlacing, and
coloured, running over the surface of the soil, or
amongst the vegetable debris on which the fungi
I®/ establish themselves. The peridia are seated upon
this mycelium, and in most instances are at length
rO ^ open above, taking the form of cups, or beakers.
^ ,n „ * These organs consist of three strata of tissue vary.
vemicosus. mg m structure, the external being fibrous, and
sometimes hairy, the interior cellular and delicate, the inter-
mediate thick and at length tough, coriaceous, and resistant.
* In some of the genera, as, for instance, in Badhamia, Enerthenema, and
Beticularia , the spores are produced within delicate cells or cysts, which are
afterwards absorbed.
*f* Tulasne, “ Essai d’une Monograpliie des Nidulariees,” in “ Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” (1844), i. 41 and 64.
made out.
Fig. 12.— Dia-
STRUCTURE.
35
When first formed, the peridia are spherical, they then elongate
and expand, the month being for some time closed by a veil,
or diaphragm, which ultimately disappears. Within the cups
lentil-shaped bodies are attached to the base and sides by elastic
cords. These are the sporangia. Each of these has a com-
plicated structure ; externally there is a filamentous tunic,
composed of interlaced fibres, sometimes called the peridiole ;
beneath this is the cortex, of compact homogenous structure,
then follows a cellular thicker stratum, bearing, towards the
centre of the sporangia, delicate branched threads, or sporo-
phores, on which, at their extremities,
the ovate spores are generated, some-
times in pairs, but normally, it would
seem that they are quaternary on spicules,
the threads being true basidia. The whole
structure is exceedingly interesting and.
peculiar, and may be studied in detail in
Tulasne’s memoir on this group.
Sph^ronemei. — In this very large and,-
within certain limits, variable order, there
is but little of interest as regards struc-
ture, which is not better illustrated else-
where ; as, for instance, some sort of peri- .Fig- a- sPorai1-
thecium is always present, but this can pRore. d. Spores,
be better studied in the Sphceriacei. The spores are mostly very
minute, borne on delicate sporophores, which originate from the
inner surface of the perithecia, but the majority of so-called
species are undoubtedly conditions of sphaeriaceous fungi, either
spermatogonia or pycnidia, and are of much more interest
when studied in connection with the higher forms to which they
belong.* Probably the number of complete and autonomous
species are very few.
Melanconiei. — Here, again, are associated together a great
number of what formerly were considered good species of fungi,
but which are now known to be but conditions of other forms.
Berkeley, M. J., “Introduction, Crypt. Bot. ” p. 330.
36
FUNGI.
One great point of distinction between these and the preceding
is the absence of any true perithecinm, the spores being pro-
duced in a kind of spurious receptacle, or from a sort of stroma.
The spores are, as a rule, larger and much more attractive than
in Splicer onemei, and, in some instances, are either very fine, or
very curious. Under this head we may mention the multi-
septate spores of Coryneuni; the tri- radiate spores of Astero-
sporium ; the curious crested spores of
Pestalozzia; the doubly crested spores of
Dilophospora ; and the scarcely less sin-
gular gelatinous coated spores of Cheiro -
spora. In all cases the fructification is
abundant, and the spores frequently ooze
out in tendrils, or form a black mass
above the spurious receptacle from which
they issue.*
Torulacei. — In this order there seems
at first to be a considerable resemblance
to the Dematiei , except that the threads are almost obsolete, and
the plant is reduced to chains of spores, without trace of perithe-
cium, investing cuticle, or definite stroma. Sometimes the spores
are simple, in other cases septate, and in Sporochisma are at first
produced in an investing cell. In most cases simple threads
at length become septate, and are ultimately differentiated into
spores, which separate at the joints when fully mature.
Geomacei. — Of far greater interest are the Coniomycetous
parasites on living plants. The present order includes those in
which the spore t is reduced to a single cell ; and here we may
observe that, although many of them are now proved to be
imperfect in themselves, and only forms or conditions of other
fungals, we shall write of them here without regard to their
duality. These originate, for the most part, within the tissues
of living plants, and are developed outwards in pustules, which
burst through the cuticle. The mycelium penetrates the inter-
* Berkeley, M. J., “Introduction, Crypt. Bot.” p. 329.
f In the Cceomacei and Puccinicei the term “ pseudospore ’ would be much
more accurate.
Fig. 15. — Asterosporiam Hoff-
manni.
STRUCTURE.
37
cellular passages, and may sometimes be found in parts of the
plants where the fungus does not develop itself. There is no
proper excipulum or peridium, and the spores spring direct
from a more compacted portion of the mycelium, or from a
cushion-like stroma of small cells. In
Lecythea , the sub-globose spores are at
first generated at the tips of short
pedicels, from which they are ulti-
mately separated ; surrounding these
spores arise a series of barren cells,
or cysts, which are considerably larger fig. le.-Barren Cysts and Pseudo-
than the true spores, and colourless, spores of Lecythea.
while the spores are of some shade of yellow or orange.* In
Trichobasis , the spores are of a similar character, sub-globose,
and at first pedicellate ; but there are no surrounding cysts, and
the colour is more usually brown, al-
though sometimes yellow. In Uredo ,
the spores are at first generated singly,
within a mother cell ; they are globose,
and either yellow or brown, without
any pedicel. In Coleosporium , there
are two kinds of spores, those of a
pulverulent nature, globose, which are
sometimes produced alone at the com-
mencement of the season, and others Fig.17.
which originate as an elongated cell ;
this becomes septate, and ultimately separates at the joints.
During the greater part of the year, both kinds of spores are to
be found in the same pustule. In
Melampsora , the winter spores are
elongated and wedge-shaped, com-
pacted together closely, and are only
matured during winter on dead leaves : „ ,
° ’ r ig, 16. — Melampsora salicma.
the summer spores are pulverulent
and globose, being, in fact, what were until recently regarded
* L&veille, “Surla Disposition M^thodique des Urddin^es,” in “Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” (1847), vol. viii, p. 369.
Coleosporium Tussilaginis ,
Lev.
38
FUNGI.
as species of Lecythea. In Cystopus, the spores are sub-globose,
or somewhat angular, generated in a moniliform manner, and
afterwards separating at the joints. The upper spore is always
the oldest, continuous production of spores going on for some
time at the base of the chain. Under favourable
conditions of moisture, each of these spores, or
/jt\ conidia, as De Bary terms them, is capable of
producing within itself a number of zoospores;*
these ultimately burst the vesicle, move about by
the aid of vibratile cilia., and at last settle down
to germinate. Besides these, other reproductive
bodies are generated upon the mycelium, within
the tissues of the plant, in the form of globose
oogonia, or resting spores, which, when mature,
also enclose great nnmbers of ^oospores. Similar
oogonia are produced amongst the Mucedines in
the genus Peronospora , to which De Bary con-
siders Cystopus to be closely allied. At all events,
Fig. 19.— Cystopus this is a peculiarity of structure and development
canduius. n0£. as yet met with in any other of the Cceomacei.
In Uromyces is the nearest approach to the Puccinicei ; in fact,
it is Puccinia reduced to a single cell. The form of spore is
usually more angular and irregular than in Trichobasis , and the
pedicel is permanent. It may be remarked here, that of the
foregoing genera, many of the species are not autonomous that
have hitherto been included amongst them. This is especially
true of Lecythea , Trichobasis , and, as it now appears, of
Uromyces .f
Puccinlzei. — This group differs from the foregoing chiefly in
having septate spores. The pustules, or sori, break through
the cuticle in a similar manner, and here also no true peridium
is present. In JCenodochus , the highest development of joints
is reached, each spore being composed of an indefinite number,
from ten to twenty cells. With it is associated an unicellular
* De Bary, ‘‘Champignons Parasites,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4mes6r. vol.’xx.
+ Tulasne, “ Memoire sur les Uredinees, &c.,” in“ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1854),
vol. ii. p. 78.
STRUCTURE.
39
yellow Uredine, of which it is a condition. Probably, in every
species of the Puccinicei , it may hereafter be proved, as it is
now suspected, that an unicellular Uredine
precedes or is associated with it, forming
a condition, or secondary form of fruit
of that species. Many instances of that
kind have already been traced by De Bary,#
Tulasne, and others, and some have been a
little too rashly surmised by their followers.
In Phragmidium , the pedicel is much more
elongated than in Xenodochus , and the spore
is shorter, with fewer and a more definite
number of cells for each species ; Mr. Currey
is of opinion that each cell of the spore in
Phragmidium has an inner globose cell, fig. 20 Xenodochus car .
which he caused to escape by rupture of the bonanza.
outer cell wall as a sphseroid nucleus, t leading to the inference
that each cell has its own individual power of germination and
reproduction. In Triphragmium , there are
three cells for each spore, two being placed
side by side, and one superimposed. In one
species, however, Triphragmium deglubens
(North American), the cells are arranged as
in Phragmidium , so that this represents really
a tricellular Phragmidium , linking the pre-
sent with the latter genus. In Puccinia
the number of species is by far the most
numerous ; in this genus the spores are uni-
septate, and, as in all the Puccinicei , the
peduncles are permanent. There is great
variability in the compactness of the spores
in the sori, or pulvinules. In some species,
the sori are so pulverulent that the spores
are as readily dispersed as in the Uredines,
in others they are so compact as to be separated from each
* De Bary, “ IJeber die Brandpilze,” Berlin, .1853.
f Currey, in “ Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.” (1857), vol. v. p. 119, pi. 8, fig. 13.
Fig. 21.— Phragmidium
bulbosum.
40
FUNGI.
other with great difficulty. As might be anticipated, this has
considerable effect on the contonr of the spores, which in pul-
verulent species are shorter, broader, and more ovate than in
f <the compact species. If a section of one of
the more compact sori be made, it will be
seen that the majority of the spores are side
by side, nearly at the same level, their apices
forming the external surface of the sori, but
it will not be unusual to observe smaller
and younger spores pushing up from the
Fig. 22.— Pseudospores hymenial cells, between the peduncles of
of Puccima. the elder spores, leading to the inference
that there is a succession of spores produced in the same pulvi-
nule. In Podisoma , a rather anomalous genus, the septate spores
are immersed in a gelatinous stratum, and some authors have
imagined that they have an affinity with the Tremellini, but
this affinity is more apparent than real. The phenomena of
germination, and their relations to Poestelia, if substantiated,
establish their claim to a position amongst the Puccinicei.* It
seems to us that Gymnosporangium does not differ generically
from Podisoma . In a recently-characterized species, Podisoma
Pllisii, the spores are bi-triseptate. This is, moreover, peculiar
from the great deficiency in the gelatinous element. In another
North American species, called Gymnosporangium biseptalum,
Ellis, which is distinctly gelatinous, there are similar biseptate
spores, but they are considerably broader and more obtuse. In
other described species they are uniseptate.
Ustilaginei. — These fungi are now usually treated as distinct
from the Cceomacei , to which they are closely related.f They
are also parasitic on growing plants, but the spores are usually
black or sooty, and never yellow or orange ; on an average much
smaller than in the Cceomacei. In Tilletia , the spores are
spherical and reticulated, mixed with delicate threads, from
* Cooke, “On Podisoma,” in “Journal of Quekett Microscopical Club,” vol. ii.
p. 255.
t Tulasne, “ Memoire sur les Ustilaginees,” in “ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1847),
vii. pp. 12 and 73.
STRUCTURE.
41
whence they spring. In the best known species, Tiiletia caries,
they constitute the “ bunt ” of wheat. The peculiarities of
germination will be alluded to hereafter. In Ustilago , the
minute sooty spores are developed either on delicate threads
or in compacted cells, arising first from a sort of semi-gelati-
nous, grumous stroma. It is very difficult to detect any threads
associated with the spores. The species attack the flowers and
anthers of composite and polygonaceous plants, the leaves,
culms, and germen of grasses, &c., and are popularly known as
“ smuts.” In Jlrocystis and Thecaphora , the spores are united
together into sub-globose bodies, form-
ing a kind of compound spore. In /W/H
some species of Jlrocystis , the union
which subsists between them is com-
paratively slight. In Thecaphora , on
the contrary, the complex spore, or
agglomeration of spores, is compact, Fia 23 ,—lhecaphora hyalma.
being at first apparently enclosed in a delicate cyst. In Tubur -
cinia, the minute cells are compacted into a hollow sphere,
having lacunae communicating with the interior, and often exhi-
biting the remains of a pedicel.
-ZEcidiacei. — This group differs from the foregoing three
groups prominently in the presence of a cellular peridium, which
encloses the spores ; hence some mycologists have not hesitated
to propose their association with the
Gasteromycetes, although every other
feature in their structure seems to
indicate a close affinity with the
Cceomacei. The pretty cups in the
genus TEcidium are sometimes scat-
tered and sometimes collected in clus-
ters, either with spermogonia in the centre or on the opposite
surface. The cups are usually white, composed of regularly
arranged bordered cells at length bursting at the apex, with the
margins turned back and split into radiating teeth. The spores
are commonly of a bright orange or golden yellow, sometimes
white or brownish, and are produced in chains, or moniliform
Fig. 24. — Mcidium Berberidis.
42
FUNGI.
strings, slightly attached to each other,* and breaking off at the
summit at the same time that they continue to be produced at
the base, so that for some time there is a successive production
of spores. The spermogonia are not always readily detected, as
they are much smaller than the peridia, and sometimes precede
them. The spermatia are expelled from the lacerated and
fringed apices, and are very minute and colourless. In Rcestelia
the peridia are large, growing in company, and splitting longi-
tudinally in many cases, or by a lacerated mouth. In most in-
stances, the spores are brownish, but in a splendid species from
North America ( Roestelia aurantiaca , Peck), recently charac-
terized, they are of a bright orange. If CErsted is correct in
his observations, which await confirmation, these species are all
related to species of Podisoma as a secondary form of fruit, t
In the Roestelia of the pear-tree, as well as in that of the moun-
tain ash, the spermogonia will be found either in separate tufts
on discoloured spots, or associated with the Roestelia. In Peri -
dermium there is very little structural difference from Roestelia ,
and the species are all found on coniferous trees. In PJndo-
; phyllum , the peridia are immersed in the succulent substance of
the matrix ; whilst in Grajphiola , there is a tougher and withal
double peridium, the inner of which form a tuft of erect threads
resembling a small brush. J
Hyphomycetes. — The predominant feature in the structure of
this order has already been intimated to consist in the develop-
ment of the vegetative system under the form of simple or
branched threads, on which the fruit is generated. The common
name of mould is applied to them perhaps more generally than
to other groups, although the term is too vague, and has been
too vaguely applied to be of much service in giving an idea of
the characteristics of this order. Leaving the smaller groups,
and confining ourselves to the Dematiei and the Mucedines , we
* Corda, “ leones Fungorum,” vol. iii. fig. 45.
+ Cooke, “ On Podisoma,” in “ Quekett Journal,” vol. ii. p. 255.
t It may be a question whether Graphiola is not more nearly allied to
Trichocoma (Jungh FI. Crypt. Javse, p. 10, f. 7) than to the genera with which
it is usually associated. — M. J. B.
STRUCTURE.
43
shall obtain some notion of the prevalent structure. In the
former the threads are more or less carbonized, in the latter
nearly colourless. One of the largest genera in Dematiei is
Helminthosporium. It appears on decaying herbaceous plants,
and on old wood, forming effused black velvety patches. The
mycelium, of coloured jointed threads, overlays and penetrates the
matrix ; from this arise erect, rigid, and usually jointed threads,
of a dark brown, nearly black colour
at the base, but paler towards the
apex. In most cases these threads
have an externally cortical layer,
which imparts rigidity ; usually from
the apex, but sometimes laterally, the
spores are produced. Although some-
times colourless, these are most com-
monly of some shade of brown, more
or less elongated, and divided trans-
versely by few or many septa. In
Helminthosporium Smithii, the spores
much exceed the dimensions of the
threads ; * in other species they are
smaller. In Dendryphium , the threads
and spores are very similar, except
that the threads are branched at their
apex, and the spores are often pro-
duced one at the end of another in a
short chain. t In Septosporium again,
the threads and spores are similar, but
the spores are pedicellate, and at- Plo- 2s^Helm^S^Zn moi,e.
tached at or near the base ; whilst in
Acrothecium , with similar threads and spores, the latter are
clustered together at the apex of the threads. In Triposporium ,
the threads are similar, but the spores are tri-radiate ; and in
Helicoma , the spores are twisted spirally. Thus, we might pass
* Cooke, “ On Microscopic Moulds,” in “ Quekett Journal,” vol. ii. plate 7.
f See “Dendryphium Fumosum,” in “ Quekett Journal,” vol. ii. plate 8; or,
‘ ‘ Corda Prachtflora,” plate 22.
44
FUNGI.
Fig. 26. — Acrothecium simplex.
through all the genera to illustrate this chief feature of coloured,
septate, rather rigid, and mostly erect threads, bearing at some
point spores, which in most in-
stances are elongated, coloured,
and septate.
Mucedines. — Here, on the other
hand, the threads, if coloured at
all, are still delicate, more flexuous,
j ^ A with much thinner walls, and never
invested with an external cortical
layer. One of the most important
and highly developed genera is
JPeronosjpora , the members of which
are parasitic upon and destructive
of living vegetables. It is to this genus that the mould of the
too famous potato disease belongs. Professor De Bary has done
more than any other mycologist in the investigation and eluci-
dation of this genus ; and his mono-
graph is a masterpiece in its way.*
He was, however, preceded by Mr.
Berkeley, and more especially by Dr.
Montague, by many years in eluci-
dation of the structure of the flocci
and conidia in a number of.species.f
In this genus, there is a delicate
mycelium, which penetrates the in-
tercellular passages of living plants,
giving rise to erect branched
threads, which bear at the tips of
their ultimate ramuli, sub-globose,
ovate, or elliptic spores, or, as De
Deeply seated on the mycelium,
within the substance of the foster plant, other reproductive
bodies, called oogonia, originate. These are spherical, more or
Fig. 27. — Peronospora Arenarice.
Bary terms them — conidia.
4:' De Bary, “ Champignons Parasites,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4meser. vol. xx.
t Berkeley, “On the Potato Murrain,” in “ Journ. of Hort. Soc. of London,”
vol. i. (1846), p. 9.
STRUCTURE.
45
less warted and brownish, the contents of which become dif-
ferentiated into vivacious zoospores, capable, when expelled, of
moving in water by the aid of vibratile cilia. A similar struc-
ture has already been indicated in Cyst opus , otherwise it is rare
in fungi, if the Saprolegniei be excluded. In Botrytis and in
Polyactis, the flocci and spores are similar, but the branches of
the threads are shorter and more compact, and the septa are
more common and numerous ; the oogonia also are absent. De
Bary has selected Polyactis cinerea, as it occurs on dead vine
leaves, to illustrate his views of the dual-
ism which he believes himself to have
discovered in this species. “ It spreads
its mycelium in the tissue which is becom-
ing brown,” he writes, “ and this shows
at first essentially the same construc-
tion and growth as that of the mycelium
filaments of Aspergillus .” On the my-
celium soon appear, besides those which
are spread over the tissue of the leaves,
strong, thick, mostly fasciculate branches,
which stand close to one another, break-
ing forth from the leaf and rising up per-
pendicularly, the conidia-bearers. They
grow about 1 mm. long, divide them-
selves, by successively rising partitions,
into some prominent cylindrical linked
cells, and then their growth is ended,
and the upper cell produces near its
point three to six branches almost stand- FlG'a2 A^SoThypha?^
ing rectangularly. Of these the under
ones are the longest, and they again shoot forth from under
their ends one or more still shorter little branches. The
nearer they are to the top, the shorter are the branches, and
less divided ; the upper ones are quite branchless, and their
length scarcely exceeds the breadth of the principal stem. Thus
a system of branches appears, upon which, on a small scale, a
bunch of grapes is represented. All the twigs soon end their
46
FUNGI.
growth ; they all separate their inner space from the principal
stem, by means of a cross partition placed close to it. All the
ends, and also that of the principal stem, swell about the same
time something like a bladder, and on the upper free half of
each swelling appear again, simultaneously, several fine pro-
tuberances, close together, which quickly grow to little oval
bladders filled with protoplasm, and resting on their bearers
with a sub-sessile, pedicellate, narrow basis, and which at length
separate themselves through a partition as in Aspergillus. The
detached cells are the conidia of our fungus ; only one is formed
on each stalk. When the formation is completed in the whole
of the panicle, the little branches which compose it are de-
prived of their protoplasm in favour of the conidia ; it is the
same with the under end of the principal stem, the limits of
wdiich are marked by a cross partition. The delicate wall of
these parts shrinks up until it is unrecognizable ; all the conidia
of the panicle approach one another to form an irregular grape-
like bunch, which rests loosely on the bearer, and from which
it easily falls away as dust. If they be brought into water they
fall off immediately ; only the empty, shrivelled, delicate skins
are to be found on the branch which bore them, and the places
on which they are fixed to the principal stem clearly appear as
round circumscribed hilums, generally rather arched towards
the exterior. The development of the main stem is not ended
here. It remains solid and filled with protoplasm as far as the
portion which forms the end through its conidia. Its end,
which is to be found among these pieces, becomes pointed after
the ripening of the first panicle, pushes the end of the shrivelled
member on one side, and grows to the same length as the
height of one or two panicles, and then remains still, to form a
second panicle similar to the first. This is later equally per-
foliated as the first, then a third follows, and thus a large
number of panicles are produced after and over one another on
the same stem. In perfect specimens, every perfoliated panicle
hangs loosely to its original place on the surface of the stem,
until by shaking or the access of water to it, it falls immediately
into the single conidia, or the remains of branches, and the
STRUCTURE.
47
already-mentioned oval hilums are left behind. Naturally, the
stem becomes longer by every perfoliation ; in luxuriant speci-
mens the length can reach that of some lines. Its partition is
already, by the ripening of the first panicle from the beginning
of its foundation, strong and brown ; it is only colourless at the
end which is extending, and in all new formations. During all
these changes the filament remains either unbranched, except
as regards the transient panicles, or it sends out here and there,
at the perfoliated spots, especially from the lower ones, one
or two strong branches, standing opposite one another and
resembling the principal stem.
The mycelium, which grows so exuberantly in the leaf, often
brings forth many other productions, which are called sclerotia ,
and are, according to their nature, a thick bulbous tissue of
mycelium filaments. Their formation begins with the profuse
ramification of the mycelium threads in some place or other ;
generally, but not always, in the veins of the leaf ; the inter-
twining twigs form an uninterrupted cavity, in which is often
enclosed the shrivelling tissue of the leaf. The whole body
swells to a greater thickness than that of the leaf, and protrudes
on the surface like a thickened spot. Its form varies from
circular to fusiform; its size is also very unequal, ranging
between a few lines and about half a millimetre in its largest
diameter. At first it is colourless, but afterwards its outer
layers of cells become round, of a brown or black colour, and it
is surrounded by a black rind, consisting of round cells, which
separate it from the neighbouring tissue. The tissue within the
rind remains colourless ; it is an entangled uninterrupted tissue
of fungus filaments, which gradually obtain very solid, hard,
cartilaginous coats. The sclerotium, which ripens as the rind
becomes black, loosens itself easily from the place of its forma-
tion, and remains preserved after the latter is decayed.
The sclerotia are, here as in many other fungi, biennial
organs, designed to begin a new vegetation after a state of
apparent quietude, and to send forth special fruit-bearers. They
may in this respect be compared to the bulbs and perennial
roots of under shrubs. The usual time for the development of
48
FUNGI.
the sclerotia is late in the autumn, after the fall of the vine
leaves. As long as the frost does not set in, new ones continu-
ally spring up, and each one attains to ripeness in a few days.
If frost appears, it can lie dry a whole year, without losing
its power of development. This latter commences when the
sclerotium is brought into contact with damp ground during
the usual temperature of our warmer seasons. If this occur
soon, at the latest some weeks after it is ripe, new vegetation
grows very quickly, generally after a few days ; in several parts
the colourless filaments of the inner tissue begin to send out
clusters of strong branches, which, breaking through the black
rind, stretch themselves up perpendicularly towards the surface,
separate from one another, and then take
all the characteristics of the conidia^bearers.
Many such clusters can be produced on one
sclerotium, so that soon the greater part of'
the surface is covered by filamentous conidia-
bearers with their panicles. The colourless
tissue of the sclerotium disappears in the
same degree as the conidia-bearers grow,
and at last the black rind remains behind
empty and shrivelled. If we bring, after
many months, for the first time, the ripe
sclerotium, in damp ground, in summer or
autumn, after it has ripened, the further
development takes place more slowly, and
a. Natural size. b. Section jn an essentially different form. It is true
ridia. that from the inner tissue numerous fila-
mentous branches shoot forth at the cost of this growing
fascicle, and break through the black rind, but its filaments
remain strongly bound, in an almost parallel situation, to a
cylindrical cord, which for a time lengthens itself and spreads
out its free end to a flat plate-like disc. This is always formed
of strongly united threads, ramifications of the cylindrical cord.
On the free upper surface of the disc, the filaments shoot forth
innumerable branches, which, growing to the same height, thick
and parallel with one another, cover the before-named disc.
STRUCTURE.
49
Some remain narrow and cylindrical, are very numerous, and
produce fine hairs (paraphyses) ; others, also very numerous, take
the form of club-like ampulla cells, and each one forms in its
interior eight free swimming oval spores. Those ampulla cells
are sporidiiferous asci. After the spores have become ripe, the
free point of the utricle bursts, and the spores are scattered to a
great distance by a mechanism which we will not here further
describe. New ampullas push themselves between those which
are ripening and withering ; a disc can, under favourable circum-
stances, always form new asci for weeks at a time. The num-
ber of the already described utricle-bearers is different, accord-
ing to the size of the sclerotium ; smaller specimens usually
produce only one, larger two to four. The size is regulated
by that of the sclerotia, and ranges, in full-grown specimens,
between one and more millimetres for the length of the stalk,
and a half to three (seldom more) millimetres for the breadth of
the disc.* For some time the conidia form, belonging to the
Muceclines , has been known as Botrytis cinerea (or Bolyactis
cinereci). The compact mycelium, or sclerotium, as an im-
perfect fungus, bore the name of Sclerotium eohincttum , whilst to
the perfect and cup-like form has been given the name of Beziza
Fuclceliana. We have reproduced De Bary’s life-history of this
mould here, as an illustration of structure in the Mucedines, but
hereafter we shall have to write of similar transformations when
treating of polymorphism.
The form of the threads, and the form and disposition of the
spores, vary according to the genera of which this order is com-
posed. In Oidium the mostly simple threads break up into
joints. Many of the former species are now recognized as con-
ditions of Frysiplie. In Aspergillus , the threads are simple and
erect, with a globose head, around which are clustered chains of
simple spores. In Penicillium , the lower portion of the threads is
simple, but they are shortly branched at the apex, the branches
being terminated by necklaces of minute spores. In Dactylium ,
* De Bary, u0n Mildew and Fei’mentation,” p. 25, reprinted from “ German
Quarterly Magazine,” 1872 ; De Bary, ‘ ‘ Morphologie und Pliysiologie der
Pike,” (1866), 201
E
50
FUNGI.
the threads are branched, but the spores are collected in clusters
usually, and are moreover septate. In other genera similar
distinctions prevail. These two groups of black moulds and
white moulds are the noblest, and contain
the largest number of genera and species
amongst the Hyphomycetes. There is, how-
ever, the small group of Isariacei , in which
the threads are compacted, and a semblance
of such hymenomycetal forms as Clavaria
and Fterula is the result, but it is doubtful
if this group contains many autonomous
species. In another small group, the Stil-
bacei , there is a composite character in the
head, or receptacle,* and in the stem when
the latter is present. Many of these, again,
as T liber cularia, Volutella, Fusarium , &c.,
contain doubtful species. In Sepedoniei and
Fig. 30. PeniciiUum char- TrichodermaceL the threads are reduced to a
tarum, Cooke.
minimum, and the spores are such a dis-
tinctive element that through these groups the Hyphomycetes
are linked with the Goniomycetes. These groups, however, are not
of sufficient size or importance to demand from us, in a work of
this character, anything more than the passing allusion which
we have given to them.
We come now to consider the structure in the Sporidiifera, in
which the fructifying corpuscles or germs, whether called spores
or sporidia, are generated within certain privileged cysts, usually
in definite numbers. In systematic works, these are included
under two orders, the Fhysomycetes and the Ascomycetes. The
former of these consists of cyst-bearing moulds, and from their
nearest affinity to the foregoing will occupy the first place.
Physomycetes include, especially amongst the Mucorini , many
most interesting and instructive species for study, which even
very lately have occupied the attention of continental mycolo-
gists. Most of these phenomena are associated more or less
with reproduction, and as such will have to be adverted to again,
* Cooke, “Handbook of British Fungi,” vol. ii. p. 552.
STRUCTURE.
51
but there are points in the structure which can best be alluded
to here. Again taking Professor de Bary’s researches as our
guide,* we will illustrate this by the common Mucor mucedo :
If we bring quite fresh horse- dung into a damp confined
atmosphere, for example, under a bell-glass, there appears on its
surface, after a few days, an immense white mildew. Upright
strong filaments of the breadth of a hair raise themselves over
the surface, each of them soon shows at its point a round little
head, which gradually becomes black, and a closer examination
shows us that in all principal points it perfectly agrees with
the sporangia of other species.
Each of these white filaments
is a sporangia-bearer. They
spring from a mycelium which
is spread in the dung, and
appear singly upon it. Cer-
tain peculiarities in the form
of the sporangium, and the
little long cylindrical spores,
which, when examined sepa-
rately, are quite flat and co-
lourless, are characteristic of
the species. If the latter be
sown in a suitable medium,
for example, in a solution of
x Fig. 31. — Mucor mucedo, with three sporangia,
sugar, they swell, and shoot a. Portion of frill with sporangiola.
forth germinating utricles, which quickly grow to mycelia, which
bear sporangia. This is easily produced on the most various
organic bodies, and Mucor mucedo is therefore found sponta-
neously on every substratum which is capable of nourishing
mildew, but on the above-named the most perfect and exuberant
specimens are generally to be found. The sporangia-bearers
are at first always branchless and without partitions. After
the sporangium is ripe, cross partitions in irregular order and
number often appear in the inner space, and on the upper
* De Bary, “On Mildew and Fermentation,” in “Quarterly German Magazine,”
or 1872.
E 2
52
FUNGI.
surface branches of different number and size, each of which
forms a sporangium at its point. The sporangia which are
formed later are often very similar, but sometimes very different,
to those which first appeared, because their partition is very
thick and does not fall to pieces when it is ripe, but irregu-
larly breaks off, or remains entire, enclosing the spores, and at
last falls to the ground, when the fungus withers. The cross
partition which separates the sporangia from its bearers is in
those which are first formed (which are always relatively thicker
sporangia) very strongly convex, while those which follow later
are often smaller, and in little weak specimens much less arched,
and sometimes quite straight. After a few days, similar filaments
generally show themselves on the dung between the sporangia-
bearers, which appear to the naked eye to be provided with deli-
cate white frills, Where such an one is to be found, two to four
rectangular expanding little branches spring up to the same
height round the filament, Each of these, after a short and
simple process, branch out into a furcated form ; the furcations
being made in such a manner that the ends of the branch at last
so stand together that their surface forms a ball. Finally, each
of the ends of a branch swells to a little round sporangium,
which is limited by a partition (called sporangiolum, to distin-
guish it from the larger ones), in which some, generally four,
spores are formed in the manner already known. When the
sporangiola are alone, they have such a peculiar appearance, with
their richly-branched bearers, that they can be taken for some-
thing quite different to the organs of the Mucor mucedo , and
were formerly not considered to belong to it. That they really
belong to the Mucor is shown by the principal filament which it
bears, not always, but very often, ending with a large sporan-
gium, which is characteristic of the JKucor mucedo ; it is still
more evident if we sow the spores of the sporangiolum, for, as
it germinates, a mycelium is developed, which, near a simple
bearer, can form large sporangia, and those form sporangiola,
the first always considerably preponderating in number, and
very often exclusively. If we examine a large number of speci-
mens, we find every possible middle form between the simple
STRUCTURE.
53
or less branched sporangia-bearers and the typical sporangiola
frills ; and we arrive at last at the conclusion simply to place the
latter among the varieties of form which the sporangia-bearer
of the Mucor mucedo shows, like every other typical organic
form within certain limits. On the other hand, propagation
organs, differing from those of the sporangia and their products,
belong to Mucor mucedo , which may be termed conidia. On
the dung (they are rare on any other substance) these appear at
the same time, or generally somewhat later, than the sporangia-
bearers, and are not unlike those to the naked eye. In a more
accurate examination, they appear different ; a thicker, partition-
less filament rises up and divides itself, generally three-forked, at
the length of one millimetre, into several series of branchlets.
The forked branches of the last series bear under their noints.
which are mostly capillary, short erect
little ramuli, and these, with which
the ends of the principal branches ar-
ticulate on their somewhat broad tops,
several spores and conidia, near one
another; about fifteen to twenty are
formed at the end of each little ra-
mulus. The peculiarities and varia-
tions which SO often appear in the Fig. 82.— Small portion of Botrytis
ramification need not be discussed
here. After the articulation of the conidia, their bearers sink
together by degrees, and are quite destroyed. The ripe conidia
are round like a ball, their surface is scarcely coloured, and almost
wholly smooth. These conidioid forms were at first described
as a separate species under the name of Botrytis Jonesii. How,
then, do they belong to the Mucor ? * That they appear grega-
riously is as little proof of an original relation to one another,
here as elsewhere. Attempts to prove that the conidia and spo-
rangia-bearers originate on one and the same mycelium filament
may possibly hereafter succeed. Till now this hasnot been the case,
* We are quite aware that Von Tieghem and Le Monnier, in u Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” 1873, p. 335, dispute that this belongs to Mucor mucedo , and assert that
Chcetocladium Jonesii is itself a true Mucor , with monosporous sporangia.
54
FUNGI.
and he who has ever tried to disentangle the mass of filaments
which exuberantly covers the substratum of a Mucor vegetation,
which has reached so far as to form conidia, will not be surprised
that all attempts have hitherto proved abortive. The suspicion
of the connection founded on the gregariously springing up, and
external resemblance, is fully justified, if we sow the conidia in a
suitable medium, for example, in a solution of sugar. They
here germinate and produce a mycelium which exactly re-
sembles that of the Mucor mucedo , and, above all, they pro-
duce in profusion the typical sporangia of the same on its
bearers. The latter are till now alone reproductions of conidia-
bearers, and have never been observed on mycelia which have
grown out of conidia.
These phenomena of development appear in the Mucor when
it dwells on a damp substance, which must naturally contain
the necessary nourishment for it, and is exposed to the atmo-
spheric air. Its mycelium represents at first strong branched
utricles without partitions ; the branches are of the higher
order, mostly divided into rich and very fine-pointed ramuli.
In old mycelium, and also in the sporangia-bearers, the contents
of which are mostly used for the formation of spores, and
the substratum of which is exhausted for our fungus, short
stationary pieces, filled with protoplasm, are very often formed
into cells through partitions in order to produce spores, that
is, grow to a new fruitful mycelium. These cells are called
gemmules, brooding cells, and resemble such vegetable buds and
sprouts of foliaceous plants which remain capable of develop-
ment after the organs of vegetation are dead, in order to grow,
under suitable circumstances, to new vegetating plants, as, for
example, the bulbs of onions, &c.
If we bring a vegetating mycelium of Mucor mucedo into a
medium which contains the necessary nourishment for it, but
excluded from the free air, the formation of sporangia takes place
very sparingly or not at all, but that of gemmules is very abun-
dant. Single interstitial pieces of the ramuli, or even whole
systems of branches, are quite filled with a rich greasy proto-
plasm ; the short pieces and ends are bound by partitions which
STRUCTURE.
55
form particular, often tun-like or globular cells ; the longer ones
are changed, through the formation of cross partitions, into
chains of similar cells ; the latter often attain by degrees strong,
thick walls, and their greasy contents often pass into innumerable
drops of a very regular globular form and of equal size. Similar
appearances show themselves after the sowing of spores, which
are capable of germinating in the medium already described,
from which the air is excluded. Either short germinating
utricles shoot forth, which soon form themselves into rows of
gemmules, or the spores swell to large round bladders filled
with protoplasm, and shoot forth on various parts of their
surface innumerable protuberances, which, fixing themselves
with a narrow basis, soon become round vesiculate cells, and on
which the same sprouts which caused their production are re-
peated, formations which remind us of the fungus of fermenta-
tion called globular yeast. Among all the known forms of
gemmules we find a variety which are intermediate, all of which
show, when brought into a normal condition of development,
the same proportion, and the same germination, as those we first
described.
We have detailed rather at length the structure and develop-
ment of one of the most common of the Mucors, which will
serve as an illustration of the order. Other distinctions there
may be which are of more interest as defining the limits of
genera, except such as may be noticed when we come to write
more specially of reproduction.
Ascomycetes. — Passing now to the Ascomy cates, which are
especially rich in genera and species, we must first, and but super-
ficially, allude to Tuberacei , an order of sporidiiferous fungi of
subterranean habit, and rather peculiar structure.* In this order
an external stratum of cells forms a kind of perithecium, which
is more or less developed in' different genera. This encloses the
hymenium, which is sinuous, contorted, and twisted, often forming
lacunas. The hymenium in some genera consists of elongated,
nearly cylindrical asci, enclosing a definite number of sporidia ;
in the true truffles and their immediate allies, the asci are broad
* Vittadini, “ Monographia Tuberacearum, ” 1831.
56
FUNGI.
sacs, containing very large and beautiful, often coloured, sporidia.
These latter have either a smooth, war ted, spinulose, or lacunose
epispore, and, as will be seen from the figures in Tulasne’s
Monograph,* * * § or those in the last volume of Corda’s great work, f
are attractive microscopical objects. In some cases, it is not
difficult to detect paraphyses, but in others they would seem to
be entirely absent. A comparatively large number have been
discovered and recorded in Great Britain, l but of these none
are more suitable for study of general structure than the ordi-
nary truffle of the markets.
The structure of the remaining Ascomycetes can be studied
under two groups, i.e the fleshy Ascomycetes, or, as they have
been termed, the Discomycetes, an d the hard, or carbonaceous Asco-
mycetesj sometimes called the Pyrenomycetes. Neither of these
names gives an accurate idea of the distinctions between the two
groups* in the former of which the discoid form, is not universal,
and the latter contains somewhat fleshy forms. But in the Dis-
comycetes the hymenium soon becomes more or less exposed,
and in the latter it is enclosed in a perithecium. The Discomy-
cetes are of two kinds, the pileate and the cup-shaped. Of the
pileate such a genus as Gyromitra or Helvellcb is, in a certain
sense, analogous to the Agarics amongst Ilymenomycetes , with a
superior instead of an inferior hymenium, and enclosed, not
naked, spores. Again, Geoglossum, is somewhat analogous to
Clavaria. Amongst the cup-shaped, Peziza is an Ascomycetous
Cypliella. But these are perhaps more fanciful than real
analogies.
Recently Boudier has examined one group of the cup-shaped
Discomycetes, the Ascobotei , and, by making a somewhat free use
of his Memoir, § we may arrive at a general idea of the struc-
ture in the cupulate Discomycetes. They present themselves at
* Tulasne; “ Fungi Hypogcei,” 1851.
+ Corda, “ leones Fungorum,” vol. vi.
J Berkeley and Broome, in “Ann. of Nat. Hist.” 1st ser. vol. xviii. (1846),
p. 73 ; Cooke, in “Seem. Journ. Bot.”
§ Boudier (E.), “ Memoire sur les Ascoboles, ” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 5me
ser. vol. x. (1869).
STRUCTURE.
57
first under the form of a small rounded globule, and almost
entirely cellular. This small globule, the commencement
of the receptacle, is not long in increasing, preserving its
rounded form up to the development of the asci. At this
period, under the influence of the rapid growth of these organs,
it soon produces at its summit a fissure of the external mem-
brane, which becomes a more marked depression in the mar-
ginate species. The receptacle thus formed increases rapidly,
becomes plane, more convex, or more or less undulated at the
margin, if at all of large size. Fixed to the place where it is
generated by some more or less abundant mycelioid filaments, the
receptacle becomes somewhat cup-shaped and either stipitate or
sessile, composed of the receptacle proper and the hymenium.
The receptacle proper comprehends the subhymenial tissue,
the parenchyma, and the external membrane. The subhymenial
Fig. 33.— Section of cup of Ascobolus. a. External cells, b. Secondary layer, c. Sub-
hymenial tissue (Janczenski).
tissue is composed of small compact cells, forming generally
a more coloured and dense stratum, the superior cells of which
give rise to the asci and paraphyses. The parenchyma is seated
beneath this, and is generally of interlaced filaments, of a looser
consistency than the preceding, united by intermediate cellules.
The external membrane, which envelopes the parenchyma, and
limits the hymenium, differs from the preceding by the cells
often being polyhedric, sometimes transverse, and united to-
gether, and sometimes separable. Externally it is sometimes
smooth, and sometimes granular or hairy.
58
FUNGI.
The hymenium is, however, the most important part, con-
sisting of (1) the paraphyses, (2) the asci, and sometimes (3)
an investing mucilage. The asci are always present, the para-
physes are sometimes rare, and the mucilage in many cases
seems to be entirely wanting.
The paraphyses, which are formed at the first commencement
of the receptacle, are at first very short, but soon elongate, and
become wholly developed before the appearance of the asci.
They are linear, sometimes branched and sometimes simple,
often more or less thickened at their tips ; almost always they
contain within them some oleaginous granules, either coloured or
colourless. Their special function seems still somewhat obscure,
and Boudier suggests that they may be excitatory organs for
the dehiscence of the asci. However this may be, some mycolo-
gists are of opinion that, at least in some of the Ascomycetes,
the paraphyses are abortive asci, or, at any rate, that abortive
asci mixed with the paraphyses cannot be distinguished from
them.
The mucilage forms itself almost at the same time as the
paraphyses, and previous to the formation of the asci. This
substance appears as a colourless or yellowish mucilage, which
envelopes the paraphyses and asci, and so covers the hymenium
with a shining coat.
The asci appear first at the base of the paraphyses, under the
form of oblong cells, filled with colourless protoplasm. By rapid
growth, they soon attain a considerable size and fulness, the
protoplasm being gradually absorbed by the sporidia, the first
indication of which is always the central nucleus. The mucilage
also partly disappears, and the asci, attaining their maturity,
become quite distinct, each enclosing its sporidia. But before
they take their complete growth they detach themselves from
the subhymenial tissue, and being attenuated towards their base,
are forced upwards by pressure of the younger asci, to, and in
some instances beyond, the upper surface of the disc. This
phenomenon commences during the night, and continues during
the night and all the morning. It attains its height at mid-day,
and it is then that the slightest breath of air, the slightest
STRUCTURE.
59
movement, suffices to cause dehiscence, which is generally
followed by a scarcely perceptible contractile motion of the
receptacle.
There is manifestly a succession in formation and maturity of
the asci in a receptacle. In the true Ascobolei , in which the
sporidia are coloured, this may be more dis-
tinctly seen. At first some thin projecting
points appear upon the disc, the next day
they are more numerous, and become more
and more so on following days, so as to
render the disc almost covered with raised
black or crystalline points ; * these after-
wards diminish day by day, until they ulti-
mately cease. The asci, after separation
from the subhymenial tissue, continue to
lengthen, or it may be that their elasticity
permits of extension during expulsion.
Boudier considers that an amount of elas-
ticity is certain, because he has seen an
ascus arrive at maturity, eject its spores,
and then make a sharp and considerable
movement of retraction, then the ascus re-
turned again immediately towards its pre-
vious limits, always with a reduction in the
number of its contained sporidia.
The dehiscence of the asei takes place in
the Ascobolei , in some species of JPeziza ,
JKorcJiella, Helvetia , and T^erpa, by means
of an apical operculum, and in other JPezizce,
JELelotium , Geoglossum, Leotia , PAitrula , &c.,
by a fissure of the ascus. This operculum
may be the more readily seen when the ascus is coloured by a
drop of tincture of iodine.
The sporidia are usually four or eight, or some multiple of
that number, in each ascus, rarely four, most commonly eight.
At a fixed time the protoplasm, which at first filled the asci, dis-
* Only in some of the Discomycetes are the asci exserted.
bolus (Boudier).
GO
FUNGr.
appears or is absorbed in a mucilaginous matter, which occupies
its place, in the midst of which is a small nucleus, which is the
rudiment of the first spore; other spores are formed consecutively,
and then the substance separates into as many sections as there
are sporidia. From this period each sporidium seems to have a
separate existence. All have a nucleus, which is scarcely visible,
often slightly granular, but which is quite distinct from the
oleaginous sporidioles so frequent amongst the Discomycetes,
and which are sometimes called by the same name. The spori-
dia are at first a little smaller than when mature, and are sur-
rounded by mucilage. After this period the sporidia lose their
nebulous granulations, wdiilst still preserving their nucleus ; their
outlines are distinct, and, amongst the true Ascobolei , commence
acquiring a rosy colour, the first intimation of maturity. This
colour manifests itself rapidly, accumulating exclusively upon
the epispore, which becomes of a deep rose, then violet, and
finally violet blue, so deep as sometimes to appear quite black.
There are some modifications in this coloration, since, in some
species, it passes from a vinous red to grey, then to black, or
from rose-violet to brown.
The epispore acquires a waxy consistence by this pigmenta-
tion, so that it may be detached in granules. It is to this parti-
cular consistency of the epispore that the cracks so frequent in
the coloured sporidia of Ascobolus are due, through contraction
of the epispore. As they approach maturity, the sporidia accu-
mulate towards the apex of the asci, and finally escape in the
manner already indicated.
In all essential particulars there is a great similarity in the
structure of the other Discomycetes, especially in their reproduc-
tive system. In most of them coloured sporidia are rare. In
some the receptacle is pileate, clavate, or inflated, whilst in
Stictis it is very much reduced, and in the lowest form of all,
Ascomyces, it is entirely absent. In the Phacidiacei , the struc-
ture is very similar to that of the JElvellacei , whilst the Hyste-
ricicei , with greater affinities with the latter, still tend towards
the Pyrenomycetes by the more horny nature of the receptacle,
and the greater tendency of the hymenium to remain closed, at
STRUCTURE.
61
least when dry. In some species of Hysterium , the sporidia are
remarkably fine. M. Duby* has subjected this group to ex-
amination, and M. Tulasne partly so.f
Spioeriacei. — In this group there is considerable variation,
within certain limits. It contains an immense number oi
species, and these are daily being augmented. The general
feature in all is the presence of a perithecium, which contains
and encloses the hymenium, and at length opening by a pore
or ostiolum at the apex. In some the perithecia are simple, in
others compound ; in some immersed in a stroma, in others
free ; in some fleshy or waxy, in others carbonaceous, and in
others membranaceous. But in all there is this important dif-
ference from the Ascomycetes we have already had under con-
sideration, that the hymenium is never exposed. The perithe-
cium consists usually of an external
layer of cellular structure, which is
either smooth or hairy, usually black-
ish, and an internal stratum of less
compact cells, which give rise to the
hymenium. Fig. 35-.
As in the Discomycetes , the hyme-
nium consists of asci, paraphyses, and mucilage, but the whole
forms a less compact and more gelatinous mass within the peri-
thecium. The formation and growth of the asci and sporidia
differ little from what we have described, and when mature the
asci dehisce, and the sporidia alone are ejected from the ostiolum.
We are not aware that operculate asci have yet been detected.
It has been shown in some instances, and suspected in others,
that certain moulds, formerly classed with Mucedines and Dema-
tiei , especially in the genus JlelmintJiosporium , bear the conidia
of species of Sphceria, so that this may be regarded as one form
of fruit.
Perithecia, very similar externally to those of Sphceria, but
containing spores borne on slender pedicels and not enclosed in
asci, have had their relations to certain species of Sphceria indi-
* Duby, “Memoire sur la Tribu des Hysterinees,” 1861.
1 f Tulasne, “ Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” vol. iii.
Perithecium of Sphceria
and Section.
62
FUNGI.
cated, and these are no longer regarded so much as species of
Hendersonia or Diplodia as the pycnidia of Sphceria. Other and
more minute perithecia, containing minute, slender stylospores in
great numbers, formerly classed with Aposphceria, jPhoma, &c., but
are now recognized as spermogonia containing the spermatia of
Sphcerice. How these influence each other, when and under
what circumstances the spermatia are instrumental in impregna-
tion of the sporidia, is still matter of mystery. It is clear, how-
ever, that in all these conidia, macrospores, microspores, and
some spermatia, or by whatever names they may be called, there
exists a power of germination. Tulasne has indicated in some
instances five or six forms of fruit as belonging to one fungus,
of which the highest and most perfect condition is a species of
Sphceria.
Perisporiacei. — Except in the perithecia rupturing irregularly,
and not dehiscing by a pore, some of
the genera in this group differ little in
structure from the Sphceriacei. On the
other hand, the JErysiphei present impor-
tant and very interesting features. They
occur chiefly on the green parts of grow-
ing plants. At first there is a more or
less profuse white mycelium.* This
gives rise to chains of conidia ( Oidium ),
and afterwards small sphaeroid projections appear at certain
points on the mycelium. These enlarge, take an orange colour,
ultimately passing into brown, and then nearly black. Exter-
nally these perithecia are usually furnished with long, spreading,
intertwined, or branching appendages, sometimes beautifully
branched or hooked at their tips. In the interior of the recep-
tacles, pear-shaped or ovate asci are-formed in clusters, attached
together at the base, and containing two or more hyaline
sporidia. Other forms of fruit have also been observed on
the same mycelium. In an exotic genus, JKeliola , the fulcra, or
appendages, as well as the mycelium, are black, otherwise it
* Tulasne, “ Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” vol. i. LeveilE, “Organisation,
&c., sur l'llrysiphe,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1851), vol. xv. p. 109.
Fig. 36. — Lncinula adunca.
STRUCTURE.
63
is very analogous to such a genns of JErysipJiei as Microsphderia.
In Chcetomium, the perithecia bristle with rigid, dark-coloured
hairs, and the sporidia are coloured. Our limits, however, will
not permit of further elucidation of the complex and varied
structure to be found amongst fungi.*
* Other works besides those already cited, which may be consulted with
advantage on structure, are —
Tulasne, L. It. and C., various articles in “Annales des Sciences Naturelles,”
serie iii. and iv.
Hoffmann, “leones Analytics Fungorum.”"
De Bary, “ Der Ascomyceten.” Leipzic, 1863.
Berkeley, M. J., “ Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany.”
Seynes, J. de, “ Recherches, &c., des Fistulines.” Paris, 1874.
Winter, G., “ Die Deutschen Sordarien.” 1874.
Corda, J., “ Prachtflora. ” Prague, 1840.
De Bary, “ Uber der Brandpilze. ” 1853.
Brefeld, 0., “Botan. Untersuch. ii Schimmelpilze.”
Fresenius, G., “ Beitrage zur Mykologie. ” 1850.
Yon Tieghem and Le Monnier, in “ Annales des Sciences Naturelles” (1873),
p. 335.
Cornu, M., “Surles Saprolegniees,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 5n,e s&\ xv.
p. 5.
Janczenski, “ Sur l’Ascobolus furf uraceus, ” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 5me
ser. xv. p. 200.
De Bary and Woronin, “Beitrage zur Morph ologie und Physiologie der Pilze.”
1870.
Bonorden, H. F., “ Abhandlungen ans dem Gebiete der Mykologie.” 1864.
Coemans, E., “ Spicikge Mycologique. ” 1862, etc.
64
III.
CLASSIFICATION.
A work of this kind could not be considered complete without
some account of the systematic arrangement or classification
which these plants receive at the hands of botanists. It would
hardly avail to enter too minutely into details, yet sufficient
should he attempted to enable the reader to comprehend the
value and relations of the different groups into which fungi are
divided. The arrangement generally adopted is based upon
the “ Systema Mycologicum ” of Tries, as modified to meet the
requirements of more recent microscopical researches by Berkeley
in his “ Introduction,”* and adopted in Lindley’s “Vegetable
Kingdom.” Another arrangement was proposed by Professor
de Bary,^ but it has never met with general acceptance.
In the arrangement to which we have alluded, all fungi are
divided into two primary sections, having reference to the mode
in which the fructification is produced. In one section, the
spores (which occupy nearly the same position, and perform
similar functions, to the seeds of higher plants) are naked ; that
is, they are produced on spicules, and are not enclosed in cysts
or capsules. This section is called Spokifera, or spore-bearing,
because, by general consent, the term spore is limited in fungi
to such germ-cells as are not produced in cysts. The second
section is termed Sporidiifera, or sporidia-bearing, because in
like manner the term sporidia is limited to such germ-cells as
* Rev. M. J. Berkeley, “Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany” (1857), Lon-
don, pp. 235 to 372.
t Be Bary, in “ Streinz Nomenclator Fungorum,” p. 722.
CLASSIFICATION.
65
are produced in cells or cysts. These cysts are respectively
known as sporangia , and asci or thecae. The true meaning and
value of these divisions will be better comprehended when we
have detailed the characters of the families composing these two
divisions.
First, then, the section Sporifera contains four families, in two
of which a hymenium is present, and in two there is no proper
hymenium. The term hymenium is employed to represent a
more or less expanded surface, on whioh the fructification is
produced, and is, in fact, the fruit-bearing surface. When no
such surface is present, the fruit is borne on threads, proceeding
direct from the root-like filaments of the mycelium, or an inter-
mediate kind of cushion or stroma. The two families in which
an hymenium is present are called Hymenomycetes and Gastero -
mycetes, In the former, the hymenium is exposed ; in the latter, it
is at first enclosed. We must examine each of these separately.
The common mushroom may be accepted, by way of illustra-
tion, as a type of the family Hymenomycetes , in which the
hymenium is exposed, and is, in faot, the most noticeable
feature in the family from which its name is derived. The
pileus or cap bears on its under surface radiating plates or gills,
consisting of the hymenium, over which are thickly scattered
the basidia, each surmounted by four spicules, and on each
spicule a spore. When mature, these spores fall freely upon the
ground beneath, imparting to it the general colour of the spores.
But it must be observed that the hymenium takes the form of
gill-plates in only one order of Hymenomycetes , namely, the
Agaricini ; and here, as in Gantharellus , the hymenium is some-
times spread over prominent veins rather than gills. Still
further divergence is manifest in the Polyporei , in which order
the hymenium lines the inner surface of pores or tubes, which
are normally on the under side of the pileus. Both these orders
include an immense number of species, the former more or less
fleshy, the latter more or less tough and leathery. There are
still other forms and orders in this family, as the Hydnei , in
which the hymenium clothes the surface of prickles or spines,
and the Auricularini , in which the hymenium is entirely or
66
FUNGI.
almost even. In the two remaining orders, there is a still further
divergence from the mushroom form. In the one called Clavariei,
the entire fungus is either simply cylindrical or club-shaped, or
it is very much branched and ramified. Whatever form the
fungus assumes, the hymenium covers the whole exposed surface.
In the Tremellini , a peculiar structure prevails, which at first
seems to agree but little with the preceding. The whole plant
is gelatinous when fresh, lobed and convolute, often brain-like,
and varying in size, according to species, from that of a pin’s
head to that of a man’s head. Threads and sporophores are
imbedded in the gelatinous substance,* so that the fertile threads
are in reality not compacted into a true
hymenium. With this introduction we
may state that the technical characters
of the family are thus expressed : —
Hymenium free , mostly naked , or, if
enclosed at first , soon exposed ; spores
naked , mostly quaternate , on distinct
spicules = Hymenomycetes.
In this family some mycologists be-
lieve that fungi attain the highest form
of development of which they are ca-
pable, whilst others contend that the
Fig. 37. — Agaricus nuaus. x
fructification of the Ascomycetes is more
perfect, and that some of the noblest species, such as the pileate
forms, are entitled to the first rank. The morel is a familiar
example. Whatever may be said on this point, it is incontro-
vertible that the noblest and most attractive, as well as the
largest, forms are classed under the Hymenomycetes .
In Gasteromycetes , the second family, a true hymenium is
also present, but instead of being exposed it is for a long time
enclosed in an outer peridium or sac, until the spores are fully
matured, or the fungus is beginning to decay. The common
puff-ball ( Lycoperdon ) is well known, and will illustrate the
principal feature of the family. Externally there is a tough
* Tulasne, L. and C. R., “Observations sur l’Organisation des Tremellin^es,”
“Ann. desSci. Nat.” 1853, xix. p. 193.
CLASSIFICATION.
67
coat or peridium, which is at first pale, but ultimately becomes
brown. Internally is at first a cream-coloured, then greenish,
cellular mass, consisting of the sinuated hymenium and young
spores, which at length, and when the spores are fully matured,
become brownish and dusty, the hymenium being broken up
into threads, and the spores become free. In earlier stages,
and before the hymenium is ruptured, the spores have been
found to harmonize with those of H 'ymenomycQtes. in their mode
of production, since basidia are present surmounted each by
four spicules, and each spicule normally surmounted by a
spore.* Here is, therefore, a cellular hymenium bearing qua-
ternary spores, but, instead of being exposed, this hymenium
is wholly enclosed within an external sac or peridium, which
is not ruptured until the spores, are fully matured, and the
hymenium is resolved into threads,, together forming a pul-
verulent mass. It must, however, be borne in mind, that in
only some of the orders composing this family is the hymenium
thus evanescent, in others being more or less, permanent, and
this has led naturally enough to the recognition of two sub-
families, in one of which the hymenium is more or less per-
manent, thus following the Hymenomycetous type ; and in the
other, the hymenium is evanescent, and the dusty mass of spores
tends more towards the Conio7nycetes, this being characterized
as the coniospermous (or dusty-spored), sub-family.
The first sub-family includes, first of all, the Hypogcei, or sub-
terranean species. And here again if becomes necessary to re-
mind the reader that all subterranean fungi are not included in
this order, inasmuch as some, of which the truffle is an exam-
ple, are sporidiiferous, developing their sporidia in asci. To
these allusion must hereafter be made. In the Hypogcsi , the
hymenium is permanent and convoluted, leaving numerous
minute irregular cavities, in which the spores are produced on
* Berkeley, M. J., “On the Fructification of Lycoperdon, Phallus , and their
Allied Genera,” in “Ann. of Nat. Hist.” (1840), vol. iv. p. 155; “Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” (1839), xii. p. 163. Tulasne, L. R. and C._, “De la Fructification des
Scleroderma compare a celle des Ly caper don et des, Bovista” in “ Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” 2rae ser. xvii. p. 5.
68
FUNGI.
sporophores. When specimens are very old and decaying, the
interior may become pulverulent or deliquescent. The structure
of subterranean fungi attracted the attention of Messrs. Tulasne,
and led to the production of a splendid monograph on the
subject.* * * § Another order belonging to this sub-family is the
Jdhalloidei , in which the volva or peridium is ruptured whilst
the plant is still immature, and the hymenium when mature
becomes deliquescent. Not only are some members of this
order most singular in appearance, but they possess an odour
so foetid as to be unapproached in this property by any other
vegetable production. t In this order, the inner stratum of the
investing volva is gelatinous. When still young, and previous
to the rupture of the volva, the hymenium presents sinuous
cavities in which the spores are produced on spicules, after the
manner of Uymenomycetes.% Nidulariacei is a somewhat aber-
rant order, presenting a peculiar structure. The peridium con-
sists of two or three coats, and bursts at the apex, either
irregularly or in a stellate manner, or by the separation of
a little lid. Within the cavity are contained one or more
secondary receptacles, which are either free or attached by
elastic threads to the common receptacle. Ultimately the
secondary receptacles are hollow, and spores are produced
in the interior, borne on spicules. § The appearance in some
genera as of a little bird’s-nest containing eggs has furnished
the name to the order.
The second sub-family contains the coniospermous puff-balls,
and includes two orders, in which the most readily distinguish-
able feature is the cellular condition of the entire plant, in its
earlier stages, in the Trichogastres, and the gelatinous condition
of the early state of the Myxogastres. Both are ultimately
resolved internally into a dusty mass of threads and spores.
* Tulasne, L. R. and C., “Fungi Hypogsei,” Paris, 1851; “Observations sur
le Genre Elaphomyces, ” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 1841, xvi. 5.
■f Stapelice in tbis respect approach most closely to the Phalloidei.
J Berkeley, in “Ann. Nat. Hist.” vol. iv. p. 155.
§ Tulasne, L. R. and C., “Recherches sur 1’ Organisation et le Mode de Fruc-
tification des NidulariSes,” “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1844), i. p. 41.
CLASSIFICATION.
69
In the former, the peridium is either single or double, oc-
casionally borne on a stem, but usually sessile. In Geaster ,
the “ starry puff-balls,” the outer peridium divides into
several lobes, which fall back in a stellate manner, and expose
the inner peridium, like a ball in the centre. In Polysaccum ,
the interior is divided into numerous
cells, filled with secondary peridia. The
mode of spore-production has already
been alluded to in our remarks on JLyco -
perdon. All the species are large, as
® compared with those of the following
i sub-family, and one species of Lycoper-
don attains an enormous size, One
specimen recorded in the “ Gardener’s
Chronicle ” was three feet four inches
38.- Scleroderma vuigare, Fr. jn circumference, and weighed nearly
ten pounds. In the Myxogastres, the early stage has been the
subject of much controversy. The gelatinous condition presents
phenomena so unlike anything previously recorded in plants,
that one learned professor* did not hesitate to propose their
exclusion from the vegetable, and recognition in the animal,
kingdom as associates of the Gregarines. When mature, the
spores and threads so much resemble those of the Trichogastres ,
and the little plants themselves are so veritably miniature puff-
balls, that the theory of their animal nature did not meet with
a ready acceptance, and is now virtually abandoned. The cha-
racters of the family we have thus briefly reviewed are tersely
stated, as —
Hymenium more or less permanently concealed , consisting in
most cases of closely-paclced cells , of which the fertile ones hear
naked spores on distinct spicules , exposed only hy the rupture or
decay of the investing coat or peridium — Gasteeomycetes.
We come now to the second section of the Sporifera, in
which no definite hymenium is present. And here we find
also two families, in one of which the dusty spores are the
* De Bary, A., " Des Myxomycetes/' in "Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4in“ ser. xi.
p. 153; “ Bot. Zeit” m p, 357.
70
FUNGI.
prominent feature, and hence termed Coniomycetes ; the other,
in which the threads are most noticeable, is Hyphomycetes.
In the former of these, the reproductive system seems to pre-
ponderate so much over the vegetative, that the fungus appears
to be all spores. The mycelium is often nearly obsolete, and
the short pedicels so evanescent, that a rusty or sooty powder
represents the mature fungus, infesting the green parts of living
plants. This is more especially true of one or two orders. It
will be most convenient to recognize two artificial sub-families
for the purpose of illustration, in one of which the species are
developed on living, and in the other on dead, plants. We will
commence with the latter, recognizing first those which are
developed beneath the cuticle, and then those which are super-
ficial. Of the sub-cuticular, two orders may be named as the
representatives of this group in Britain, these are the Sphcero-
nemeiy in which the spores are contained in a more or less perfect
perithecium, and the il lelanconiei, in which there is manifestly
none. The first of these is analogous to the Sphceriacei of As-
comycetous fungi, and probably consists largely of spermogonia
of known species of SpJiceria, the relations of which have not
hitherto been traced. The spores are produced on slender
threads springing from the inner wall of the perithecium, and,
when mature, are expelled from an orifice at the apex. This is
Fjg. 39 .—Ceuthospora phacidioides (Greville).
the normal condition, to which there are some exceptions. In
the Melanconiei , there is no true perithecium, but the spores are
produced in like manner upon a kind of stroma or cushion
CLASSIFICATION.
71
formed from tlie mycelium, and, when mature, are expelled
through a rupture of the cuticle beneath which they are gene-
rated, often issuing in long gelatinous tendrils. Here, again,
the majority of what were formerly regarded as distinct species
have been found, or suspected, to be forms of higher fungi. The
Torulacei represent the superficial fungi of this family, and these
consist of a more or less developed mycelium, which gives rise
to fertile threads, which, by constriction and division, mature
into moniliform chains of spores. The species mostly appear
as blackish velvety patches or stains on the stems of herbaceous
plants and on old weathered wood.
Much interest attaches to the other sub-family of Coniomycetes ,
in which the species are produced for the most part on living
plants. So much has been discovered during recent years of the
polymorphism which subsists amongst the species in this section,
that any detailed classification can only be regarded as pro-
visional. Hence we shall proceed here upon the supposition
that we are dealing with autonomous species. In the first place,
we must recognize a small section in which a kind of cellular
peridium is present. This is the sEcidiacei, or order of “ cluster
cups.” The majority of species are very beautiful objects under
the microscope ; the peridia are distinctly cellular, and white or
pallid, produced beneath the cuticle, through which they burst,
and, rupturing at the apex, in one genus in a stellate manner,
so that the teeth, becoming reflexed, resemble delicate fringed
cups, with the orange, golden, brown, or whitish spores or
pseudospores nestling in the interior.* These pseudospores
are at first produced in chains, but ultimately separate. In
many cases these cups are either accompanied or preceded by
spermogonia. In two other orders there is no peridium. In
the Gceomacei , the pseudospores are more or less globose or
ovate, sometimes laterally compressed and simple ; and in
dBuccinicei, they are elongated, often subfusiform and septate.
In both, the pseudospores are produced in tufts or clusters
direct from the mycelium. The Cceomacei might again be sub-
* Corda, “leones Fungorum,” vol. iii. fig. 45.
72
FUNGI.
divided into Ustilagines * and Uredines. f In tlie former, tlie
pseudospores are mostly dingy brown or blackish, and in the
latter more brightly coloured, often yellowish. The Ustilagines
include the smuts and bunt of corn-plants, the Uredines
include the red rusts of wheat and grasses. In some of the
species included in the latter, two forms of fruit are found.
In Melamgpsora , the summer pseudospores are yellow, globose,
and were formerly classed as a species of Lecytliea , whilst
the winter pseudospores are brownish, elongated, wedge-
shaped by compression, and compact. The JPuccinicei J differ
primarily in the septate pseudospores, which in one genus
( Puccinia ) are uniseptate ; in Triphragmium , they are biseptate ;
in JPhragmidium , multiseptate ; and in Xenodoclius , moniliform,
breaking up into distinct articulations. It is probable that, in
all of these, as is known to be the case in most, the septate
pseudospores are preceded or accompanied' by simple pseudo-
spores, to which they are mysteriously related. There is still
another, somewhat singular, group usually associated with the
JPuccinicei , in which the septate pseudospores are immersed in
gelatin, so that in many features the species seem to approach
the Tremellini. This group includes two or three genera, the
type of which will be found in Podisoma.§ These fungi are
parasitic on living junipers in Britain and North America,
appearing year after year upon the same gouty swellings of the
branches, in clavate or horn- shaped gelatinous processes of a
yellowish or orange colour. Anomalous as it may at first sight
appear to include these tremelloid forms with the dust- like fungi,
their relations will on closer examination be more fully appre-
ciated, when the form of pseudospores, mode of germination, and
other features are taken into consideration, especially when
compared with Uodisoma Ellisii , already alluded to. This family
is technically characterized as, —
* Tulasne, “M4moire sur les Ustilaginees,” “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1847), vii.
12-73.
f Tulasne, “Memoire sur les Uredinees,” “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1854), ii. 78.
X Tulasne, “Sur les Uredinees,” “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 1854, ii. pi. 9.
§ Cooke, M. C.,“ Notes on Podisoma,” in “Journ. Quek. Micr. Club,” No. 17
(1871), p. 255.
CLASSIFICATION.
73
Distinct hymenium none. Pseudospores either solitary or con -
catenate , produced on the tips of generally short threads, which
are either naked or contained in a perithecium , rarely compacted
into a gelatinous mass , at length producing minute spores = CONIO-
MYCETES.
The last family of the sporifera is Hyphomycetes, in which the
threads are conspicuously developed. These are what are more
commonly called “moulds,” including some of the most elegant
and delicate of microscopic forms. It is true of many of these,
as well as of the Coniomycetes , that they are only conidial forms
of higher fungi ; but there will remain a very large number of
species which, as far as present knowledge extends, must be ac-
cepted as autonomous. In this family, we may again recognize
three subdivisions, in one of which the threads are more or less
compacted into a common stem, in another the threads are free,
and in the third the threads can scarcely be distinguished from
the mycelium. It is this latter group which unites the Hypho -
mycetes with the Coniomycetes , the affinities being increased by the
great profusion with which the spores are developed. The first
group, in which the fertile threads are united so as to form a
compound stem, consists of two small orders, the Isariacei and the
Stilhacei, in the former of which the spores are dry, and in the
latter somewhat gelatinous. Many of the species closely imitate
forms met with in the Hymenomycetes , such as Clavaria ; and,
in the genus Isaria, it is almost beyond doubt that the species
found on dead insects, moths, spiders, flies, ants, &c., are merely
the conidiophores of species of Torrubia .*
The second group is by far the largest, most typical, and
attractive in this family. It contains the black moulds and
white moulds, technically known as the Dematiei and the
Mucedines. In the first, the threads are more or less corticated,
that is, the stem has a distinct investing membrane, which peels
off like a bark ; and the threads, often also the spores, are dark-
coloured, as if charred or scorched. In many cases, the spores
are highly developed, large, multiseptate, and nucleate, and sel-
* Tulasne, L. R. and C., “Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” vol. iii. pp. 4-19.
74
FUNGI.
dom are spores and threads colourless or of bright tints. In
the Mucedines , on the contrary, the threads are never coated,
seldom dingy, mostly white or of pure colours, and the spores
have less a tendency to extra development or multiplex septa-
tion. In some genera, as in Feronospora for instance,* a
secondary fruit is produced in the form of
resting spores from the mycelium ; and
these generate zoospores as well as the
primary spores,
similar to those common
Fig. 40. — Rhopalomyces
caudidus.
in Algce. This latter genus is very de-
structive to growing plants, one species
being the chief agent in the potato disease,
and another no less destructive to crops of
onions. The vine disease is produced by a
species of Oidium , which is also classed
with Mucedines , but which is really the
conidiiferous form of Frysiphe. In other genera, the majority
of species are developed on decaying plants, so that, with the
exception of the two genera mentioned, the Hyphomycetes exert
a much less baneful influence on vegetation than the Conio -
mycetes. The last section, including the Sepedoniei , has been
already cited as remarkable for the suppression of the threads,
which are scarcely to be distinguished from the mycelium ; the
spores are profuse, nestling on the floccose mycelium ; whilst
in the Trichodermacei , the spores are invested by the threads, as
if enclosed in a sort of false peridium. A summary of the
characters of the family may therefore be thus briefly ex-
pressed : —
Filamentous ; fertile threads naked, for the most part free or
loosely compacted , simple or branched , bearing the spores at their
apices , rarely more closely packed , so as to form a distinct common
stem = Hyphomycetes.
Having thus disposed of the Sporifera, we must advert
to the two families of Sporidiifera. As more closely related
to the Hyphomycetes , the first of these to be noticed is the
* De Bary, A., ‘ ‘ Recherches sur les Champignons Parasites,” in “Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” 4me s4r. xx. p. 5 ; “ Grevillea,” vol. i. p. 150.
CLASSIFICATION.
75
Physomycetes , in which there is no proper hymenium, and the
threads proceeding from the mycelium bear vesicles contain-
ing an indefinite number of sporidia. The fertile threads are
either free or only slightly felted. In the order Antennariei, the
threads are black and moniliform, more or less felted, bearing
irregular sporangia. A common fungus named Zasmidium
cellare , found in cellars, and incrusting old wine bottles, as
with a blackened felt, belongs to this order. The larger and
more highly-developed order, Mucorini , differs in the threads,
which are simple or branched, being free,
erect, and bearing the sporangia at the tips
of the thread, or branches. Some of the
species bear great external resemblance to
Mucedines until the fruit is examined, when
the fructifying heads, commonly globose or
ovate, are found to be delicate transparent
vesicles, enclosing a large number of minute
sporidia ; when mature, the sporangia burst
and the sporidia are set free. In some spe-
cies, it has long been known that a sort of
conjugation takes place between opposite threads, which results
in the formation of a sporangium.* None of these species are
destructive to vegetation, appearing only 'upon decaying, and
not upon living, plants. A state approaching putrescence seems
to be essential to their vigorous development. The following
characters may be compared with those of the family pre-
ceding it : —
Filamentous , threads free or only slightly felted, hearing vesicles ,
which contain indefinite sporidia= Physomycetes.
In the last family, the Ascomycetes , we shall meet with a
very great variety of forms, all agreeing in producing sporidia
contained in certain cells called asci, which are produced from
the hymenium. In some of these, the asci are evanescent,
but in the greater number are permanent. In Onygenei , the
receptacle is either club-shaped or somewhat globose, and the
* A. de Bary, translated in “ Grrevillea,” vol. i. p. 167 ; Tulasne, “Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” 5me s4r. (1866), p. 211.
76
FUNGI.
peridium is filled with branched threads, which produce asci of a
very evanescent character, leaving the pulverulent sporidia to
fill the central cavity. The species are all small, and singular for
their habit of affecting animal substances, otherwise they are
of little importance. The Perisporiacei , on the other hand, are
very destructive of vegetation, being produced, in the majority
of cases, on the green parts of growing plants. To this order
the hop mildew, rose mildew, and pea mildew belong. The
mycelium is often very much developed, and in the case of the
maple, pea, hop, and some others, it covers the parts attacked
with a thick white coating, so that from a distance the leaves
appear to have been whitewashed. Seated on the mycelium, at
the first as little orange points, are the perithecia, which enlarge
and become nearly black. In some species, very elegant whitish
appendages radiate from the sides of the perithecia, the varia-
tions in which aid in the discrimination of species. The perithecia
contain pear-shaped asci, which spring from the base and enclose
a definite number of sporidia.^ The asci themselves are soon
dissolved. Simultaneously with the development of sporidia,
other reproductive bodies are produced direct from the mycelium,
and in some species as many as five different kinds of reproduc-
tive bodies have been traced. The features to be remembered in
Perisptoriacei, as forming the basis of their classification, are, that
the asci are saccate, springing from the base of the perithecia,
and are soon absorbed. Also that the perithecia themselves are
not perforated at the apex.
The four remaining orders, though large, can be easily charac-
terized. In Tuberacei , all the species are subterranean, and the
hymenium is mostly sinuated. In Elvellacei , the substance is
more or less fleshy, and the hymenium is exposed. In Phaci-
diacei , the substance is hard or leathery, and the hymenium is
soon exposed. And in & 'phceriacei, although the substance is
variable, the hymenium is never exposed, being enclosed in
perithecia with a distinct opening at the apex, through which
the mature spores escape. Each of these four orders must be
* Leveille, J. H., “Organisation, &c., de l’^rysiplxe, ” in “Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” (1851), xv. p. 109.
CLASSIFICATION.
77
examined more in detail. The Tuberacei , or subterranean
Ascomycetes, are analogous to the Hypogcei of the Gasteromycetes.
The truffle is a familiar and highly prized example. There is a
kind of outer peridium, and the interior consists of a fleshy
hymenium, more or less convoluted, sometimes sinuous and con-
fluent, so as to leave only minute elongated and irregular cavi-
ties, and sometimes none at all, the two opposing faces of the
hymenium meeting and coalescing.* Certain privileged cells
of the hymenium swell, and ultimately become asci, enclosing a
definite number of sporidia. The sporidia in many cases are
large, reticulated, echinulate or verrucose, and mostly somewhat
globose. In the genus Flaphomyces , the asci are more than
commonly diffluent.
The Flvellacei are fleshy in substance, or somewhat waxy,
sometimes tremelloid. There is no peridium, but the hymenium
is always exposed. There is a great variety of forms, some
being pileate, and others cup-shaped, as there is also a great
variation in size, from the minute Feziza , small as a grain of
sand, to the large Helvetia gigas , which equals in dimen-
sions the head of a child. In the pileate forms, the stroma
is fleshy and highly developed ; in the cup- shaped, it is
reduced to the external cells of the cup which enclose the
hymenium. The hymenium itself consists of elongated fertile
cells, or asci, mixed with linear thread-like barren cells, called
paraphyses, which are regarded by some authors as barren asci.
These are placed side by side in juxtaposition with the apex
outwards. Each ascus contains a definite number of sporidia,
which are sometimes coloured. When mature, the asci explode
above, and the sporidia may be seen escaping like a miniature
cloud of smoke in the light of the mid-day sun. The disc or
surface of the hymenium is often brightly coloured in the genus
Peziza; tints of orange, red, and brown having the predominance.
In JBJiacidiacei , the substance is hard and leathery, intermediate
between the fleshy FAvellacei and the more horny of the Splice -
riacei. The perithecia are either orbicular or elongated, and the
* Tulasne, L. R. and 0., “Fungi Hypogsei,” Paris; Yittadini, C., “ Mono-
graphia Tuberacearum,” Milan, 1831.
78
FUNGI.
hymenium soon becomes exposed. In some instances, there is
a close affinity with the JElvellacei , the exposed hymeninm being
similar in structure, but in all the disc is at first closed. In
orbicular forms, the fissure takes place in a stellate manner from
the centre, and the teeth are reflexed. In the Hysteriacei , where
the perithecia are elongated, the fissure takes place throughout
their length. As a rule, the sporidia are more elongated, more
commonly septate, and more usually coloured, than in Elvellacei.
Only a few solitary instances occur of individual species that
are parasitic on living plants.
In the Sphceriacei , the substance of the stroma (when pre-
sent) and of the perithecia is vari-
able, being between fleshy and waxy
in JVectriei, and tough, horny, some-
times brittle, in Hypoocylon. A peri-
thecium, or cell excavated in the
stroma which fulfils the functions of
a perithecium, is always present.
The hymenium lines the inner walls
of the perithecium, and forms a gela-
tinous nucleus, consisting of asci and
paraphyses. When fully mature, the asci are ruptured and the
sporidia escape by a pore which occupies the apex of the peri-
thecium. Sometimes the perithecia are solitary or scattered, and
sometimes gregarious, whilst in other instances they are closely
aggregated and immersed in a stroma of variable size and form.
Conidia, spermatia, pycnidia, &c., have been traced to and asso-
ciated with some species, but the history of others is still obscure.
Many of the coniomycetous forms grouped under the Sphceronemei
are probably conditions of the Sphceriacei, as are also the Melan -
coniei , and some of the JEEyphomycetes. A very common fungus,
for instance, which is abundant on sticks and twigs, forming
rosy or reddish pustules the size of a millet seed, formerly
named Tuber cularia vulgaris , is known to be the conidia-bearing
stroma of the sphaeriaceous fungus, Nectria cinnabarina ; * and so,
* “A Currant Twig and Something on it,” in “Gardener’s Chronicle u for
January 28, 1871.
Fig. 42. — &phcer ta aquda.
CLASSIFICATION. 79
with many others. The following are the technical characters
of the family : —
Fruit consisting of sporidia , mostly definite , contained in asci ,
springing from a naked or enclosed stratum of fructifying cells
and forming a hymenium or nucleus = Ascomycetes.
If the characters of the different families are borne in mind,
there will be bnt little difficulty in assigning any fungus to the
order to which it belongs by means of the foregoing remarks.
For more minute information, and for analytical tables of the
families, orders, and genera, we must refer the student to some
special systematic work, which will present fewer difficulties, if
he keeps in mind the distinctive features of the families.*
To assist in this we have given on the following page an
analytical arrangement of the families and orders, according
to the system recognized and adopted in the present volume.
It is, in all essential particulars, the method adopted in our
“ Handbook,” based on that of Berkeley’s “ Introduction ” and
“ Outlines.”
* Berkeley, M. J., “Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany,” London, 1857 ;
Cooke, M. C., “Handbook of British Fungi,” London, 1871 ; Corda, A. C. J.,
“Anleitung zum Studium der Mycologie,” Prag, 1842; Kickx, J., “Flore
Cryptogamique des Flanders,” Grand, 1867 ; Fries, E., “ Systema Mycologicum,”
Lund, 1830 ; Fries, E., “ Summa Yegetabilium Scandinavise,” 1846 ; Secretan,
L., “Mycographie Suisse,” Geneva, 1833 ; Berkeley, M. J., “Outlines of
British Fungology, ” London, 1860.
80
FUNGI.
TABULAE, ARRANGEMENT OF FAMILIES AND
ORDERS.
Division I. SPORIFERA.
Spores naked.
I. Hymenium free, mostly naked, or soon exposed .
Hymenium normally inferior —
Fruit-bearing surface lamellose
Fruit-bearing surface porous or tubular
Fruit-bearing surface clothed with prickles
Fruit-bearing surface even or rugose .
Hymenium superior or encircling —
Clavate, or branched, rarely lobed .
Lobed, convolute, or disc-like, gelatinous .
Hymenomycetes.
Agaricini.
Polyporei.
Hydnei.
Auricularini.
Clavariei.
Tremellini.
II. Hymenium enclosed in a peridium, ruptured when mature
Hymenomycetous—
Subterranean, naked or enclosed
Terrestrial, hymenium deliquescent .
Peridium enclosing sporangia, containing spores
Coniospermous —
Stipitate, hymenium convolute, drying into a
dusty mass, enclosed in a volva ,
Cellular at first, hymenium drying up into a
dusty mass of threads and spores
Gelatinous at first, peridium containing at length
a dusty mass of threads and spores
Gasteromyoetes.
HypogceL
Phalloidei.
Nidulariacei.
Podaxinei.
Trichogastres.
Myxogastres.
III. Spores naked, mostly terminal, on inconspicuous threads,
free or enclosed in a perithecium
Growing on dead or dying plants —
Subcutaneous —
Perithecium more or less distinct
Perithecium obsolete or wanting •
Superficial —
Fructifying surface naked
Spores compound or tomiparous .
Parasitic on living plants —
Peridium distinctly cellular ....
Peridium none —
Spores sub-globose, simple or deciduous
Spores mostly oblong, usually septate •
CONIOMYCETES.
Sphceronemei,
Melanconiei.
Torulacei.
jEcidiacei.
Cceomacei.
Puccinicei,
CLASSIFICATION,
81
IV. Spores naked, on conspicuous threads, rarely compacted,
small
Fertile threads compacted, sometimes cellular —
Stem or stroma compound —
Spores dry, volatile .....
Mass of spores moist, diffluent .
Fertile threads, free or anastomosing —
Fertile threads dark, carbonized —
Spores mostly compound .
Fertile threads not carbonized —
Very distinct —
Spores mostly simple . . .
Scarcely distinct from mycelium —
Spores profuse . . . • •
Hyphomycetes.
Isariacei.
Stilbacei.
Dematiei .
Mucedines.
Sepedoniei.
Division II. SPORIDIIFERA. Sporidia in Asci.
V. Fertile cells seated on threads, not compacted into a
hymenium ........
Threads felted, moniliform —
Sporangia irregular . . « . .
Threads free —
Sporangia terminal or lateral ....
Aquatic
Physomycetef.
Antennarid.
Mucorini.
Saprolegniei .
VI. Asci formed from the fertile cells of a hymenium
Asci often evanescent —
Receptacle clavseform —
Asci springing from threads 0
Perithecia free —
Asci springing from the base
Asci persistent —
Perithecia opening by a distinct ostiolum .
Hard or coriaceous, hymenium at length exposed
Hypogseous ; hymenium complicated .
Fleshy, waxy, or tremelloid; hymenium mostly
exposed
Ascomycetes.
Onygenei.
Perisporiacd.
Sphceriacei.
Phacidiacei.
Tuberacei.
Elvcllacei.
G
82
IY.
USES.
The rigid utilitarian will hardly be satisfied with the short
catalogue which can be furnished of the uses of fungi. Except’
ing those which are employed more or less for human food, very
few are of any practical value in arts or medicine. It is true
that imperfect conditions of fungi exert a very important influ-
ence on fermentation, and thus become useful ; but, unfortu-
nately, fungi have the reputation of being more destructive and
offensive than valuable or useful. Notwithstanding that a large
number of species have from time to time been enumerated as
edible, yet those commonly employed and recognized are very
few in number, prejudice in many cases, and fear in others, mili-
tating strongly against additions to the number. In Great
Britain this is especially the case, and however advisable it may
be to exercise great care and caution in experimenting on untried
or doubtful species, it can only be regarded as prejudice which
prevents good, in fact, excellent, esculent species being more
extensively used, instead of allowing them to rot by thousands
on the spots where they have grown. Poisonous species are
also plentiful, and no golden rule can be established by means
of which any one may detect at a glance good from bad,
without that kind of knowledge which is applied to the dis-
crimination of species. Yet, after all, the characters of half
a dozen good esculent fungi are acquired as easily as the
distinctions between half a dozen birds such as any ploughboy
can discriminate.
The common mushroom ( Agaricus campestris) is the best
USES.
83
known esculent, whether in its uncultivated or in a cultivated
state. In Britain many thousands of people, notably the lower
classes, will not recognize any other as fit for food, whilst in
Italy the same classes have a strong prejudice against this very
species.* In Vienna, we found by personal experience that,
although many others are eaten, it is this which has the most
universal preference, yet it appears but sparingly in the markets
as compared with others. In Hungary it does not enjoy by
any means so good a reputation. In France and in Germany
it is a common article of consumption. The different varieties
found, as the results of cultivation, present some variation in
colour, scaliness of pileus, and other minor features, whilst
remaining true to the constituent characters of the species.
Although it is not our intention to enumerate here the botanical
distinctions of the species to which we may call attention, yet,
as mistakes (sometimes fatal) are often being recorded, in which
other fungi are confounded with this, we may be permitted a
hint or two wThich should be remembered. The spores are
purple, the gills are at first delicate pink, afterwards purple ;
there is a permanent ring or collar round the stem, and it must
not be sought in woods. Many accidents might have been
spared had these facts been remembered.
. The meadow mushroom ( Agaricus arvensis ) is common in
meadows and lowland pastures, and is usually of a larger size
than the preceding, with which it agrees in many particulars,
and is sent in enormous quantities to Covent Garden, where it
frequently predominates over Agaricus campestris. Some persons
prefer this, which has a stronger flavour, to the ordinary mush-
j room, and it is the species most commonly sold in the autumn
in the streets of London and provincial towns. According to
; Persoon, it is preferred in France ; and, in Hungary, it is con-
| sidered as a special gift from St. George. It has acquired in
I England the name of horse mushroom, from the enormous size
* Badham, Dr. C. D., “A Treatise on the Esculent Funguses of England,”
! 1st edition (1847), p. 81, pi. 4 ; 2nd edition, edited by F. Currey, M.A.
| (1863), p. 94, pi. 4; Cooke, M. C., “A Plain and Easy Account of British
Fungi,” 1st edition H862), p. 44.
G 2
84
FUNGI.
it sometimes' attains. Withering mentions a specimen that
weighed fourteen pounds.*
One of the commonest (in our experience the most common)
of all edible fungi in the public markets of Vienna is the
Hallimasche {Agaricus melleus ), which in England enjoys no
good reputation for flavour or quality; indeed, Dr. Badham
calls it “nauseous and disagreeable,” and adds that “not to
be poisonous is its only recommendation.” In Vienna it is
employed chiefly for making sauce ; but we must confess that
even in this way, and with a prejudice in favour of Viennese :
cookery, our experience of it was not satisfactory. It is at j
best a sorry substitute for the mushroom. In the summer and
autumn this is a very common species in large tufts on old
stumps. In similar localities, and also in tufts, but neither so
large, nor so common, Agaricus fusipes is found. It is prefer-
able to the foregoing as an esculent, and is easily recognized by
the spindle-shaped stem.
Agaricus ruhescens , P., belongs to a very suspicious group of
fungi, in which the cap or pileus is commonly studded or
sprinkled with paler warts, the remains of an investing volva.
To this group the poisonous but splendid fly-agaric ( Agaricus j
muscarius) belongs. Notwithstanding its bad company, this I
agaric has a good reputation, especially for making ketchup ; i
and Cordier reports it as one of the most delicate mushrooms 1
of the Lorraine. t Its name is derived from its tendency to j
become red when bruised.
The white variety of an allied species ( Agaricus vaginatus )
has been commended, and Dr. Badham says that it will be found
inferior to but few agarics in flavour.
A scaly-capped fungus ( Agaricus procerus ), with a slender
stem, called sometimes the parasol mushroom, from its habit, is
an esteemed esculent. In Italy and France it is in high request,
* Mr. Worthington Smith has published, on two sheets, coloured figures of the
most common esculent and poisonous fungi (London, Hard wicke), ■ which will be
found more useful than mere description in the discrimination of the species.
f Roques, J., “Hist, des Champignons Comestibles et Veneneux,” Paris
1832), p. 130.
USES.
85
and is included in the majority of continental works on the
edible fungi. # In Austria, Germany, and Spain, it has special
“ vulgar ” names, and is eaten in all these countries. It is
much more collected in England than formerly, but deserves
to be still better known. When once seen it can scarcely be
confounded with any other British species, save one of its
nearest allies, which partakes of its own good qualities (Agaricus
rachodes ), though not quite so good.
Agaricus pr unulus, Scop., and Agaricus orcella , Badh., if they
be not forms of the same species (which Dr. Bull contends that
they are notf), have also a good reputation as esculents. They
are both neat, white agarics, with a mealy odour, growing
respectively in woods and open glades. Agaricus nebularis,
Batsch, is a much larger species, found in woods, often in large
gregarious patches amongst dead leaves, with a smoky mouse-
coloured pileus, and profuse white spores. It is sometimes as
much as five or six inches in diameter, with rather a faint odour
and mild taste. On the continent, as well as in Britain, this is
included amongst edible fungi. Still larger and more imposing
is the magnificent white species, Agaricus maximus, Fr.,j which
is figured by Sowerby,§ under the name of Agaricus gig ant eus.
It will attain a diameter of fourteen inches, with a stem two
inches thick, and rather a strong odour.
A spring fungus, the true St. George’s mushroom, Agaricus
gambosus , Er., makes its appearance in pastures, usually growing
in rings, in May and J une, and is welcome to mycophagists from
its early growth, when esculent species are rare. It is highly
esteemed in France and Italy, so that when dried it will realize
as much as from twelve to fifteen shillings per pound. Guil-
larmod includes it amongst Swiss esculents. || Professor Buck-
* Lenz, Dr. II. 0., “Die Nutzlichen und Schadlichen Schwamme,” Gotha
(1831), p. 32, pi. 2.
t Bull, H. G., in “Transactions of Woolhope Club” (1869). Fries admits
them as distinct species in the new edition of his “Epicrisis.”
X Hussey’s “Illustrations of Mycology,” ser. i. pi. 79.
§ Sowerby’s “British Fungi,” pi. 244.
|| Favre-Guillarmod, “ Les Champignons Comestibles du Canton de Neuchatel ”
(1861), p. 27.
86
FUNGI.
man says that it is one of the earliest and best of English mush-
rooms, and others have endorsed his opinions, and Dr. Badham
in writing of it observes, that small baskets of them, when they
first appear in the spring in Italy, are sent as “ presents to
lawyers and fees to medical men.”
The closely allied species, Agaricus albellus ,* D.C., has also
the reputation of being edible, but it is so rare in England that
this quality cannot be put to the test. The curious short-stemmed
Agaricus breviges , Bull,f has a similar reputation.
Two singularly fragrant species are also included amongst the
esculent. These are Agaricus fragrans , Sow., and Agaricus
odorus, Bull. Both have a sweet anise-like odour, which is per-
sistent for a long time. The former is pale tawny-coloured, nearly
white, the latter of a dirty pale green. Both are white-spored,
and although somewhat local, sufficient specimens of Ag. odorus
may be collected in the autumn for domestic use. We have the
assurance of one who has often proved them that they constitute
an exquisite dish.
A clear ivory-white fungus, Agaricus dealbatus , of which a
crisped variety is occasionally found in great numbers, springing
up on old mushroom beds in dense clusters, is very good eating,
but rather deficient in the delicate aroma of some other species.
The typical form is not uncommon on the ground in fir planta-
tions. A more robust and larger species, Agaricus geotrupes ,
Bull, found on the borders of woods, often forming rings, both
in this .country and in the United States, as well as on the conti-
nent of Europe, is recognized as esculent.
We may add to these three or four other species, in which the
stem is lateral, and sometimes nearly obsolete. The largest and
most common is the oyster mushroom (. Agaricus ostreatus ,
Jacq.J), so universally eaten, that it is included in almost every
list and book on edible fungi ; it is the most common species in
* Sowerby, “English Fungi,” pi. 122; Smith, in “ Seemann’s Journ. Bot.”
(1866), t. 46, f. 45.
+ Klotsch, “Flora Borussica,” t. 374 ; Smith, in “Seem. Journ. Bot.”
(1869), t. 95, f. 1-4.
t Krombholz, ‘ 1 Abbildungen (ler Schwamme,” pi. 41, f. 1-7.
USES.
87
Transylvania, tons of it sometimes appearing in the markets. It
does not possess that delicate flavour which is found in many
species, and although extolled by some beyond its merits, it is
nevertheless perfectly wholesome, and, when young and care-
fully cooked, not to be despised. It must not be confounded
with a very similar species {Agaricus euosmus, B.), with rosy
spores, which is unpleasant. Agaricus tessellatus, Bull, Agaricus
pometi , Fr., Agaricus glandulosus, Bull, are all allies of the fore-
going, and recorded as edible in the United States, although not
one of the three has hitherto been recorded as occurring in Great
Britain. To these may also be added the following : — Agaricus
salignus ,* * * § Fr., which is rare in England, but not uncommon
abroad and in the United States. In Austria it is commonly
eaten. Agaricus ulmarius,f Bull, is common on elm trunks, not
only in Britain but also in North America, and is by some
preferred to the oyster mushroom. An allied species, Agaricus
fossulatus , Cooke, J is found on the Cabul Hills, where it is col-
lected, dried, and forms an article of commerce with the plains.
Another, but smaller species, is dried in the air on strings passed
through a hole in the short stem (. Agaricus subocreatusi Cooke),
and sent, it is believed, from China to Singapore.
The smallest species with which we have any acquaintance,
that is edible, is the “nail fungus” ( Agaricus esculentus,§ Jacq.),
scarcely exceeding one inch in diameter of the pileus, with a
thin rooting stem. The taste in British specimens when raw is
bitter and unpleasant, but it is clearly eaten in Austria, as its
name testifies, and elsewhere in Europe. It is found in fir plan-
tations in the spring, at which season it is collected from the fir
woods around and sent to Vienna, where it is only used for
flavouring sauces under the name of “ Nagelschwamme.”
Before quitting the group of true agarics, to which all
hitherto enumerated belong, we must mention a few others of
less importance, but which are included amongst those good for
* Tratinnick, L., “ Fungi Austriaci,” p. 47, pi. 4, f. 8.
f Vittadini, “ Fungi Mangerecci,” pi. 23.
J Cooke, in “Journal of Botany,” vol. viii. p. 352.
§ Cooke, M. C., “A Plain and Easy Gruide,” &c., p. 38, pi. 6, fig. 1.
88
FUNGI.
food. Foremost of these is a really splendid orange species
(. Agaricus cccsarius , Scop.* * * §), which belongs to the same snbgenns
as the very deleterious fly-agaric, and the scarcely less fatal
Agaricus vernus, Bull. It is universally eaten on the continent,
but has hitherto never been found in Great Britain. In the
same subgenus, Agaricus strobiliformis ,t Fr., which is rare in this
country, and probably also Agaricus Cecilicc, B. & Br. J Besides
these, Agaricus excoriatus , Schacff., Agaricus mastoideus , Fr.,
Agaricus gracilentus , Kromb., and Agaricus holosericeus , Fr.,§
all belonging to the same subgenus as the parasol mushroom,
more or less uncommon in England.
Although the larger number of esculent agarics are white-
spored, some few, worthy of note, will be found in the other
sections, and notably amongst these the common mushroom and
its congener the meadow, or horse mushroom. In addition to
those already enumerated, might be included also the Agaricus
pudicus , Bull, which is certainly wholesome, as well as its ally,
Agaricus leochromus , Cooke, || both of which have rusty spores.
The late Dr. Curtis,^]" in a letter to the Bev. M. J. Berkeley,
enumerates several of the fungi which are edible amongst those
found in the United States. Of these, he says, Agaricus amyg-
dalinus , Curt., can scarcely be distinguished when cooked from
the common mushroom. Agaricus frumentaceus, Bull, and three
allied new species, peculiar to the United States, are commended.
Agaricus cccspitosus , Curt., he says, is found in enormous quanti-
ties, a single cluster containing from fifty to one hundred stems,
and might well be deemed a valuable species in times of scarcity.
It would not be highly esteemed where other and better species
can be had, but it is generally preferred to Agaricus melleus , Fr.
It is suitable for drying for winter use. In the same communi-
cation, he observes that the imperial (. Agaricus cccsarius , Scop.),
* Krombholz, “ Schwamme,” t. 8. Vittadini, “Mang.”t. 1.
f Vittadini, “ Mangerecci,” t. 9.
t Berkeley, “Outlines,” pi. 3, fig. 5.
§ Saunders and Smith, “ Mycological Illustr.’' pi. 23.
|| Cooke,' M. C., “ Handbook of British Fungi,” vol. i. pi. 1, fig. 2.
U “ Gardener’s Chronicle” (1869), p. 1066.
USES.
89
grows in great quantities in oak forests, and may be obtained
by the cart-load in its season ; but to bis taste, and tbat of bis
family, it is tbe most unpalatable of fungi, nor could be find any
of tbe most passionate mycopbagists wbo would avow tbat they
liked it. There is a disagreeable saline flavour tbat they could
not remove nor overlay. In addition to these, tbe same autho-
rity enumerates Agaricus russula , Scbssff., Agaricus hypopithyus ,
Curt., and Agaricus consociatus , Curt., tbe latter two being con-
fined to tbe United States ; Agaricus columbetta , Fr., found in
Britain, but not eaten, as well as Agaricus radicatus , Bull. Agari-
cus bombycinus, Scbseff., and Agaricus speciosus , Fr., are found in
Britain, but by no means common ; Agaricus squarrosus , Mull.,
has always been regarded with great suspicion in this country,
where it is by no means uncommon ; Agaricus cretaceus , Fr., and
Agaricus sylvaticus, Scbseff., are close allies of tbe common
mushroom.
Dr. Curtis says tbat bill and plain, mountain and valley,
woods, fields, and pastures, swarm with a profusion of good
nutritious fungi, which are allowed to decay where they spring
up, because people do not know how, or are afraid, to use them.
By those of us wbo know their use, their value was appreciated,
as never before, during tbe late war, when other food, especially
meat, was scarce and dear. Then such persons as I have beard
express a preference for mushrooms over meat bad generally no
need to lack grateful food, as it was easily had for tbe gathering,
and within easy distance of their homes if living in the country.
Such was not always the case, however. I remember once, during
the gloomy period when there had been a protracted drought,
and fleshy fungi were to be found only in damp shaded woods,
and but few even there, I was unable to find enough of any one
species for a meal, so, gathering of every kind, I brought home
thirteen different kinds, had them all cooked together in one
grand pot pourri , and made an excellent supper.
One important use to which several species of fungi can be
applied, is the manufacture of ketchup. For this purpose, not
only is the mushroom, Agaricus campestris, and the horse mush-
room, Agaricus arvensis , available, but also Agaricus rubescens
90
FUNGI.
is declared to be excellent for the purpose, and a delicious, but
pale, extract is to be obtained from Marasmius oreades. Other
species, as Goprinus comatus , and Coprinus atr ament arius, are
also available, together with Fistulina hepatica , and Morchella
esculenta. In some districts, when mushrooms are scarce, it is
stated that almost any species that will yield a dark juice is
without scruple mixed with the common mushroom, and it
should seem without any bad consequence except the deteriora-
tion of the ketchup.* There is an extensive manufacture of
ketchup conducted at Lubbenham, near Market Harborough,
but the great difficulty appears to be the prevention of decom-
position. Messrs. Perkins receive tons of mushrooms from
every part of the kingdom, and they find, even in the same
species, an immense difference in the quality and quantity of
the produce. The price of mushrooms varies greatly with the
season, ranging between one penny and sixpence per pound.
Messrs. Perkins are very careful in their selection, but little
discrimination is used by country manufacturers on a small
scale, who use such doubtful species as Agaricus lacrymabundus ,
with Agaricus spadiceus , and a host of allied species, which they
characterize as nonpareils and champignons. In the eastern
counties Agaricus arvensis has the preference for ketchup.
The generic distinctions between the genuine Agarics and
some of the allied genera can hardly be appreciated by the non-
botanical reader, but we have nevertheless preferred grouping
the edible species together in a somewhat botanical order ; and,
pursuing this plan, the next species will be those of Coprinus ,
in which the gills are deliquescent after the plant has arrived
at maturity. The maned mushroom ( Goprinus comatus , Fr.)f
is the best of edible species in this group. It is very common
here by roadsides and other places, and whilst still young and
cylindrical, and the gills still whitish or with a roseate tint, it
is highly to be commended. Similar, but perhaps somewhat
inferior, is Goprinus atramentarius , Fr.,J equally common about
* Berkeley, “Outlines of British. Fungology,” p. 64.
+ Cooke, “ Easy Guide to British Fungi,” pi. 11.
J Ibid,, pi. 12.
USES.
91
old stumps and on the naked soil. Both species are also found
and eaten in the United States.
In Cortinarius , the veil is composed of arachnoid threads, and
the spores are rusty. The number of edible species are few.
Foremost is the really handsome Cortinarius violaeus, Fr.,* * * § often
nearly four inches in diameter, and of a beautiful violet colour ;
and the smaller Cortinarius oastaneus , Fr.,t scarcely exceeding an
inch in diameter, both being found in woods, and common alike
to Britain and the United States. Cortinarius cinnamomeus, Fr.,
is also a lover of woods, and in northern latitudes is found in-
habiting them everywhere. It has a cinnamon- coloured pileus,
with yellowish flesh, and its odour and flavour is said to partake
of the same spice. In Germany it is held in high esteem. Cor-
tinarius emodensis , B., is eaten in Northern India.
The small genus Lepista of Smith (which, however, is not
adopted by Fries in his new edition of the “ Epicrisis ”) includes
one esculent species in Lepista personata, the Agaricus personatus
of Fries. £ It is by no means uncommon in Northern Europe
or America, frequently growing in large rings ; the pileus is
pallid, and the stem stained with lilac. Formerly it was said
to be sold in Covent Garden Market under the name of “blewits,”
but we have failed to see or hear of it during many years in
London.
Small fungi of ivory- whiteness are very common amongst
grass on lawns in autumn. These are chiefly Hygrophorus
virgineus , Fr.,§ and although not much exceeding an inch in
diameter,- with a short stem, and wide decurrent gills, they are
so plentiful in season that quantity soon compensates for the
small size. Except that it is occasionally eaten in France, it
does not enjoy much reputation abroad. A larger species, vary-
ing from buff to orange, Hygrophorus prat ensis, Fr.,|| is scarcely
less common in open pastures. This is very gregarious in habit,
* Hussey, “Mycol. Must.*’ pi. 12.
f Bulliard, “Champ.” t. 268.
X Cooke, “ Easy Guide,” pi. 4, fig. 1; Hussey, “ Illust.” vol. ii. pi. 40.
§ Greville, “ Scot. Crypt. Flcra,” t. 166.
|| Ibid., t. 91.
92
FUNGI.
often growing in tufts, or portions of rings. The pilens is fleshy
in the centre, and the gills thick and decurrent. In France,
Germany, Bohemia, and Denmark, it is included with esculent
species. In addition may be mentioned HygropTiorus eburneus ,
Fr., another white species, as also JLygrophorus niveus , Fr., which
grows in mossy pastures. JPaxillus involutus , Fr.,* * * § though very
common in Europe, is not eaten, yet it is included by Dr. Curtis
with the esculent species of the United States.
The milky agarics, belonging to the genus Lactarius , are dis-
tinguished by the milky juice which is exuded when they are
wounded. The spores are more or less globose, and rough or
echinulate, at least in many species. The most notable esculent
is Lactarius deliciosus, Fr.,f in which the milk is at first saffron-
red, and afterwards greenish, the plant assuming a lurid greenish
hue wherever bruised or broken. Universal commendation seems
to fall upon this species, writers vying with each other to say
the best in its praise, and mycophagists everywhere endorsing
the assumption of its name, declaring it to be delicious. It is
found in the markets of Paris, Berlin, Prague, and Vienna, as
we are informed, and in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Russia,
Belgium ; in fact, in nearly all countries in Europe it is esteemed.
Another esculent species, Lactarius volemum , Fr.,J has white
milk, which is mild to the taste, whilst in deleterious species
with white milk it is pungent and acrid. This species has been
celebrated from early times, and is said to resemble lamb’s
kidney.
Lactarius piperatus, Fr.,is classed in England with dangerous,
sometimes poisonous species, whereas the late Dr. Curtis, of
North Carolina, has distinctly informed us that it is cooked and
eaten in the United States, and that he has partaken of it. He
includes Lactarius insulsus , Fr., and Lactarius subdulcis, Fr.,§
amongst esculent species ; both are also found in this country,
* Sowerby, “Fungi,” pi. 56 ; Schaeffer, “leones Bav.” t. 72.
f Trattinnick, L., “Die Essbaren Schwamme” (1809), p. 82, pi. M; Barla,
J. B., “Champignons de la Nice” (1859), p. 34, pi. 19.
J Smith, “Edible Mushrooms,” fig. 26.
§ Barla, “Champ. Nice,” t. 20, f. 4-10.
USES.
93
but not reputed as edible ; and Laetarius angustissimus , Lasch,
which is not British. Species of Lactctrius seem to be eaten
almost indiscriminately in Russia when preserved in vinegar and
salt, in which condition they form an important item in the
kinds of food allowed in their long fasts, some JBoleti in the
dried state entering into the same category.
The species of Russula in many respects resemble Lactarii
without milk. Some of them are dangerous, and others escu-
lent. Amongst the latter may be enumerated Russula Jieterophylla ,
Fr., which is very common in woods. Yittadini pronounces it
unsurpassed for fineness of flavour by even the notable Amanita
ccesarea* Roques gives also an account in its favour as con-
sumed in France. Both these authors give favourable accounts
of Russula virescens, P.,f which the peasants about Milan are
in the habit of putting over wood embers to toast, and eating
afterwards with a little salt. Unfortunately it is by no means
common in England. A third species of Russula , with buff-
yellow gills, is Russula alutacea. Fr., which is by no means to
be despised, notwithstanding that Dr. Badham has placed it
amongst species to be avoided. Three or four others have also
the merit of being harmless, and these recorded as esculent by
some one or more mycological authors : Russula lactea , Fr., a
white species, found also in the United States ; Russula lejpida ,
Fr., a roseate species, found also in lower Carolina, U.S. ; and
another reddish species, Russula vesca, Fr., as well as Russula
decolor ans> Fr. Whilst writing of this genus, we may observe,
by way of caution, that it includes also one very noxious red
species, Russula emetica , Fr., with white gills, with which some
of the foregoing might be confounded by inexperienced persons.
The chantarelle Cantharellus cibarius , Fr., has a most charm-
ing and enticing appearance and odour. In colour, it is of a
bright golden yellow, and its smell has been compared to that of
ripe apricots. It is almost universally eaten in all countries
* Yittadini, C., “ Funghi Mangerecci” (1835), p. 209 ; Barla, “Champ.
Nice,” pi. i.
t Yittadini, C., “ Funghi Mangerecci,” p. 245 ; Roques, “ Champ. Comest.”
p. 86.
94
FUNGI.
where it is found, England excepted, where it is only to be
met with at the “Freemason’s Tavern ” on state occasions, and
at the tables of pertinacious mycophagists.* Trattinnick says :
“ Not only this same fungus never did any one harm, but might
even restore the dead.”t
The fairy-ring champignon Marasmius oreades , Fr., though
small, is plentiful, and one of the most delicious of edible fungi.
It grows in exposed pastures, forming rings, or parts of rings.
This champignon possesses the advantage of drying readily,
and preserving its aroma for a long time. We have often
regretted that no persistent’ attempts and experiments have
been made with the view of cultivating this excellent and useful
species. Marasmius scorodonius, Fr.,J a small, strong-scented,
and in all respects inferior species, found on heaths and dry
pastures, extending even to the United States, is consumed in
Germany, Austria, and other continental countries, where, per-
haps its garlic odour has been one of its recommendations as
an ingredient in sauces. In this enumeration we have not ex-
hausted all the gill-bearing species which might be eaten, having
included only those which have some reputation as esculents,
and of these more particularly those found in Great Britain and
the United States.
Amongst the Bolyporei , in which the gill plates are represented
by pores or tubes, fewer esculent species are to be met with than
in the Agaricini , and the majority of these belong to the genus
Boletus,. Whilst in Vienna and Hanover, we were rather
surprised to find Boletus edulis, Fr., cut into thin slices and
dried, exposed for sale in almost every shop where meal, peas,
and other farinaceous edibles were sold. This species is com-
mon enough in England, but as a rule it does not seem to please
the English palate, whereas on the continent no fungus is more
commonly eaten. This is believed to be the suillus eaten by
the ancient Homans, § who obtained it from Bithynia. The
* Badham, Dr., “ Esculent Funguses of Britain,” 2nd ed. p. 110 ; Hussey,
“Illust. Brit. Mycol.” 1st ser. pi. 4 ; Barla, “ Champ.” pi. 28, f. 7-15.
+ Trattinnick, L., “Essbaren Schwamme,” p. 98.
J Lenz, “ Die Nutzlichen und Schadlichen Schwamme,” p. 49.
§ Badham, “ Esculent Funguses of Great Britain,” 2 ed. p. 91.
USES.
95
modern Italians dry them on strings for winter use, and in
Hungary a soup is made from them when fresh. A more
excellent species, according to our judgment, is Boletus cestivalis ,
Fr.,# which appears in early summer, and has a peculiar nutty
flavour when raw, reminding one more of a fresh mushroom.
Boletus scaber , Fr,,t is also common in Britain, as well as the
continent, hut does not enjoy so good a reputation as B. edulis.
Krombholz says that Boletus bovinus , hr., a gregarious species,
found on heaths and in fir woods, is much sought after abroad
as a dish, and is good -when dried. Boletus castaneus , Fr.,i£: is
a small species with a mild, pleasant taste when raw, and very
good when properly cooked. It is not uncommonly eaten on
the continent. Boletus chrysenteron , Fr.,§ and Boletus subtomen-
tosus, Fr., are said to be very poor eating, and some authors
have considered them injurious ; bat Mr. W. G. Smith states
that he has on more than one occasion eaten the former, and
Trattinnick states that the latter is eaten in Germany. The late
Mr. Salter informed us that, when employed on the geological
staff, he at one time lived almost entirely on different species of
Boleti, without using much discrimination. Sir W. C. Trevelyan
also informs us that he has eaten Boletus lurdius without any
unpleasant consequences, but we confess that we should be sorry
to repeat the experiment. Dr. Badham remarks that he has
eaten Boletus Grevillei , B., Boletus flavas , With., and Boletus
granulatus , L., the latter being recognized also as edible abroad.
Dr. Curtis experimented, in the United States, on Boletus col -
linitus, and although he professes not to be particularly fond of
the Boleti, he recognizes it as esculent, and adds that it had been
pronounced delicious by some to whom he had sent it. He also
enumerates as edible Boletus luteus , Fr., Boletus elegans , Fr.,
Boletus Jlavidus, Fr., Boletus versipellis , Fr., Boletus leucomelas ,
Tr., and Boletus ovinus , Sch. Two Italian species of Bolyporus
must not be forgotten. These are Bolyporus tuber aster, Pers.,
* Hussey, “ Myc. Illus.” ii. pi. 25 ; Paulet, “ Champ.” t. 170.
f Barla, J. B., “Champ, de la Nice,” p. 71, pi. 35, f. 1-5.
t Hussey, “ Illustr.” ii. t. 17 ; Barla, “ Champ. Nice,” t. 32, f. 11-15.
§ Hussey, “Illustr.” i. t. 5 ; Krombholz, “ Schwamme,” t. 76.
96
FUNGI.
which is procured by watering the pietra funghaia , or fungus
stone, a kind of tufa, in which the mycelium is embedded. It
is confined to Naples. The other species is Polyporus corylinus,
Mauri., procured artificially in Kome from charred stumps of the
cob-nut tree.*
Of true Polyporus , only two or three species have been
regarded favourably as esculents. These are — Polyporus inty-
baceus , Fr., which is of very large size, sometimes attaining as
much as forty pounds ; Polyporus giganteus , Fr., also very large,
and leathery when old. Both these species are natives of
Britain. Only young and juicy specimens must be selected for
cooking. Polyporus umbellatus , Fr., is stated by Fries to be
esculent, but it is not found in Britain. Polyporus squamosus,
Fr., has been also included ; but Mrs. Hussey thinks that one
might as well think of eating saddle-flaps. None of these
receive very much commendation. Dr. Curtis enumerates,
amongst North American species, the Polyporus cristatus , Fr.,
Polyporus poripes, Fr., which, when raw, tastes like the best
chestnuts or filberts, but is rather too dry when cooked.
Polyporus Berkeleii , Fr., is intensely pungent when raw, but
when young, and before the pores are visible, it may be eaten
with impunity, all its pungency being dissipated by cooking.
Polyporus confluens , Fr., he considers superior, and, in fact,
quite a favourite. Polyporus sulfureus , Fr., which is not eaten in
Europe, he considers just tolerably safe, but not to be coveted.
It is by no means to be recommended to persons with weak
stomachs. In his catalogue, Dr. Curtis enumerates one hundred
and eleven species of edible fungi found in Carolina. t
With Pistulina hepatica , Fr., it is different ; for here we
encounter a fleshy, juicy fungus, resembling beefsteak a little in
appearance, and so much more in its uses, that the name of
“beefsteak fungus” has been given to it. Some authors are
rapturous in their praise of Pistulina. It sometimes attains a
very large size, Dr. Badham quoting { one found by himself
* Badham’s “Esculent Funguses,” 1st ed. pp. 116 and 120.
+ Catalogue of Plants of Carolina, U. S.
t Badham, Dr., “Esculent Funguses,” 2nd ed. p. 128; Hussey, “ Illustra*
USES.
97
nearly five feet in circumference, and weighing eight pounds ;
whilst another found by Mr. Graves weighed nearly thirty
pounds. In Vienna it is sliced and eaten with salad, like beet-
root, which it then much resembles. On the continent it is
everywhere included amongst the best of edible species.
The Hydnei , instead of pores or tubes, are characterized by
spines or warts, over which the fructifying surface is expanded.
The most common is Hydnum repandum , Fr., found in woods
and woody places in England, and on the continent, extending
into the United States. When raw, it is peppery to the taste,
but when cooked is much esteemed. From its drier nature, it
can readily be dried for winter use. Less common in England
is Hydnum imbricatum , Fr., although not so uncommon on the
continent. It is eaten in Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
France, and elsewhere. Hydnum Icevigatum , Swartz, is eaten in
Alpine districts.* Of the branched species, Hydnum coralloides ,
Scop.,t and Hydnum Cajput Medusce, Bull,J are esculent, but very
rare in England. The latter is not uncommon in Austria and
Italy, the former in Germany, Switzerland, and France. Hydnum
erinaceum , Bull, is eaten in Germany § and France.
The Clavarioid fungi are mostly small, but of these the ma-
jority of the white-spored are edible. Clavaria rugosa , Bull, is a
common British species, as also is Clavaria coralloides , L., the
former being found also in the United States. Clavaria fasti-
giata,T). C., is not uncommon; but Clavaria ametliystina , Bull, a
beautiful violet species, is rare. In France and Italy, Clavaria
cinerea , Bull, is classed with esculents ; and it is not uncommon
in Britain. Clavaria botrytis , P., and Clavaria aurea, Schseff. ,
are large and beautiful species, but rare with us ; they extend
also into the United States. Others might be named (Dr.
Curtis enumerates thirteen species eaten in Carolina), which are
tions,” 1st ser. pi. 65 ; Berkeley, in “ Gard. Chron.” (1861), p. 121 ; Bull, in
“Trans. Woolhope Club” (1869).
\ * Barla, “ Cbamp. Nice,” p. 79, pi. 38, f. 5, 6.
t Roques, 1. c. p. 48.
I Lenz, p. 93 ; Roques, 1. c. p. 47, pi. 2, fig. 5.
§ Lenz, H. 0., “ Die Niitzlichen und Schadlichen Schwainme,” p. 93.
98
FUNGI.
certainly wholesome, but they are of little importance as edible
species. Sparassis crispa, Fr., is, on the contrary, very large,
resembling in size,# and somewhat in appearance, a cauliflower ;
it has of late years been found several times in this country.
In Austria it is fricasseed with butter and herbs.
Of the true Tremellas, none merit insertion here. The curious
Jew’s ear ( Hirneola auricula- J udce , Fr.), with one or two other
species of Hirneola , are collected in great quantities in Tahiti,
and shipped in a dried state to China, where they are used for
soup. Some of these find their way to Singapore.
The false truffles ( Hypogeei ) are of doubtful value, one species
( Melanogaster variegatus , Tul.) having formerly been sold in the
markets of Bath as a substitute for the genuine truffle.fi Neither
amongst the Phalloidei do we meet with species of any economic
value. The gelatinous volva of a species of Ileodictyon is eaten
by the New Zealanders, to whom it is known as thunder dirt;
whilst that of Phallus MoJcusin is applied to a like purpose in
China ; J but these examples would not lead us to recommend a
similar use for Phallus impudicus , Fr., in Britain, or induce us
to prove the assertion of a Scotch friend that the porous stem is
very good eating.
One species of puff-ball, Ly coper don giganteum , Fr.,§ has
many staunch advocates, and whilst young and cream-like, it is,
when well manipulated, an excellent addition to the breakfast-
table. A decided advantage is possessed by this species, since
one specimen is often found large enough to satisfy the appetites
of ten or twelve persons. ‘Other species of Lycoperdon have
been eaten when young, and we have been assured by those
who have made the experiment, that they are scarcely inferior
to their larger congener. Povista nigrescens , Fr., and Povista
plumbea , Fr., are also eaten in the United States. More than
one species of Lycoperdon and Povista appear in the bazaars of
India, as at Secunderabad and Rangoon ; while the white ant-
* Berkeley, M. J., in “Intellectual Observer,” No. 25, pi. 1.
fi Berkeley, M. J., “Outlines of British Fungology,” p. 293.
£ Berkeley, M. J., “ Introduction to Crypt. Bot.” p. 347.
§ Cooke, M. C., “A Plain and Easy Guide,” &c., p. 96.
USES.
99
hills, together with an excellent Agaric, produce one or more
species of Podaxon which are esculent when young. A species
of Scleroderma which grows abundantly in sandy districts, is
substituted for truffles in Perigord pies, of which, however, it
does not possess any of the aroma.
Passing over the rest of the sporiferous fungi, we find
amongst the Ascomycetous group several that are highly esteemed.
Amongst these may first be named the species of morel, which
are regarded as delicacies wherever they are found. Morchella
esculenta , Pers., is the most common species, but we have also
Fig. 43 .—Morchella gigaspora, from Kashmir.
Morchella semilibera , D. C., and the much larger Morchella
crassipes , Pers. Probably all the species of Morchella are
esculent, and we know that many besides the above are eaten
in Europe and other places ; Morchella deliciosa, Er., in Java ;
Morchella bohemica , Kromb., in Bohemia ; Morchella gigaspora, ,
Cooke, and Morchella deliciosa , Er., in Kashmere.* Morchella
rimosipes , D. C., occurs in France and Bohemia ; Morchella
* Cooke, M. C., “On Kashmir Morels,” in “Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin.” vol. x.
j p. 439, with figs.
100
FUNGI.
Caroliniana, Bose., in the Southern United States of America.
W. Gr. Smith records the occurrence in Britain of specimens of
JHorchella crassipes, P., ten inches in height, and one specimen
was eleven inches high, with a diameter of seven and a half
inches.*
Similar in uses, though differing in appearance, are the species
of Helvetia, of which several are edible. In both these genera,
the individuals can be dried so readily that they are the more
valuable on that account, as they can be used for flavouring in
winter when fresh specimens of any kind of fungus are diffi-
cult to procure. The most common English species is Hel-
vetia crisjpa , Er., but Helvetia lacunosa , Er., is declared to be
equally good, though not so large and somewhat rare. Helvetia
inf ala, Er., is also a large species, but is not British, although it
extends to North America, as also does Helvetia sulcata, Afz.
Intermediate between the morel and Helvetia is the species
which was formerly included with the latter, but now known as
G-yromitra esculenta , Er.f It is rarely found in Great Britain,
but is more common on the continent, where it is held in esteem.
A curious stipitate fungus, with a pileus like a hood, called
Verpa diyitaliformis, Pers.,1 is uncommon in England, but
Vittadini states that it is sold in the Italian markets, although
only to be recommended when no other esculent fungus offers,
which is sometimes the case in spring. §
Two or three species of Peziza have the reputation of being
esculent, but they are of very little value ; one of these is Peziza
acetabulum, L., another is Peziza cochleata , Huds., and a third
is Peziza venosa, Pers.|| The latter has the most decided nitrous
odour, and also fungoid flavour, whilst the former seem to have
but little to recommend them ; we have seen whole baskets full
of Peziza cochleata gathered in Northamptonshire as a substitute
for morels.
A very interesting genus of edible fungi, growing on ever-
* Smith, “Journ. Bot.” vol. ix. p. 214.
f Cooke, “ Handbook,” fig. 322.
X Cooke, “Handbook,” fig. 324.
§ Yittadini, C., “Funghi Mangerecci,” p. 117.
|| Grreville, “Sc. Crypt. FI.” pi. 156.
TfSES.
101
green beech trees in South America, has been named Cyttaria.
One of these, Cyttaria Darwinii, B., occurs in Terra del Fuego,
where it was found by Mr. C. Darwin* growing in vast numbers,
and forming a very essential article of food for the natives.
Another is Cyttaria Berteroi , B., also seen by Mr. Darwin in
Chili, and eaten occasionally, but apparently not so good as
the preceding.! Another species is Cyttaria Gunnii , B., which
abounds in Tasmania, and is held in repute amongst the settlers
for its esculent properties. J
Fig. 44. — Cyttaria Gunnii, B.
It remains for us only to note the subterranean fungi, of which
the truffle is the type, to complete our enumeration of esculent
species. The truffle which is consumed in England is Tuber
cestivum, Yitt. ; but in France the more highly-flavoured Tuber
melanospermum , Vitt.,§ and also Tuber magnatum , Pico, with
some other species. In Italy they are very common, whilst
some are found in Algeria. One species at least is recorded in
the North-west of India, but in Northern Europe and North
America they appear to be rare, and Terfezia Leonis is used as
an esculent in Damascus. A large species of Mylitta , sometimes
several inches in diameter, occurs plentifully in some parts of
Australia. Although often included with fungi, the curious
production known under the name of JPacJiyma cocos , Fr., is not
* Berkeley, in “Linn. Trans.” xix. p. 37; Cooke, in “Technologist” (1864),
p. 387.
t Berkeley, M. J., in “ Linn. Trans.” xix. p. 37.
I Berkeley, M. J., in “Hooker, Flora Antarctica,” p. 147; in “Hooker’s
Journ. Bot.” (1848), 57 6, t. 20, 21.
§ Vittadini, C., “ Monographia Tuberacearum ” (1831), pp. 36, &c.
102
FUNGI.
a fungus, as proved by tbe examinations made by the Rev. M. J.
Berkeley. It is eaten under the name of “Tuckahoe” in the
United States, and as it consists almost entirely of pectic acid,
it is sometimes used in the manufacture of jelly.
In the Ueilgherries (S. India), a substance is occasionally
found which is allied to the native bread of southern latitudes.
It is found at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The natives call it
“ a little man’s bread,” in allusion to tbe tradition that the Neil-
gherries were once peopled by a race of dwarfs.* At first it was
supposed that these were the bulbs of some orchid, but later
another view was held of their character. Mr. Scott, who
examined the specimens sent down to him, remarks that, instead
of being the product of orchids, it is that of an underground
fungus of the genus Mylitta. It indeed seems, he says, very
closely allied to, if really distinct from, the so-called native
bread of Tasmania-t
Of the fungi employed in medicine, the first place must be
assigned to ergot, which is the sclerotioid condition of a species
of Claviceps. It occurs not only on rye but on wheat, and many
of the wild grasses. On account of its active principle, this
fungus still holds its place in the Materia Medica. . Others which
formerly had a reputation are now discarded, as, for instance, the
species of Plaphomyces ; and Polyporus officinalis , Fr., which has
been partly superseded as a styptic by other substances, was
formerly employed as a purgative. The ripe spongy capillitium
of the great puff-ball Ly coper don giganteum , Fr., has been used
for similar purposes, and also recommended as an anodyne ;
indeed formidable surgical operations have been performed under
its influence, and it is frequently used as a narcotic in the
taking of honey. Langsdorf gives a curious account of its
employment as a narcotic ; and in a recent work on Kamts-
chatka it is said to obtain a very high price in that country.
Dr. Porter Smith writes of its employment medicinally by the
Chinese, but from his own specimens it is clearly a species of
Polysaccum , which he has mistaken for Lycoperdon. In China
* “ Proceedings Agri. Hort. Soc. India ” (Dec. 1871), p. lxxix.
f Ibid. (June, 1872), p. xxiii.
USES.
108
several species are supposed to possess great virtue, notably tlie
Torrulia sinensis , Tul., * * * § which is developed on dead caterpillars ;
as it is, however, recommended to administer it as a stuffing to
roast duck, we may be sceptical as to its own sanitary qualities.
Geaster hygrometricus , Fr., we have also detected amongst
Chinese drugs, as also a species of Polysaccum, and the small
hard Mylitta lapidescens , Horn. In India, a large but imper-
fect fungus, named provisionally Sclerotium stipitatum , Curr.,
found in nests of the white ant, is supposed to possess great
medicinal virtues. f A species of Polyporus (P. anthelmintieus ,
B.), which grows at the root of old bamboos, is employed in
Burmah as an anthelmintic. J In former times the Jew’s ear
( PLirneola auricula Judce , Fr.) was supposed to possess great
virtues, which are now discredited. Yeast is still included
amongst pharmaceutical substances, but could doubtless be very
well dispensed with. Truffles are no longer regarded as aphro-
disiacs.
For other uses, we can only allude to amadou, or German
tinder, which is prepared in Northern Europe from Polyporus
fomentarius , Fr., cut in slices, dried, and beaten until it is soft.
This substance, besides being used as tinder, is made into warm
caps, chest protectors, and other articles. This same, or an
allied species of Polyporus , probably P. igniarius , Fr., is dried
and pounded as an ingredient in snuff by the Ostyacks on
the Obi. In Bohemia some of the large Polyporei, such as
P. igniarius and P. fomentarius , have the pores and part of the
inner substance removed, and then the pileus is fastened in an
inverted position to the wall, by the part where originally it
adhered to the wood. The cavity is then filled with mould,
and the fungus is used, with good effect, instead of flower-pots,
for the cultivation of such creeping plants as require but little
moisture. §
The barren mycelioid condition of Penicillium crustaceum ,
* Lindley, “Vegetable Kingdom,” fig. xxiy.
f Carrey, F., in “Linn. Trans.” vol. xxiii. p. 93.
Z “Pharmacopoeia of India,” p. 258.
§ “Gard. Chron.” (1862), p. 21.
104
FUNGI.
Er., is employed in country districts for the domestic manu-
facture of vinegar from saccharine liquor, under the name of
the “ vinegar plant.” It is stated that Polysaccum crassipes ,
D. C.,# is employed in the South of Europe to produce a yellow
dye ; whilst recently Polyporus sulfureus , Er., has been recom-
mended for a similar purpose. Agaricus muscarius, Er., the fly-
agaric, known to he an active poison, is used in decoction in
some parts of Europe for the destruction of flies and hugs.
Probably PLelotium ceruginosum , Er.,t deserves mention here,
because it stains the wood on which it grows, by means of
its diffuse mycelium, of a beautiful green tint, and the wood
thus stained is employed for its colour in the manufacture of
Tonbridge ware.
This completes the list, certainly of the most important, of
the fungi which are of any direct use to humanity as food, medi-
cine, or in the arts. As compared with lichens, the advantage
is certainly in favour of fungi ; and even when compared with
algae, the balance appears in their favour. In fact, it may be
questioned whether, after all, fungi do not present a larger pro-
portion of really useful species than any other of the crypto-
gams ; and without any desire to disparage the elegance of
ferns, the delicacy of mosses, the brilliancy of some algse, or
the interest which attaches to lichens, it may be claimed for
fungi that in real utility (not uncombined with injuries as real)
they stand at the head of the cryptogams, and in closest
alliance with the flowering plants.
* Barla, “Champ, de la Nice,” p. 126, pi. 47, fig. 11.
t Greville, “Scott. Crypt. Flora,” pi. 241.
105
y.
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
There are no phenomena associated with fungi that are of
greater interest than those which relate to luminosity. The
fact that fungi under some conditions are luminous has long
been known, since schoolboys in our juvenile days were in the
habit of secreting fragments of rotten wood penetrated by
mycelium, in order to exhibit their luminous properties in the
dark, and thus astonish their more ignorant or incredulous fel-
lows. Rumphius noted its appearance in Amboyna, and Fries,
in his Observations, gives the name of Thelephora phosphor ea
to a species of Corticium now known as Corticium cceruleum ,
on account of its phosphorescence under certain conditions.
The same species is the Auricularia phosphorea of Sowerby,
but he makes no note of its phosphorescence. Luminosity in
fungi “ has been observed in various parts of the world, and
where the species has been fully developed it has been generally
a species of Agaricus which has yielded the phenomenon.”*
One of the best-known species is the Agaricus olearius of the
South of Europe, which was examined by Tulasne with especial
view to its luminosity.t In his introductory remarks, he says
that four species only of Agaricus that are luminous appear at
present to be known. One of them, A. olearius , D. C., is indi-
genous to Central Europe ; another, A. igneus , Rumph., comes
from Amboyna; the third, A. noctileucus , Lev., has been dis-
* M. J. Berkeley, “Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany,” p. 265.
t Tulasne, “Sur la Phosphorescence des Champignons,” in “Ann. des Sci.
Nat.” (1848), vol. ix. p. 338.
106
FUNGI.
covered at Manilla by Graudichaud, in 1836 ; tbe last, A. Gard-
neri, Berk., is produced in tbe Brazilian province of Groyaz, upon
dead leaves. As to tbe Dematium violaceum , Pers., tbe Himantia
Candida , Pers., cited once by Link, and the Tlielephora ccerulea ,
D. 0. ( Corticium cceruleum , Fr.), Tulasne is of opinion that their
phosphorescent properties are still problematical; at least no
recent observation confirms them.
The phosphorescence of A. olearius , D. C., appears to have
been first made known by De Candolle, but it seems that he was
in error in stating that these phosphorescent properties mani-
fest themselves only at the time of its decomposition. Fries,
describing the Cladosporium umbrinum , which lives upon the
Agaric of the olive-tree, expressed the opinion that the Agaric
only owes its phosphorescence to the presence of the mould.
This, however, Tulasne denies, for he writes, “ I have had the
opportunity of observing that the Agaric of the olive is really
phosphorescent of itself, and that it is not indebted to any
foreign production for the light it emits.” Like Delile, he
considers that the fungus is only phosphorescent up to the time
when it ceases to grow ; thus the light which it projects, one
might say, is a manifestation of its vegetation.
“ It is an important fact,” writes Tulasne, “which I can con-
firm, and which it is important to insist upon, that the phos-
phorescence is not exclusively confined to the hymenial surface.
Numerous observations made by me prove that the whole of the
substance of the fungus participates very frequently, if not
always, in the faculty of shining in the dark. Among the first
Agarics which I examined, I found many, the stipe of which
shed here and there a light as brilliant as the hymenium, and
led me to think that it was due to the spores which had fallen
on the surface of the stipe. Therefore, being in the dark, I
scraped with my scalpel the luminous parts of the stipe, but it
did not sensibly diminish their brightness ; then I split the stipe,
bruised it, divided it into small fragments, and I found that
the whole of this mass, even in its deepest parts, enjoyed, in a
similar degree to its superficies, the property of light. I found,
besides, a phosphorescence quite as brilliant in all the cap, for^
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
107
having split it vertically in the form of plates, I found that the
trama, when bruised, threw out a light equal to that of their
fructiferous surfaces, and there is really only the superior
surface of the pileus, or its cuticle, which I have never seen
luminous.
“As I have said, the Agaric of the olive-tree, which is itself
very yellow, reflects a strong brilliant light, and remains
endowed with this remarkable faculty whilst it grows, or, at
least, while it appears to preserve an active life, and remains
fresh. The phosphorescence is at first, and more ordinarily, re-
cognizable at the surface of the hymenium. I have seen a great
number of young fungi which were very phosphorescent in the
gills, but not in any other part. In another case, and amongst
more aged fungi, the hymenium of wdiich had ceased to give
light, the stipe, on the contrary, threw out a brilliant glare.
Habitually, the phosphorescence is distributed in an unequal
manner upon the stipe, and the same upon the gills. Although
the stipe is luminous at its surface, it is not always necessarily
so in its interior substance, if one bruises it, but this substance
frequently becomes phosphorescent after contact with the air.
Thus, I had irregularly split and slit a large stipe in its length,
and I found the whole flesh obscure, whilst on the exterior were
some luminous places. I roughly joined the lacerated parts,
and the following evening, on observing them anew, I found
them all flashing a bright light. At another time, I had with
a scalpel split vertically many fungi in order to hasten their
dessication ; the evening of the same day, the surface of all these
cuts was phosphorescent, but in many of these pieces of fungi
the luminosity was limited to the cut surface which remained
exposed to the air ; the flesh beneath was unchanged.
“ I have seen a stipe opened and lacerated irregularly, the
whole of the flesh of which remained phosphorescent during
three consecutive evenings, but the brightness diminished in
intensity from the exterior to the interior, so that on the third
day it did not issue from the inner part of the stipe. The
phosphorescence of the gills is in no way modified at first by
immersing the fungus in water ; when they have been immersed
108
FUNGI.
they are as bright as in the air, hut the fungi which I left
immersed until the next evening lost all their phosphorescence,
and communicated to the water an already sensible yellow tint ;
alcohol put upon the phosphorescent gills did not at once com-
pletely obliterate the light, but visibly enfeebled it. As to the
spores, which are white, I have found many times very dense
coats of them thrown down on porcelain plates, but I have
never seen them phosphorescent.
“ As to the observation made by Delile that the Agaric of the
olive does not shine during the day when placed in total dark-
ness, I think that it could not have been repeated. From what
I have said of the phosphorescence of A. olearius , one naturally
concludes that there does not exist any necessary relation
between this phenomenon and the fructification of the fungus ;
the luminous brightness of the hymenium shows, says Delile,
1 the greater activity of the reproductive organs,’ but it is
not in consequence of its reproductive functions, which may
be judged only as an accessory phenomenon, the cause of which
is independent of, and more general than these functions, since
all the parts of the fungus, its entire substance, throws forth
at one time, or at successive times, light. From these experi-
ments Tulasne infers that the same agents, oxygen, water, and
warmth, are perfectly necessary to the production of phospho-
rescence as much in living organized beings as in those which
have ceased to live. In either case, the luminous phenomena
accompany a chemical reaction which consists principally in
a combination of the organized matter with the oxygen of the
air ; that is to say, in its combustion, and in the discharge
of carbonic acid which thus shows itself.”
We have quoted at considerable length from these observa-
tions of Tulasne on the Agaric of the olive, as they serve very
much to illustrate similar manifestations in other species, which
doubtless resemble each other in their main features.
Mr. Gardner has graphically described his first acquaintance
in Brazil with the phosphorescent species which now bears his
name. It was encountered on a dark night of December, while
passing through the streets of Yilla de Natividate. Some boys
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
109
were amusing themselves with some luminous object, which at
first he supposed to be a kind of large fire-fly, but on making
inquiry he found it to be a beautiful phosphorescent Agaric,
which he was told grew abundantly in the neighbourhood on
the decaying fronds of a dwarf palm. The whole plant gives
out at night a bright light somewhat similar to that emitted
by the larger fire-flies, having a pale greenish hue. From this
circumstance, and from growing on a palm, it was called by the
inhabitants “flor de coco.”*
The number of recognized phosphorescent species of Agaricus
is not large, although two or three others may be enumerated
in addition to those cited by Tulasne. Of these, Agaricus
lampas , and some others, are found in Australia.f In addition
to the Agaricus noctileucus , discovered by Gandichaud, and the
Agaricus igncus of Rumphius, found in Amboyna, Dr. Hooker
speaks of the phenomenon as common in Sikkim, but he seems
never to have been able to ascertain with what species it was
associated.
Dr. Cnthbert Collingwood has communicated some further
information relative to the luminosity of a species of Agaricus
in Borneo (supposed to be A. Gardneri ), in which he says,
“ The night being dark, the fungi could be very distinctly seen,
though not at any great distance, shining with a soft pale
greenish light. Here and there spots of much more intense
light were visible, and these proved to be very young and
minute specimens. The older specimens may more properly
be described as possessing a greenish luminous glow, like the
glow of the electric discharge, which, however, was quite suf-
ficient to define its shape, and, when closely examined, the chief
details of its form and appearance. The luminosity did not
impart itself to the hand, and did not appear to be affected by
the separation from the root on which it grew, at least not for
some hours. I think it probable that the mycelium of this
fungus is also luminous, for, upon turning up the ground in
search of small luminous worms, minute spots of light were
* In “ Hooker's Journal of Botany ” (1840), vol. ii. p. 426.
f Berkeley, “Introduction to Crypt. Bot.” t. 265.
110
FUNGI.
observed, which could not be referred to any particular object
or body when brought to the light and examined, and were
probably due -to some minute portions of its mycelium.”* The
same writer also adds, “ Mr. Hugh Low has assured me that he
saw the jungle all in a blaze of light (by which he could see to
read) as, some years ago, he was riding across the island by
the jungle road ; and that this luminosity was produced, by an
Agaric.”
Similar experiences were detailed by Mr. James Drummond
in a letter from Swan River, in which two species of Agaric
are concerned. They grew on the stumps of trees, and had
nothing remarkable in their appearance by day, but by night
emitted a most curious light, such as the writer never saw
described in any book. One species was found growing on the
stump of a Hanksia in Western Australia. The stump was at
the time surrounded by water. It was on a dark night, when
passing, that the curious light was first observed. When the
fungus was laid on a newspaper, it emitted by night a phospho-
rescent light, enabling persons to read the words around it, and
it continued to do so for several nights with gradually decreas-
ing intensity as the plant dried up. In the other instance,
which occurred some years after, the author, duriug one of his
botanical trips, was struck by the appearance of a large Agaric,
measuring sixteen inches in diameter, and weighing about five
pounds. This specimen was hung up to dry in the sitting-
room, and on passing through the apartment in the dark it was
observed to give out the same remarkable light. The luminous
property continued, though gradually diminishing, for four or
five nights, when it ceased on the plant becoming dry. “ We
called some of the natives,” he adds, “and showed them this
fungus when emitting light, and the poor creatures cried out
‘ chinga,’ their name for a spirit, and seemed much afraid
of it.” f
Although the examples already cited are those of species of
Agaric, luminosity is not by any means wholly confined to that
* Dr. Collingwood, in “ Journal of Linnsean Society (Botany),” vol. x. p. 469.
+ In “ Hooker’s Journal of Botany ” for April, 1842.
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
Ill
genus. Mr. Worthington Smith has recorded his experiences of
some specimens of the common JPolyporus annosus which were
found on some timbers in the Cardiff coal mines. He remarks
that the colliers are well acquainted with phosphorescent fungi,
and the men state that sufficient light is given “ to see their
hands by.” The specimens of JPolyporus were so luminous
that they could be seen in the dark at a distance of twenty
yards. He observes further, that he has met with specimens of
Polyporus sulfureus which were phosphorescent. Some of the
fungi found in mines, which emit light familiar to the miners,
belong to the incomplete genus Phizomorpha , of which Humboldt
amongst others gives a glowing account. Tulasne has also
investigated this phenomenon in connection with the common
Phizomorpha svhterranea, Pers. This species extends underneath
the soil in long strings, in the neighbourhood of old tree stumps,
those of the oak especially, which are becoming rotten, and
upon these it is fixed by one of its branches. These are cylin-
drical, very flexible, branching, and clothed with a hard bark,
encrusting and fragile, at first smooth and brown, becoming
later very rough and black. The interior tissue, at first whitish,
afterwards of a more or less deep brown colour, is formed of
extremely long parallel filaments from *0035 to ’015 mm. in
diameter.
On the evening of the day when I received the specimens, #
he writes, the temperature being about 22° Cent., all the young
branches brightened with an uniform phosphoric light the whole
of their length ; it was the same with the surface of some of the
older branches, the greater number of which were still brilliant in
some parts, and only on their surface. I split and lacerated many
of these twigs, but their internal substance remained dull. The
next evening, on the contrary, this substance, having been ex-
posed to contact with the air, exhibited at its surface the same
brightness as the bark of the branches. I made this observa-
tion upon the old stalks as well as upon the young ones. Pro-
longed friction of the luminous surfaces reduced the brightness
* Tulasne, “ Sur la Phosphorescence.” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (1848), vol. ix.
p. 340, &c.
112
FUNGI.
and dried tliem to a certain degree, but did not leave on the
fingers any phosphorescent matter. These parts continued with
the same luminous intensity after holding them in the mouth so
as to moisten them with saliva ; plunged into water, held to the
flame of a candle so that the heat they acquired was very appre-
ciable to the touch, they still emitted in the dark a feeble light ; it
was the same after being held in water heated to 30° C. ; but put-
ting them in water bearing a temperature of 55° C. extinguished
them entirely. They are equally extinguished if held in the mouth
until they catch the temperature ; perhaps, still, it might be
attributed less to the heat which is communicated to them than
to the deficiency of sufficient oxygen, because I have seen some
stalks, having become dull in the mouth, recover after a few
instants a little of their phosphorescence. A young stalk
which had been split lengthwise, and the internal substance of
which was very phosphorescent, could imbibe olive oil many
times and yet continue for a long time to give a feeble light.
By preserving these Rliizomorphce in an adequate state of
humidity, I have been able for many evenings to renew the
examination of their phosphorescence ; the commencement of
dessication, long before they really perish, deprives them of the
faculty of giving light. Those which had been dried for more
than a month, when plunged into water, commenced to vegetate
anew and send forth numerous branches in a few days ; but I
could only discover phosphorescence at the surface of these new
formations, or very rarely in their immediate neighbourhood,
the mother stalks appearing to have lost by dessication their
luminous properties, and did not recover them on being recalled
to life. These observations prove that what Schmitz has written
was not true, that all parts of these fungi were seldom phos-
phorescent.
The luminous phenomenon in question is without doubt more
complicated than it appears, and the causes to which we attri-
bute it are certainly powerfully modified by the general character
of the objects in which they reside. Most of the German
botanists give this explanation, others suppose that it forms at
first or during its continuance a special matter, in which the
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
113
luminous property resides ; this matter, which is said to be
mucilaginous in the luminous wood, appears to be in the
Mhizomorpha only a kind of chemical combination between the
membrane and some gummy substance which they contain.
Notwithstanding this opinion, I am assured that all external
mucous matter was completely absent from the Agaricus olearius ,
and I neither discovered it upon the branches of Rhizomorpha
subterranea nor upon the dead leaves which I have seen phos-
phorescent; in all these objects the luminous surfaces were
nothing else than their proper tissue.
It may be remarked here that the so-called species of RJiizo-
morpba are imperfect fungi, being entirely devoid of fructifica-
tion, consisting in fact only of a vegetative system — a sort of
compact mycelium — (probably of species of Xylaria ) with some
affinity to Sclerotium.
Recently an extraordinary instance of luminosity was recorded
as occurring in our own country.^ “A quantity of wood had
been purchased in a neighbouring parish, which was dragged up
a very steep hill to its destination. Amongst them was a log of
larch or spruce, it is not quite certain which, 24 feet long and a
foot in diameter. Some young friends happened to pass up the
hill at night, and were surprised to find the road scattered with
luminous patches, which, when more closely examined, proved to
be portions of bark or little fragments of wood. Following the
track, they came to a blaze of white light which was perfectly
surprising. On examination, it appeared that the whole of the
inside of the bark of the log was covered with a white byssoid
mycelium of a peculiarly strong smell, but unfortunately in such
a state that the perfect form could not be ascertained. This was
luminous, but the light was by no means so bright as in those
parts of the wood where the spawn had penetrated more deeply,
and where it was so intense that the roughest treatment scarcely
seemed to check it. If any attempt was made to rub off the
luminous matter it only shone the more brightly, and when wrapped
up in five folds of paper the light penetrated through all the folds
on either side as brightly as if the specimen was exposed ; when,
* Rev. M. J. Berkeley, in “ hardener’s Chronicle for 1872, p. 1258.
I
114
FUNGI.
again, the specimens were placed in the pocket, the pocket when
opened was a mass of light. The luminosity had now been
going on for three days. Unfortunately we did not see it our-
selves till the third day, when it had, possibly from a change in
the state of electricity, been somewhat impaired ; but it was
still most interesting, and we have merely recorded what we
observed ourselves. It was almost possible to read the time on
the face of a watch even in its less luminous condition. We do
not for a moment suppose that the mycelium is essentially
luminous, but are rather inclined to believe that a peculiar con-
currence of climatic conditions is necessary for the production
of the phenomenon, which is certainly one of great rarity.
Observers as we have been of fungi in their native haunts for
fifty years, it has never fallen to our lot to witness a similar case
before, though Prof. Churchill Babington once sent us specimens
of luminous wood, which had, however, lost their luminosity
before they arrived. It should be observed that the parts of the
wood which were most luminous were not only deeply penetrated
by the more delicate parts of the mycelium, but were those
which were most decomposed. It is probable, therefore, that
this fact is an element in the case as well as the presence of
fungoid matter.”
In all cases of phosphorescence recorded, the light emitted
is described as of the same character, varying only in intensity.
It answers well to the name applied to it, as it seems remarkably
similar to the light emitted by some living insects and other
animal organisms, as well as to that evolved, under favourable
conditions, by dead animal matter — a pale bluish light, resem-
bling that emitted by phosphorus as seen in a dark room.
Another phenomenon worthy of note is the change of colour
which the bruised or cut surface of some fungi undergo. Most
prominent amongst these are certain poisonous species of
Boletus , such, for instance, as Boletus luridus , and some
others, which, on being bruised, cut, or divided, exhibit an
intense, and in some cases vivid, blue. At times this change
is so instantaneous that before the two freshly-cut portions
of a Boletus can be separated, it has already commenced, and
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
115
proceeds rapidly till the depth of intensity has been gained.
This bine colour is so universally confined to dangerous species
that it is given as a caution that all species which exhibit a blue
colour when cut or bruised, should on no account be eaten. The
degree of intensity varies considerably according to the con-
dition of the species. For example, Boletus ccerulescens is
sometimes only very slightly, if at all, tinged with blue when
cut, though, as the name implies, the peculiar phenomenon is
generally highly developed. It cannot be said that this change
of colour has as yet been fully investigated. One writer some
time since suggested, if he did not affirm, that the colour was
due to the presence of aniline, others have contented themselves
with the affirmation that it was a rapid oxidization and chemi-
cal change, consequent upon exposure of the surfaces to the air.
Archdeacon Robinson examined this phenomenon in different
gases, and arrived at the conclusion that the change depends on
an alteration of molecular arrangement.*
One of the best of the edible species of Lactarius , known as
Lactarius deliciosus, changes, wherever cut or bruised, to a dull
livid green. This fungus is filled with an orange milky fluid,
which becomes green on exposure to the air, and it is conse-
quently the juice which oxidizes on exposure. Some varieties
more than others of the cultivated mushroom become brownish
on being cut, and a similar change we have observed, though
not recorded, in other species.
The presence of a milky juice in certain fungi has been
alluded to. This is by no means confined to the genus Ba&-
tarius, in which such juice is universal, sometimes white, some*
times yellow, and sometimes colourless. In Agarics, especially
in the subgenus Mycenu , the gills and stem are replete with a
milky juice. Also in some species of Peziza, as for instance in
Peziza suecosa ,. B., sometimes found growing on the ground in
gardens, and in Peziza saniosa, Schrad., also a terrestrial species,
the same phenomenon occurs. To this might be added such
species as Stereum sjpadiceum , Fr.., and Stereum sanguinolenturu ,
* Berkeley, “Introduction to Crypt. Bot.” p. 26®.
I 2
116
FUNGI.
Fr., both of which become discoloured and bleeding when
bruised, while Corticium lactescens distils a watery milk.
Fungi in general have not a good repute for pleasant odours,
and yet it must be conceded that they are not by any means de-
void of odour, sometimes peculiar, often strong, and occasionally
very offensive. There is a peculiar odour common to a great
many forms, which has come to be called a fungoid odour ; it is
the faint smell of a long-closed damp cellar, an odour of mouldi-
ness and decay, which often arises from a process of eremocau-
sis. But there are other, stronger, and equally distinct odours,
which, when once inhaled, are never to be forgotten. Amongst
these is the fetid odour of the common stinkhorn, which is in-
tensified iu the more beautiful and curious Clathrus. It is very
probable that, after all, the odour of the Phallus would not be so
unpleasant if it were not so strong. It is not difficult to imagine,
when one encounters a slight sniff borne on a passing breeze,
that there is the element of something not by any means un-
pleasant about the odour when so diluted ; yet it must be con-
fessed that when carried dn a vasculum, in a close carriage, or
railway car, or exposed in a close room, there is no scruple about
pronouncing the odour intensely fetid. The experience of more
than one artist, who has attempted the delineation of Clathrus
from the life, is to the effect that the odour is unbearable even
by an enthusiastic artist determined on making a sketch.
Perhaps one of the most fetid of fungi is Thelephora palmata.
Some specimens were on one occasion taken by Mr. Berkeley into
his bedroom at Aboyne, when, after an hour or two, he was hor-
rified at finding the scent far worse than that of any dissecting
room. He was anxious to save the specimens, but the scent was so
powerful that it was quite intolerable till he had wrapped them
in twelve thick folds of the strongest brown paper. The scent
of Thelephora fastidiosa is bad enough, but, like that of Coprinus
picaceus , it is probably derived from the imbibition of the ordure
on which it is developed. There needs no stronger evidence
that the scent must not only be powerful, but unpleasant, when
an artist is compelled, before a rough sketch is more than half
finished, to throw it away, and seek relief in the open air. A great
NOTABLE PHENOMENA.
117
number of edible Agarics have the peculiar odour of fresb meal,
but two species, Agaricus odorus and Agaricus fragrans, bave a
pleasant anise-like odour. In two or three species of tough
Hydnum , there is a strong persistent odour somewhat like melilot
or woodruffe, which does not pass away after the specimen has
been dried for years. In some species of Marasmius , there is a
decidedly strong odour of garlic, and in one species of Hygro-
phoncs, such a resemblance to that of the larva of the goat
moth, that it bears the name of Hygrophorus cossus. Most of
the fleshy forms exhale a strong nitrous odour during decay,
but the most powerful we remember to have experienced was
developed by a very large specimen of Choir omyces meandriform is,
a gigantic subterranean species of the truffle kind, and this
specimen was four inches in diameter when found, and then
partially decayed. It was a most peculiar, but strong and
unpleasantly pungent nitrous odour, such as we never remember
to have met with in any other substance. Peziza venosa is
remarkable when fresh for a strong scent like that of
aquafortis.
Of colour, fungi exhibit an almost endless variety, from white,
through ochraceous, to all tints of brown until nearly black, or
through sulphury yellow to reds of all shades, deepening info
crimson, or passing by vinous tints into purplish black. These
are the predominating gradations, but there are occasional blues
and mineral greens, passing into olive, but no pure or chloro-
phyllous green. The nearest approach to the latter is found in
the hymenium of some j Boleti. Some of the Agarics exhibit
bright colours, but the larger number of bright-coloured species
occur in the genus Peziza. Nothing can be more elegant than
the orange cups of Peziza aurantia , the glowing crimson of
Peziza coccinea , the bright scarlet of Peziza rutilans , the snowy
whiteness of Peziza nivea , the delicate yellow of Peziza thele-
boloides , or the velvety brown of Peziza repanda. Amongst
Agarics, the most noble Agaricus muscarius, with its warty
crimson pileus, is scarcely eclipsed by the continental orange
Agaricus ccesarius. The amethystine variety of Agaricus laccatus
is so common and yet so attractive ; whilst some forms and
118
FUNGI.
species Russula, are gems of brilliant colouring. The golden
tufts of more than one species of Clavaria are exceedingly
attractive, and the delicate pink of immature Ly cog ala epiden -
dru/ni is sure to command admiration. The minute forms
which require the microscope, as much to exhibit their colour
as their structure, are not wanting in rich and delicate tints,
so that the colour- student would find much to charm him, and
good practice for his pencil in these much despised examples of
low life.
Amongst phenomena might be cursorily mentioned the
peculiar sarcodioid mycelium of Myxogastres , the development
of amoeboid forms from their spores, and the extraordinary
rapidity of growth, as the well-known instance of the Reticularia
which Schweinitz observed running over iron a few hours after
it had been red hot. Mr. Berkeley has observed that the creamy
mycelium of Lycogala will not revive after it has become dry
for a few hours, though so active before.
119
VI.
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
A work of this character would hardly be deemed complete
without some reference to the above subject, which has moreover
a relation to some of the questions discussed, and particularly of
spore diffusion in the atmosphere. The largest spore is micro-
scopic, and the smallest known scarcely visible under a magni-
fying power of 360 diameters. Taking into account the large
number of species of fungi, probably scarcely less numerous than
all the flowering plants, and the immense number of spores which
some of the individuals produce, they must be exceedingly plen-
tiful and widely diffused, though from their minuteness not easy
to be discerned. It has been attempted to estimate the number
of spores which might be produced by one single plant of Lyco-
perdon , but the number so far exceeds that which the mind is
accustomed to contemplate that it seems scarcely possible to
realize their profusion. Recent microscopic examinations of the
common atmosphere* show the large quantity of spores that are
continually suspended. In these investigations it was found that
spores and similar cells were of constant occurrence, and were
generally present in considerable numbers. That the majority
of the cells were living, and ready to undergo development on
meeting with suitable conditions, was very manifest, as in those
cases in which preparations were retained under observation for
any length of time, germination rapidly took place in many of
the cells. In few instances did any development take place,
* Cunningham, in “ Ninth Annual iteport of the Sanitary Commissioner with
the Government of India.” Calcutta, 1872.
120
FUNGI.
beyond the formation of networks of mycelium, or masses of
toruloid cells, but, in one or two, distinct sporules were developed
on the filaments arising from some of the larger septate spores ;
and in a few others, Penicillium and Aspergillus produced their
characteristic heads of fructification. With regard to the precise
nature of the spores, and other cells present in various instances,
little can be said, as, unless their development were to be care-
fully followed out through all its stages, it is impossible to refer
them to their correct species or even genera. The greater
number of them are apparently referable to the old orders of
fungi, S 'pheeronemei, Melanconei , Torulacei , Dematiei , and Aluce-
dines , wrhile some probably belonged to the JPuccinicei and
Cceomacei.
Hence it is demonstrated that a large number of the spores
of fungi are constantly present in the atmosphere, which is con-
firmed by the fact that whenever a suitable pabulum is exposed
it is taken possession of by floating spores, and soon converted
into a forest of fungoid vegetation. It is admitted that the
spores of such common moulds as Aspergillus and Penicilliwn
are so widely diffused, that it is almost impossible to exclude
them from closed vessels, or the most carefully guarded prepara-
tions. Special contrivances for the dispersion of the spores in
the different groups follow a few general types, and it is only
rarely that we meet with any method that is confined only to a
species or genus. Some of the more significant forms of spores
may be illustrated, with their modes of dissemination.
Basidiospores is a term which we may employ here to desig-
nate all spores borne at the tips of such supports as are found
in the Uymenomycetes and Gasteromycetes , to which the name
of basidia has been given. In fact, under this section we may
include all the spores of those two orders, although we may be
ignorant of the precise mode in which the fruit of most of the
Myxogastres is developed. Guarding ourselves at the outset
against any misinterpretation as to the use of this term, which,
in fact, we employ simply to designate the fruit of Uymenomy-
cetes, we may have excuse in our desire to limit special terms as
much as possible. In the Agaricini the spores are plentiful, and
THE . SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
121
are distributed over the hymenium or gill plates, the surface of
which is studded with basidia, each of which normally ter-
minates with four short, erect, delicate, thread-like processes,
each of which is surmounted by a spore. These spores are
colourless or coloured, and it is upon this fact that primary divi-
sions in the genus Agaricus are based, inasmuch as colour in the
ct l c
Fig. 45.— Spores of (a) Agaricus mucidus; ( b ) Agaricus vaginatus ; ( c ) Agaricus
pascuus ; (d) Agaricus nidorosus ; (e) Agaricus campestris. (Smith.)
spores appears to be a permanent feature. In white-spored species
the spores are white in all the individuals, not mutable as the
colour of the pileus, or the corolla in phanerogamic plants. So
also with the pink spored, rusty spored, black spored, and others.
This may serve to explain why colour, which is so little relied
upon in classification amongst the higher plants, should be intro-
duced as an element of classification in one of the largest
genera of fungi.
There are considerable differences in size and form amongst
the spores of the Agaricini, although at first globose ; when
mature they are globose, oval, oblong, elliptic, fusiform, and
either smooth or tuberculated, often maintaining in the different
a b c
Fig. 46. — Spores of (a) Lactarius blennius ; (6) Lactarius fuliginosus ; (c) Lactarius
quietus. (Smith.)
| genera or subgenera one particular characteristic, or typical
j form. It is unnecessary here to particularize all the modifica-
122
FUNGI.
tions which the form and colour of the spores undergo in dif-
ferent species, as this has already been alluded to. The spores
a CVS
0(b
Fig. 46*. — (a) Spore of Gomphidius Fig. 47. — Spores of (a) Polyporus ccesius ;
viscidus; (b) spore of Coprinus micaceus. (b) Boletus parasiticus ; (c) Hydnum.
in the Polyporei , Hydnei , &c., are less variable, of a similar
character, as in all the Hymenomycetes , except perhaps the
Tremellini.
When an Agaric is mature, if the stem is cut off close to the
gills, and the pileus inverted, with the gills downwards on a
sheet of black paper (one of the pale-spored species is best for
this purpose), and left for a few hours, or all night, in that
position, the paper will be found imprinted in the morning
with a likeness of the under side of the pileus with its radiating
gills, the spores having been thrown down upon the paper in
such profusion, from the hymenium, and in greater numbers
from the opposed surfaces of the gills. This little experiment
will be instructive in two or three points. It will illustrate the
facility with which the spores are disseminated, the immense
number in which they are produced, and the adaptability of the
gill structure to the economy of space, and the development of
the largest number of basidiospores from a given surface. The
tubes or pores in Polyporei , the spines in Hydnei , are modifica-
tions of the same principles, producing a like result.
In the G aster omycetes the spores are produced in many cases,
probably in most, if not all, at the tips of sporophores ; but the
hymenium, instead of being exposed, as in the Hymenomycetes , is
enclosed within an outer peridium or sac, which is sometimes
double. The majority of these spores are globose in form, some
of them extremely minute, variously coloured, often dark, nearly
black, and either externally smooth or echinulate. In some
genera, as Bnerihenema , Badhamia , &c., a definite number of
spores are at first enclosed in delicate cysts, but these are excep-
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
128
tions to the general rule : this also is the case in at least one
species of Hymenog aster. As the spores approach maturity, it
may be observed in such genera as Stemonitis , Arcyria , Diachea ,
Dictydium, Cribraria, Tricilia, &c., that they are accompanied by
a sort of reticulated skeleton of threads, which re-
main permanent, and served in earlier stages, doubt-
less, as supports for the spores ; being, in fact, the
skeleton of the hymenium. It has been suggested
that the spiral character of the threads in Tricilia
calls to mind the elaters in the Hepaticce , and like
them may, by elasticity, aid in the dispersion of the
spores. There is nothing known, however, which
will warrant this view. When the spores are
mature, the peridium ruptures either by an external
orifice, as in Geaster , Ly coper don, &c., or by an Wwm
irregular opening, and the light, minute, delicate
spores are disseminated by the slightest breath of ^ofll
air. Specimens of Geaster and Bovista are easily If II
separated from the spot on which they grew ; when
rolling from place to place, the spores are deposited PlG 48 _ma.
over a large surface. In the Bhalloidei the spores chm eiegans.
are involved in a slimy mucus which would prevent their diffu-
sion in such a manner. This gelatinous substance has neverthe-
less a peculiar attraction for insects, and it is not altogether
romantic to believe that in sucking up the fetid slime, they
also imbibe the spores and transfer them from place to place,
so that even amongst fungi insects aid in the dissemination of
species. Whether or not the Myxogastres should be included
here is matter of opinion, since the mode in which the spores
are developed is but little known ; analogy with the Trichogastres
in other points alone leading to the conclusion that they may
produce basidiospores. The slender, elastic stems which sup-
port the peridia in many species are undoubted aids to the
dissemination of the spores.*
Under the name of Stylospores may be classed those spores
which in some orders of Coniomycetes are produced at the apex
* See uCorda leones,” tab. 2.
124
FUNGI.
of short threads, either enclosed in a perithecinm, or seated upon
a kind of stroma. These are exceedingly variable, sometimes
large, and multiseptate, at other times minute, resembling sper-
matia. In such genera as are chiefly epiphytal, in Septoria,
Phyllosticta , and their allies, the minute spores are enclosed
within membranaceous perithecia, and when mature these are
ejected from the orifice at the apex, or are exposed by the break-
ing off of the upper portion of the perithecia. In Diplodia and
Hendersonia the spores are larger, mostly coloured, often very
fine in the latter genus,
and multiseptate, escaping
from the perithecia by a
terminal pore. Probably
the species are only pyc-
nidia of Sphceriacei , but
that is of no consequence
in relation to our present
inquiry. Of stylospores
which deserve mention on
Fig. 49.— Spore of Hen- Fig. 50.— Spores of Hilo- account of their singU-
dersonia polycystis. phospora graminis. of f()rm> we may
note those of Dilophospora graminis , which are straight, and
have two or three hair-like appendages at each extremity. In
Discosia there is a single oblique bristle at each end, or at
the side of the septate spores, whilst in Neottiospora a tuft of
Fig. 51.— Spores of Hiscosia.
delicate hairs is found at one extremity only. The appendages
in Dinemasporium are similar to those of Discosia. The spores
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
125
in Prostliemium may be said in some sort to resemble compound
Hendersonia , being fusiform and multiseptate, often united at
the base in a stellate manner. In this genus, as in Darlucci,
Cytispora , and the most of those belonging to the Melanconiei ,
the spores when mature are expelled from the orifice of the
perithecium or spurious perithecium, either in the form of
tendrils, or in a pasty mass. In these instances the spores are
more or less involved in gelatine, and when expelled lie spread
over the matrix, around the orifice ; their ultimate diffusion
being due to moisture washing them over other parts of the
same tree, since it is probable that their natural area of
dissemination is not large, the higher plants, of which they
are mostly conditions, being developed on the same branches.
More must be known of the relations between Melanconium
and Tulasne’s sphasriaceous genus Melanconis before we can
appreciate entirely the advantage to Melanconium and some
other genera, that the wide diffusion of their spores should be
checked by involving them in mucus, or their being agglutinated
to the surface of the matrix, only to be softened and diffused by
rain. The spores in many species amongst the Melanconiei are
Fig. 53.— Spore of Fig. 54.— Stylospores of
Stegonosporium Coryneum disciforme.
cellulosum.
Fig. 55. — Spores of Asterosporium
Hoffmanni.
remarkably fine ; those of Stegonosporium have the endochrome
partite and cellular. In Stilbospora and Coryneum the spores are
multiseptate, large, and mostly coloured. In Asterosporium the
126
FUNGI.
spores are stellate, whilst in Pestalozzia they are septate, with a
permanent peduncle, and crested above with two or three hyaline
appendages.
The Torulacei externally, and to the naked eye, are very
similar to the black moulds, and the mode of dissemination will
be alike in both. The spores are chiefly compound, at first
resembling septate threads, and at length breaking up into
Fig. 56.— Spores of Pestalozzia.
Fig. 57. — Bispora monilioides.
joints, each joint of which possesses the function of a spore. In
some instances the threads are connate, side by side, as in Torula
hysterioides , and in Speira , being concentrically arranged in
laminae in the latter genus. The structure in Sporochisma is
very peculiar, the joints breaking up within an external tube or
membrane. The spores in Sporidesmium appear to consist of
irregular masses of cells, agglomerated into a kind of compound
spore. Most of the species become pulverulent, and the spores
are easily diffused through the air like an impalpable dust.
They form a sort of link between the stylospores of one section
of the Coniomycetes , and the pseudospores of the parasitical
section.
Pseudospore is, perhaps, the most fitting name which can be
applied to the so-called spores of the parasitical Coniomycetes.
Their peculiar germination, and the production of reproductive
bodies on the germ tubes, prove their analogy to some extent
with the prothallus of other cryptogams, and necessitate the
use of some term to distinguish them from such spores as are
reproductive without the intervention of a promycelium. The
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
127
differences between these psendospores in the several genera are
confined in some instances to their septation, in others to their
mode of development. In the JEcidiacei the psendospores are
more or less globose, produced in chains within an external
Cellular peridium. In the Cceomacei they are simple, sometimes
produced in chains, and sometimes free, with or without a
caduceous peduncle. In the TJstilaginei they are simple, dark
coloured, and occasionally attached in subglobose masses, as
in Urocysiis and Thecaphora , which are more or less compact.
Fig. 58.- Pseudospores of Fig. 59.— Pseudospores Fig. 60.— Pseudospores of
Thecaphora hyalina. of Puccinia. Triphragmium.
In the Puccinicei the distinctive features of the genera are based
upon the more or less complex nature of the pseudospores, which
Pig. 61. Pseudospores of Phragmidium Fig. 62 .—Melampsora salicina.
bulbosum. (Winter fruit.)
are bilocular in Puccinia , trilocular in Triphragmium , multiloculaT
in Phragmidium , &c. In the curious genus Podisoma the septate
128
FUNGI.
pseudospores are involved in a gelatinous element. The diffu-
sion of these fruits is more or less complete according to their
compact or pulverulent nature. In some species of Puccinia the
sori are so compact that they remain attached to the leaves long
after they are dead and fallen. In the genus JKelampsora , the
wedge-shaped winter-pseudospores are not perfected until after
the dead leaves have for a long time remained and almost rotted
on the ground. It is probable that their ultimate diffusion is
only accomplished by the rotting and disintegration of the
matrix. In the Cceomacei , JJstilaginei , and PPcidiacei the pseudo-
spores are pulverulent, as in some species of Puccinia , and are
easily diffused by the motion of the leaves in the wind, or the
contact of passing bodies. Their diffusion in the atmosphere
seems to be much less than in the case of the PPyphomycetes.
By what means such a species as Puccinia malvacearum , which has
very compact sori, has become within so short a period diffused
overmuch a wide area, is a problem which in the present state
of our knowledge must remain unsolved. It may be through
minute and plentiful secondary spores.
Sperm atia are very minute delicate bodies found associated
with many of the epiphyllous Coniomycetes , and it has been sup-
posed are produced in conjunction with some of the Sphceriacei,
but their real function is at present obscure, and the name is
applied rather upon conjecture than knowledge. It is by no
means improbable that spermatia do exist extensively amongst
fungi, but we must wait in patience for the history of their
relationship.
Trichos pores might be applied better, perhaps, than conidia
to the spores which are produced on the threads of the PPypho-
mycetes. Some of them are known to be the conidia of higher
plants ; but as this is by no means the case with all, it would be
assuming too much to give the name of conidia to the whole.
By whatever name they may be called, the spores of the
Hyphomycetes are of quite a different type from any yet men-
tioned, approximating, perhaps, most closely to the basidiospores
of the PPymenomycetes in some, and Gasteromycetes in others;
as, for instance, in the Sepedoniei and the Trichodermacei. The
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
129
form of the spores and their size differ materially, as well as the
manner in which they are produced on the threads. In many
they are very minute and profuse, but larger and less plentiful
in the Dematiei than in the Mucedines. The spores of some
species of PPelminthosporium are large and multiseptate, calling
to mind the spores of the Melanconiei. Others are very curious,
being stellate in Triposporium , circinate in Helicoma and Helico-
coryne , angular in Gonatosporium, and ciliate in Menispora cili-
ata. Some are produced singly and some in chains, and in some
the threads are nearly obsolete. In Peronospora, it has been
demonstrated that certain species produce minute zoospores
from the so-called spores. The dissemination of the minute
spores of the Mucedines through the air is undoubted; rain also
certainly assists not only in the dispersion of the spores in
this as in other groups, but also in the production of zoospores
which require moisture for that purpose. The form of the
threads, and the mode of attachment
of the spores, is far more variable
amongst the Mucedines than the form
of the spores, but the latter are in all
instances so slightly attached to their
supports as to be dissevered by the
least motion. This aids also in the
diffusion of the spores through the
atmosphere.
Sporangia are produced in the
usually on the tips or
branches of delicate threads, and these when mature dehisce and
set free the minute sporidia. These are so small and uniform
in their character that they require but a passing mention.
The method of diffusion agrees much with that of the Mucedines ,
the walls of the sporangia being usually so thin and delicate
as to be easily ruptured. Other modes of fructification prevail in
some species by the production of cysts, which are the result of
conjugation of the threads. These bodies are for the most part
furnished with thicker and more resistant walls, and the diffusion
of their contents will be regulated by other circumstances than
K
Physomycetes
130
FUNGI.
those which influence the dispersion of the minute sporidia from
the terminal cysts. Probably they are more perennial in their
character, and are assimilated more to the oogonia of Cystopus
and Teronospora , being rather of the nature of resting spores,
inasmuch as the same threads usually bear the terminal fruits.
Thecaspores is a term which may be applied generally to all
sporidia produced in asci, but these are in turn so innumerable
and variable that it will be necessary to treat of some of the
groups individually. The Thecaspores , for instance, of the Tu-
ber acei offer several features whereby they may be distinguished
from other thecaspores. The asci in which these sporidia are
generated mostly partake of a broadly saccate, ovate form. The
number of sporidia contained in an individual ascus is usually
less than in the majority of the Ascomycetes , and the sporidia
approximate more nearly to the globose form. Usually, also,
they are comparatively large. Many have been figured by
Corda* and Tulasne.f Three types of spores may be said to
prevail in the Tuberacei : the smooth spored,
the warted or spinulose, and the areolate. The
first of these may be represented by the Ste-
'pbensia bombyeina , in which the globose
sporidia are quite smooth and colourless.
Fig. 64.— Sporidium of The parted sporidia may be observed in
Genea verrucosa. i ‘mi
Genea verrucosa , the spinulose m Tuber
nitidum , and the areolate are present in Tuber cestivum and
Tuber excavatum , in which the epispore is divided into polygonal
alveoli, bounded by thin, membranaceous, pro-
minent partitions. This form of sporidium is
very beautiful. In all no special provision is
made for the dissemination of the sporidia,
as, from their subterranean habit, none would
be available save the ultimate dissolution
Fig. 65.— Alveolate of the external integuments. As they are
sporidium of x®er. greedily devoured by several animals, it is
possible that they may be dispersed through the excrements.
* Corda, “leones Fungorum,” vol. vi. Prague.
+ Tulasne, “ Fungi Hypogtei.” Paris.
THE SPOEE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
131
In the Perisporiacei the perithecium has no proper orifice, or
ostiolum, for the discharge of the mature sporidia, which are
usually small, and are disseminated by the irregular rupture of
the somewhat fragile conceptacles. The asci are usually more
or less saccate, and the sporidia approximate to a globose form.
The asci are often very diffluent. In Perisporium vulgare the
ovate brown sporidia are at first, and for some time, attached
together in fours in a concatenate or beaded manner. In some
species of Prysiphei the conceptacle en-
closes but a single sporangium, in others
several, which are attached together at the
base. In some species the sporangia contain
two, in others four, in others eight, and in
others numerous sporidia. In Chcetomium
the asci are cylindrical, and in most cases
the coloured sporidia are lemon-shaped.
When the conceptacles are fully matured,
it is commonly the case that the asci are
absorbed and the sporidia are free in the
interior of the conceptacles.
Of the fleshy Discomycetes the genus
Peziza may be taken as the type. If the
structure which prevails in this genus be
brought to mind, it will be remembered
that the hymenium lines an expanded cup,
and that the asci are packed together, side
by side, with their apices outwards, and
their bases attached to a substratum of cells
which form the inner layer of the recep-
tacle. The sporidia are usually eight in
each ascus, either arranged in single or
double rows, or irregularly grouped to-
| gether. The asci are produced in succes- ^
. . T . r Iig. 66. — Asci, sporidia,
sion ; the later, pressing themselves upwards and paraphyses of Asso -
I between those previously developed, cause bolus (Boudier)-
! the rupture of the mature asci at the apex and the ejection of
j the sporidia with considerable force. When a large Peziza is
Tf 9
132
FUNGI.
observed for a time a whitish cloud will be seen to rise suddenly
from the surface of the disc, which is repeated again and again
whenever the specimen is moved. This cloud consists of
sporidia ejected simultaneously from several asci. Sometimes
the ejected sporidia lie like frost on the surface of the disc.
Theories have been devised to account for this sudden extrusion
of the sporidia, in Ascololus , and a few species of Peziza ,
of the asci also, the most feasible one being the successive
growth of the asci ; contraction of the cup may also assist, as
well as some other less potent causes. It may be remarked
here that the sporidia in Peziza and Helotium are mostly colour-
less, whilst in Ascobolus they pass through pink to violet, or
dark brown, and the epispore, which is of a waxy nature, be-
comes fissured in a more or less reticulated manner.
The sporidia in Hysterium proper are usually coloured, often
multiseptate, sometimes fenestrate, and occasionally of consider-
able size. There is no evidence that the sporidia are ever
excluded in the same manner as in Peziza ,
the lips closing over the disc so much as to
prevent this. The diffusion of the sporidia
probably depends on the dissolution of the i
asci, and hence they will not be widely i
dispersed, unless, perhaps, by the action of !
rain.
In Tympanis , asci of two kinds have been j
observed in some species ; one kind contain- I
ing an indefinite number of very minute j
bodies resembling spermatia, and the other |
Mreichn^Ztri^L. octosporous, containing sporidia of the nsual j
type.
The Sphariacei include an almost infinite variety in the form !
and character of the sporidia. Some of these are indefinite in
the number contained in an ascus, although the majority are i
eight, and a few less. In the genera Torrubia and Sypocrea the
structure differs somewhat from other groups, inasmuch as in j
the former the long thread-like sporidia break up into short |
joints, and in the latter the ascus contains sixteen subglobose or j
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
138
subquadrate sporidia. Other species contain linear sporidia,
which, are often the length of the ascus, and may either be simple
or septate. In Sphceria uinaspora the sporidia are abruptly bent
at the second joint. Shorter fusiform sporidia are by no means
uncommon, varying in the number of septa, and in constriction
at the joints in different species. Elliptic or ovate sporidia are
common, as are those of the peculiar form which may be termed
sausage-shaped. These are either hyaline or coloured of some
shade of brown. Coloured sporidia of this kind are common in
Fig. 68. — Ascus and sporidia Fig. 69. — Sporidium of Fig. 70.— Sporidia of Valsa
of Hypocrea. Sphceria uinaspora. profusa (Currey).
Xylaria and Hypoxylon , as well as in certain species of the section
Superficiales. Coloured sporidia are often large and beautiful :
they are mostly of an elongated, elliptical form, or fusiform. As
noteworthy may be mentioned the sporidia of Melanconis land-
134
FUNGI.
formis , those of Valsa profusa, and some species of Massaria ,
the latter being at first invested with a hyaline coat. Some
coloured sporidia have hyaline appendages at each extremity, as
in Melaneonis BerJceleii, and an allied species, Melaneonis hicornis ,
from the United States, also some dung S 'phcerice, as S.fimiseda ,
included under the proposed genus Sordaria * Hyaline sporidia
occasionally exhibit a delicate bristle-like appendage at each
extremity, as in the Valsa thelebola, or with two additional cilia
at the central constriction, as in Valsa taleola. A peculiar form
Fig. 73. — Caudate sporidia of Sphceria fimiseda. Fig. 74. — Sporidia of Valsa thelebola.
of sporidium is present in certain species of Sphceria found on
dung, for which the generic name of Sporormia has been pro-
* Winter, “Die Deutschen Sordarien” (1873).
THE SPORE AND ITS DISSEMINATION.
135
posed, in which the sporidium (as in Perisporium vulgar e)
consists of fonr coloured ovate joints, which ultimately separate.
Multiseptate fenestrate sporidia are not uncommon in Cucurbi-
FiG. 75. — Sporidia of
Valsa taleola. x 400.
Fig. 76.— Spori-
dium of Sporormia
intermedia.
Fig. 77.
taria and Pleospora , as well as in Valsa fenestr at a and some other
species. In the North American Sphceria putamimm the sporidia
are extraordinarily large.
The dissemination of the sporidia
may, from identity of structure in the
perithecium, be deemed to follow alike
method in all. When mature, they are
in a great measure expelled from the
mouth of the perithecia, as is evident
in species with large dark sporidia,
such as exist in the genera Hypoxylon ,
Melanconis , and Massaria. In these
genera the sporidia, on maturity, may
be observed blackening the matrix
round the mouths of the perithecia.
As moisture has an evident effect in producing an expul
Fig. 78. — Sporidium of Sphceria
jputaminum. x 400.
136
FUNGI.
sion of sporidia by swelling the gelatinous nucleus, it may
be assumed that this is one of the causes of expulsion, and
therefore of aids to dissemination. When Sphaerice are submitted
to extra moisture, either by placing the twig which bears them
on damp sand, or dipping one end in a vessel of water, the
sporidia will exude and form a gelatinous bead at the orifice.
There may be other methods, and possibly the successive pro-
duction of new asci may also be one, and the increase in bulk
by growth of the sporidia another ; but of this the evidence is
scanty.
"Finally, Oogonia may be mentioned as occurring in such
genera as Peronospora amongst moulds, Cystopus amongst
Uredines, and the Saproleyniacece amongst the PJiysomycetes.
The zoospores being furnished with vibratile cilia, are for some
time active, and need only water in which to disseminate them-
selves, and this is furnished by rain.
We have briefly indicated the characteristics of some of the
more important types of spores to be found in fungi, and some
of the modes by which it is known, or presumed, that their
dissemination takes place. In this summary we have been com-
pelled to rest content with suggestions, since an exhaustive essay
would have occupied considerable space. The variability in the
fruit of fungi, in so far as we have failed to demonstrate, will be
found exhibited in the illustrated works devoted more especially
to the minute species. #
* Corda, “leones Fungorum,” 6 vols. (1837-1842); Sturm, “ Deutschlands
.Flora,” Pilze (1841); Tulasne, “ Selecta Fungorum Carpologia;” Bischoff,
“ Kryptogamenkunde ” (1860) ; Corda, “Anleitung zum Studium der Myko-
logie ” (1842) ; Fresenius, “Beitrage zur Mykologie ” (1850) ; Nees yon Esen-
beck, “ Das System der Pilze” (1816) ; Bonorden, “ Handbuch der Allgemeinen
Mykologie ” (1851).
137
YIT.
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
In describing the structure of these organisms in a previous
chapter, the modes of germination and growth from the spores
have been purposely excluded and reserved for the present It
may be assumed that the reader, having followed us to this
point, is prepared for our observations by some knowledge of
the chief features of structure in the principal groups, and of the
main distinctions in the classification, or at least sufficient to
obviate any repetition here. In very many species it is by no
means difficult to induce germination of the spores, whilst in
others success is by no means certain.
M. de Seynes made the Hymenomycetes an especial object of
study,* but he can give us no information on the germination
and growth of the spore. Hitherto almost nothing is positively
known. As to the form of the spore, it is always at first
spherical, which it retains for a long time, while attached to
the basidia, and in some species, but rarely, this form is final, as
in Ay. terreus, &c. The most usual form is either ovoid or regu-
larly elliptic. All the Coprini have the spores oval, ovoid, more
or less elongated or attenuated from the hilum, which is more
translucent than the rest of the spore. This last form is rather
general amongst the Leucospores, in Amanita , Lepiota , &c. At
other times the spores are fusiform, with regularly attenuated
extremities, as in Ay. ermineus , Fr., or with obtuse extremities, as
* Seynes, J. de, “ Essai d’une Floie Mycologique de la Montpellier,” &c.
(1863), p. 30.
138
FUNGI.
in Ag. rutilans , Sell. In Hygropliorus they are rather irregular,
reniform, or compressed in the centre all round. Hoffmann* has
given a figure taken from Ag. chlorophanus , and Seynes verified
it upon Ag. ceraceus , Sow. (See figures on page 121.)
The exospore is sometimes roughened, with more or less pro-
jecting warts, as maybe seen in Russula , which much resembles
Lactarius in this as in some other particulars. The spores of
the Dermini and the Hyporhodii often differ much from the
spheerical form. In Ag . pluteus, Fr., and Ag. phaiocepbalus , Bull,
there is already a commencement of the polygonal form, but the
angles are much rounded. It is in Ag. sericeus , Ag. rubellus ,
&c., that the polygonal form becomes most distinct. In Dermini
the angles are more or less pronounced, and become rather acute
in Ag. murinus , Sow., and Ag. ramosus , Bull. The passage from
one to the other may be seen in the stellate form of the conidia
of Nyetalis .
It is almost always the external membrane that is coloured,
which is subject to as much variation as the form. The more
fine and more delicate shades are of rose, yellow-dun or yel-
low, violet, ashy- grey, clear fawn colour, yellow-orange, olive-
green, brick-red, cinnamon-brown, reddish-brown, up to sepia-
black and other combinations. It is only by the microscope
and transparency that one can make sure of these tints ; upon
a sufficient quantity of agglomerated spores the colour may be
distinguished by the naked eye. Colour, which has only a slight
importance when considered in connection with other organs,
acquires much in the spores, as a basis of classification.
With the growth of Agarics from the mycelium, or spawn, we
are not deficient in information, but what are the conditions
necessary to cause the spores themselves to germinate before our
eyes and produce this mycelium is but too obscure. In the culti-
vated species we proceed on the assumption that the spores have
passed a period of probation in the intestines of the horse, and
by this process have acquired a germinating power, so that when
expelled we have only to collect them, and the excrement in which
* Hoffman, “ leones Analytics Fungorum.”
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
139
they are concealed, and we shall secure a crop.* As to other
species, we know that hitherto all attempts to solve the mystery
of germination and cultivation has failed. There are several
species which it would be most desirable to cultivate if the con-
ditions could be discovered which are essential to germination.!
In the same manner the Boleti and Hydnei — in fact, all other
hymenomycetal fungi, with the exception of the Tremellini — still
require to be interrogated by persevering experiment and close
inquiry as to their mode of germination, but more especially as
to the essential conditions under which alone a fruitful mycelium
is produced.
The germination of the spore has been
observed in some of the Tremellini.
Tulasne described it in Tremella vio-
lacea.l These spores are white, unilo-
cular, and filled with a plastic matter
of homogeneous appearance. From some
portion of their surface an elongated
germ filament is produced, into which
the contents of the reproductive cell pass
until quite exhausted. Other spores,
perhaps more abundant, have a very
different kind of vegetation. From
their convex side, more rarely from the
outer edge, these particular spores emit
a conical process, generally shorter than
themselves, and directed perpendicularly
to the axis of their figure. This appen-
dage becomes filled with protoplasm at the expense of the
* The spores of Agarics which are devoured by flies, however, though returned
in their dung in an apparently perfect state, are quite effete. It is, we believe,
principally by the Syrphidce , which devour pollen, that fungus spores are con-
sumed.
All attempts at Chiswick failed with some of the more esculent species, and
Mr. Ingram at Belvoir, and the late Mr. Henderson at Milton, were unsuccessful
with native and imported spawn.
Tulasne, “On the Organization of the Tremellini,” “Ann. des. Sci. Nat.”
3me s6r. xix, (1853), p. 193.
Fig. 79. — (a) Basidiaand spores
of Exidia spiculosa; (b) Germi-
nating spore.
140
FUNGI.
spore, and its free and pointed extremity finally dilated into
a sac, at first globose and empty. This afterwards admits
into its cavity the plastic matter contained in its support,
and, increasing, takes exactly the form of a new spore,
without, however, quite equalling in size the primary or
mother spore. The spore of the new formation long retains its
pedicel, and the mother spore which produced it, but these
latter organs are then entirely empty and extremely transparent.
Sometimes two secondary spores are thus engendered from the
same spore, and their pedicels may be implanted on the same or
on different sides, so as to be parallel in the former case, and
growing in opposite directions in the latter. The fate of these
secondary spores was not determined.
In Dacrymyces deliquescent are found mingled amongst the
spores immense numbers of small round or ovoid unilocular
bodies, without appendages of any kind, which long puzzled
mycologists. Tulasne ascertained that they are derived from
the spores of this fungus when they have become free, and rest
on the surface of the hymenium. Each of
the cells of the spore emits exteriorly one
or several of these corpuscles, supported on
very short slender pedicels, which remain
after the corpuscles are detached from
them. This latter circumstance evidences
that new corpuscles succeed the firstborn
one on each pedicel as long as there remains
any plastic matter within the spore. The
latter, in fact, in consequence of this
s^e'andWoorpusdes”! labour of production, becomes gradually
Dacrymyces deiiq.uescens. emptied, and yet preserves the generative
pedicels of the corpuscles, even when it no longer contains any
solid or coloured matter. These pedicels are not all in the same
plane, as may be ascertained by turning the spore on its longi-
tudinal axis ; but it often seems to be so when they are looked
at in profile, on account of the very slight distance which then
separates them one from another. It will also be remarked that
they are in this case often implanted all on the same side of the
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
141
reproductive body, and most often on its convex side. Their
fecundity is exhausted with the plastic contents of the spore.
The corpuscles, when placed in the most favourable conditions,
have never given the least sign of vegetation ; they have also
remained for a long time in water without experiencing any
appreciable alteration.
All the individuals of Dacrymyces deliquescens do not produce
these corpuscles in the same abundance ; those which bear the
most are recognizable by the pale tint of the reproductive dust
with which they are covered; in others, where this dust preserves
its golden appearance, only a few corpuscles are found. The
spores which produce corpuscles do not appear at all apt to
germinate. On the other hand, multitudes of spores will germi-
nate which had not produced any corpuscles. Tnlasne remarks
on this, that these observations would authorize us to think that
all spores, though perfectly identical to our eyes, have not,
without distinction, the same fate, nor doubtless the same nature ;
and, in the second place, that these two kinds of bodies, if they
are not always isolated, yet are most frequently met with on
distinct individuals. This author claims for the corpuscles in
question that they are spermatia, and thinks that their origin is
only so far unusual in that they proceed from veritable spores.
The whole of the Gasteromycetes have as yet to be challenged
as to the mode and conditions of germination and development.
It is probable that these will not materially differ from those
which prevail in Hymenomycetes.
The germination in jfficidium has been followed out by Tulasne,*
either by placing the pseudospores in a drop of water, or confining
them in a moist atmosphere, or by placing the leaves on which
the JEcidium flourishes upon water. The pseudospores plunged
in water germinated more readily than the others. If the con-
ditions were favourable, germination would take place in a few
hours. JEcidium Hanunculacearum , D. C., on leaves of figwort,
gives rarely more than one germinating filament, which soon
attains three times the length of the diameter of the pseudospore.
This filament generally remains simple, sometimes torulose, and
* Tulasne, “ Memoire sur les Uredindes.”
142
FUNGI.
distorted in a long spire. Sometimes it lias been seen divided
into two branches, nearly equal to each other. The spore in
germinating empties itself of its plastic contents, contracts, and
diminishes in size. The pseudospores of JEcidium crassum , P.,
emit three long filaments, which describe spirals, imitating the
twistings of the stem of a bean or bindweed. In JEcidium Violce ,
Schum, one filament is produced, which frequently rolls up its
anterior extremity into a spire, but more often this same extremity
rises in a large ovoid, irregular vesicle, which continues the axis
of the filament, or makes with it a more or less decided angle.
In whatever manner placed, this vesicle attracts to it all the
orange protoplasm, and hardly does this become settled and
complete before the vesicle becomes the starting point of a new
development, for it begins to produce at its apex a filament,
more slender than the previous one, stiff, and unbranched.
According to M. Tulasne, the germination of the pseudospores
of JEcidium Euphorbice on Euphorbia sylvatica differ in some
respects from the preceding. When dropped
upon water these spores very soon emit a
short tube, which ordinarily curves in an
arch or circle, almost from its origin, attain-
ing a length of from three to six times the
diameter of the spore ; then this tube gives
rise to four spicules, each of which pro-
duces a small obovate or reniform sporule ;
the generation of these sporules absorbs all
the plastic matter contained in the germ-
tube, which permits of the observation that
it was divided into four ceils correspond-
ing with the number of spicules. These
f,g. si.— Germination of spomles germinate very rapidly from an
JEcidium Euphorbia ( syiva - indefinite point of their surface, emitting a
ticce), Tulasne. filiform process, which is flexuous and very
delicate, not extending more in length than three times that of
the long axis of the sporule, often less, reproducing at its
summit a new sporule, differing in form and size from that
which preceded it. This sporule of the second formation be-
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
143
comes at its apex a vital centre, and sprouts one or more linear
buds, of which the elongation is occasionally interrupted by the
formation of vesicular swellings. As Tulasne observes, the
pseudospores of the JEcidium and the greater number of Uredines
are easily wetted with water before arriving at maturity ; but
when they are ripe, on the contrary, they appear to be clothed
with a greasy matter which protects them from the liquid,
forcing them almost all to rest on the surface.
The pseudospores of Boestelia are produced in strings or chap-
lets, as in udEcidium, with this difference, that instead of being
contiguous they are separated by narrow isthmuses. The ripe
pseudospores are enveloped in a thick tegument, of a dark brown
colour. They germinate readily on water, producing a filament
fifteen times as long as the diameter of the spore. This filament
is sometimes rolled or curved. Towards its extremity it exhibits
protuberances which resemble the rudiments of ramuli, or they
terminate in a vesicle which gives rise to a slender filament.
The tegument of these pseudospores, above all in those which
have germinated, and have consequently become more trans-
parent, it is easy to see has many pores, or round ostioles.
In JPeridermium the pseudospores, when dropped upon water,
germinate at any point of their surface. Sometimes two unequal
filaments issue from the same spore. After forty-eight hours
of vegetation in the air, the greater part had already emitted a
multitude of thick little branches, themselves either simple or
branched, giving to the filaments a peculiar aspect. Tulasne did
not on any occasion observe the formation of secondary spores.
In the Uredines proper the germination seems to be some-
what similar, or at least not offering sufficient differences to
warrant special reference in JJredo , Trichobasis , Lecythea , &c.
In Coleosporium there are two kinds of spores, one kind consist-
ing of pulverulent single cells, and the other of elongated sep-
tate cells, which break up into obovate joints. Soon after the
maturity of the pulverulent spores, each begins to emit a long
tube, which is habitually simple, and produces at its summit a
reproductive cellule, or reniform sporule. The orange protoplasm
j passes along the colourless tubes to the terminal sporule at the
144
FUNGI.
end of its vegetation. The two forms of spores in this genns
are constantly fonnd on the same leaf, and in the same pulvinule,
but generally the pulverulent spores abound at the commence-
ment of the summer. The reniform sporules begin to germinate
in a great number as soon as they are free ; some few extend a
Fig. 82.— Germinating pseudospores of Fig. 83.— Germinating pseudospore (6) of
(b) Coleosporium Sonchi; (s s ) secondary Melampsora betulina (Tulasne).
spores, or sporules (Tulasne).
filament which remains simple and uniform, but more commonly
it forms at its extremity a second sporule. If this does not
become isolated, to play an independent life, the filament is
continued, and new vesicles are repeated many times.
In Melampsora the summer spores are of the lecythea type,
and were included in that genus till their relation with Melamp-
sora was clearly made out. The winter spores are in solid
pulvinules, and their fructification takes place towards the end
of winter or in the spring. This phenomenon consists in the
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
145
production of cylindrical tubes, which start from the upper
extremity of the wedge-shaped spores, or more rarely from the
base. These tubes are straight or twisted, simple or bifurcated,
and each of them very soon emits four monosporous spicules, at
the same time that they become septate. The sporules are in
this instance globose.
In Uromyces germination follows precisely
the same type as that of the upper cell of
Puccinia ; in fact, Tulasne states that it is
very difficult to say in what they differ from
the Puccinicd which are accidentally unilo-
cular.
In Gy stop us a more complex method pre-
vails, which will be examined more closely
hereafter.
In Puccinia , as already observed when
describing their structure, the pseudospores
are two- celled. From the pores of each cell,
which are near the central septum, springs
a clavate tube, which attains two or three
times the total length of the fruit, and of
which the very obtuse extremity curves
more or less in the manner of a crozier.*
This tube, making a perfectly nncoloured
transparent membrane, is filled with a pseudospore of Uromyce
granular and very pale plastic matter at appendicuiatus. (Tulasne.)
the expense of the generative cell, which is
soon rendered vacant ; then it gives rise to four spicules, usually
on the same side, and at the summit of these produces a reni-
| form cellule. The four sporules so engendered exhaust all the
protoplasm at first contained in the generative cell, so that their
united capacity proves to be evidently much insufficient to con-
I tain it, the more so as it leads to the belief that this matter
undergoes as it condenses an elaboration which diminishes its
| size. In all cases the spicule originates before the sporule which
j it carries, and also attains its full length when the sporule ap-
* Tulasne, in his “ Memoirs on the Uredines.”
Fig. 84. — Germinating
146
FUNGI.
Fig. 85.— Germinating pseudo3pore of
Puccinia Molinice. (Tulasne.)
pears. The form of the latter is at first globular, then ellipsoid,
and more or less curved. All these phases of vegetation are
accomplished in less than twelve hours, and if the spore is
mature and ready for germina-
tion, it is sufficient to provoke it
by keeping the pseudospores in a
humid atmosphere. During this
process the two cells do not sepa-
rate, nor does one commence ger-
mination before the other, but
both simultaneously. When the
sporules are produced, the proto-
spore, somewhat analogous to a
prothallus, has performed its
functions and decays. Towards
the time of the falling of the
sporules they are nearly all
divided into four unequal cells
by transverse and parallel septa.
These sporules in time produce, from any point on their surface,
a filament, which reproduces a new sporule, resembling the first,
but generally smaller. This
sporule of the second genera-
tion ordinarily detaches itself
from its support before germi-
nating.
The pseudospores of Triphrag -
mium ulmariod have been seen in
April germinating on old leaves
of the meadowsweet which sur-
vived the winter, whilst at the
same time new tufts of the spores
were being developed on the
leaves of the year. These fruits
of the spring vegetation would
not germinate the same year.
Each cell in germination emits a long cylindrical filament, con-
Fig. 86— Germinating pseudospore of
Triphrayviium ulmarice. (Tulasue.)
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
147
taming a brownish protoplasm, on which four spicules, bearing
as many sporules, are generated.
The germination of the black fruits of Phragmidium only ap-
pears to take place in the spring. It greatly resembles that in
Puccinia , except that the filament is shorter, and the sporules
are spherical and orange-coloured, in stead of being kidney-
shaped and pale. In the species found on the leaves of the
common bramble, the filament emitted by each cell attains three
or four times the length of the fruit. The
granular orange protoplasm which fills it
passes ere long into the sporules, which
are engendered at the extremity of pointed
spicules. After the long warty fruits are
emptied of their contents they still seem
as dark as before, but the pores which are
pierced in the sides, through which the
germinating filaments have proceeded, are
more distinctly visible.
It will be observed that throughout all
these allied genera of Uromyces , Puccinia ,
Triphragmium, and Phragmidium the same
type of germination prevails, which confirms
the accuracy of their classification together,
and renders still less probable the sup-
posed affinity of Phragmidium with Spori-
desmium, which was at one time held by
very astute mycologists, but which is now pseudospore of Phragmi-
abandoned. This study of germination dium buibosum. (Tuiasne.)
leads also to a very definite conclusion with regard to the genus
JJromyces ■ — that it is much more closely related to Puccinia and
its immediate allies than to other unicellular Uredines.
The germination of the pseudospores of the gelatinous Ure-
dines of the genus Po disoma was studied by Tuiasne.* These
* Mr. Berkeley has lately published a species under the name of P. Ellisii ,
in which the gelatinous element is scarcely discernible till the plant is moistened.
There are two septa in this species, and another species or form has lately been
received from Mr. Ellis which has much shorter pedicels, and resembles more
L 2
148
FUNGI.
pretended spores, lie writes, are formed of two large conical cells,
opposed by their base and easily separating. They vary in length.
The membrane of which they are formed is thin and completely
colourless in most of them, though much thicker and coloured
brown in others. It is principally the spores with thin mem-
branes that emit from near the middle very obtuse tubes, into
which by degrees, as they elongate, the contents of the parent
utricles pass. Each of the two cells of the supposed spore may
originate near its base four of these tubes, opposed to each other
at their point of origin, and their subsequent direction ; but it is
rather rare for eight tubes, two by two, to decussate from the
same spore or basidium. Usually there are only two or three
which are completely developed, and these tend together towards
the surface of the fungus, which they pass, and expand at liberty
in the air. The tubes generally become thicker by degrees as
they elongate, some only slightly exceeding the length of the
protospores. Others attain three or four times that length,
according to the greater or less distance between the protospore
and the surface of the plant. In the longest tubes it is easy to
observe how the colouring matter passes to their outer extremity,
closely Puccinia, from which it is chiefly distinguished by its revivescent
character.
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
149
leaving the portion nearest to the parent cell colourless and
lifeless. When nearly attaining their ultimate dimensions, all
the tubes are divided towards their outer extremity by transverse
septa into unequal cells ; then simple and solitary processes, of
variable length and form, but attenuated upwards, proceed from
each segment of the initial tube, and produce at their extremity
an oval spore (teleutospore, Tul.), which is slightly curved and
unilocular. These spores absorb all the orange endochrome from
the original tubes. They appear in immense numbers on the
surface of the fungus, and when detached from their spicules
fall upon the ground or on any object which may be beneath
them. So freely are they deposited that they may be collected
on paper, or a slip of glass, like a fine gold-coloured powder.
Again, these secondary spores (teleuto spores) are capable of
germination, and many of them will be found to have germinated
on the surface of the Podisoma whence they originated. The
germ filament which they produce springs, habitually from the
side, at a short distance from the hilum, which indicates the
point of attachment to the original spicule. These filaments
will attain to from fifteen to twenty times the diameter of the
spore in length before branching, and are in themselves exceed-
ingly delicate. The tubes which issue from the primary spores
(protospores, Tul.) are not always simple, but sometimes forked ;
and the cells which are ultimately formed at their extremities,
though producing filiform processes, do not always generate
secondary spores (teleutospores) at their apices. This mode of
germination, it will be seen, resembles greatly that which takes
place in Puccinia.
The germination of the Ustilagines was in part examined by
Tulasne, but since has received accessions through the labours
of Dr. A. Fischer von Waldheim.* Nothing, however, of any
importance is added to our knowledge of the germination of
Tilletia , which was made known as early as 1847. + After some
* Yon Waldheim, on the “ Development of the Ustilaginese,” in “ Pringsheim’s
Jahrbucher,” vol. vii. (1869); translated in “Transactions of N. Y. State
Agricultural Society for 1870.”
f Berkeley, on the “Propagation of Bunt,” in “Trans. Hort. Soc London,”
150
FUNGI.
days a little obtuse tube is protruded through the epispore,
bearing at its apex long fusi form bodies, which are the sporules
of the first generation. These conjugate by means of short
transverse tubes, after the manner of the threads of Zygnema.
Afterwards long elliptical
sporules of the second gene-
ration are produced on short
pedicels by the conjugated
fusiform bodies of the first
generation. (Fig. 89, ss.)
Ultimately these sporules of
the second generation germi-
nate, and generate, on short
spicules, similar sporules of a
third generation. (Fig. 89,
st .)
In Ustilago (flosculorum)
germination takes place
readily in warm weather. The |
germ tube is rather smaller J
at its base than farther on. In
from fifteen to eighteen hours the contents become coarsely
granular ; at the same time little projections appear on the ■
tube which are narrowed at the base, into which some of the j
protoplasm passes. These ultimately mature into sporules. |
At the same time a terminal sporule generally appears on the ■
threads. Secondary sporules frequently grow from the primary,
which are rather smaller, and these occasionally give rise to a
third generation.
In Urocystis ( p omp h o lygo des ) the germinating tubes spring
exclusively from the darker central cells of the clusters. From
these are developed at their extremity three or four linear |
bodies, as in Tilletia , but after this no further development has
as yet been traced. It may be remarked here that Waldheim :
observed similar conjugation of the sporules in some species of 1
Fig. 89.— Germinating pseudospore (g) of
Tilletia caries with secondary spores in con-
jugation. (Tul.)
ii. (1847), p. 113 ; Tulasne, second memoir, in “Ann. des. Sci. Nat.”ii. (4me
s6r.), p. 77 ; Cooke, in “ Journ. Quekett Micro. Club,”i. p. 170.
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
151
Ustilago as have been remarked in the sporules of the first
generation in Tilletia.
Returning to Cystopus , as the last of the Uredines, we must
briefly recapitulate the observations made by Professor de Bary,*
who, by the bye, claims for them an affinity with Peronospora
(Muce dines but too well known
in connection with the potato
disease), and not with the Ure-
dines and their allies. In this
genus there are two kinds of
reproductive organs, those pro-
duced on the surface of the plant
bursting through the cuticle in
white pustules, and which I)e Fig. 90. — Pseudospore of Ustilago rccep-
Bary terms conidi a , which are taculorum m germination, and secondary
i . spores in conjugation. (Tul.)
generated m chains, and certain
globose bodies termed oogonia , which are developed on the
mycelium in the internal tissues of the foster plant. When the
conidia are sown on water they rapidly absorb the moisture, and
swell ; the centre of one of the
extremities soon becomes a large
obtuse papilla resembling the
neck of a bottle. This is filled
with a granular protoplasm, in
which vacuoles are formed.
Soon, however, these vacuoles
disappear, and very fine lines of
demarcation separate the pro-
toplasm into from five to eight Fig. 91.— Conidia and zoospores of Cys -
1 1 topus Candidas; a. conidium with the
polyhedric portions, each pre- plasma divided; b. zoospores escaping;
,• Tiii n • in l -i c. zoospores escaped from the conidium;
sentmg a little faintly-coloured d active zoospores; e. zoospores, having lost
vacuole in the centre (a). Soon their cilia> commencin* to serminate-
after this division the papilla at the extremity swells, opens itself,
and at the same time the five to eight bodies which had formed
in the interior are expelled one by one ( b ). These are zoospores,
* De Bary, “ Recherches,” &c. in “Annales des Sciences Naturelles ” (t1110
stir.), xx. p. 5 ; Cooke in “ Pop. Sci, Rev.” iii. (1864), p. 459.
152
FUNGI.
which at first take a lenticular form, and group themselves before
the mouth of the parent cell in a globose mass (c.) Very soon,
however, they begin to move, and then vibratile cilia show them-
selves ( d ), and by means of these appendages the entire globule
moves in an oscillating manner as one by one the zoospores
disengage themselves, each becoming isolated and swimming
freely in the surrounding fluid. The movement is precisely
that of the zoospores of Algse.
The generation of the zoospores commences within from an
hour and a half to three hours after the sowing of the conidia on
water. From the oogonia, or resting spores, similar zoospores,
but in greater number, are generated in the same manner, and
their conduct after becoming free is identical. Their movements
in the water usually last from two to three
hours, then they abate, the cilia disappear,
and the spore becomes immovable, takes a
globose form, and covers itself with a
membrane of cellulose. Afterwards the
spore emits, from any point whatever of its
surface, a thin, straight or flexuous tube,
which attains a length of from two to ten
times the diameter of the spore. The ex-
tremity becomes clavate or swollen, after
the manner of a vesicle, which receives by
of Cystopus candidus with degrees the whole of the protoplasm,
zoospores escaped. t>, ,1 n • ,
JJe ±>ary then proceeds to describe experi-
ments which he had performed by watering growing plants
with these zoospores, the result being that the germinating
tubes did not penetrate the epidermis, but entered by the
stomates, and there put forth an abundant mycelium which
traversed the intercellular passages. Altogether the germina-
tion of these conidia or zoospores offers so many deferences
from the ordinary germination of the Uredines, and is so like
that which prevails in Peronospora , in addition to the fact of
both genera producing winter spores or oogonia, that we cannot
feel surprised that the learned mycologist who made these
observations should claim for Cystopus an affinity with Perono-
Fig. 92.— Resting spore
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
153
spora rather than with the plants so long associated with it
amongst the Coniomycetes.
In passing from these to the Mucedines , therefore, we cannot
do so more naturally than by means of that genus of white
moulds to which we have just alluded. The erect branched
threads bear at the tip of their branchlets spores, or conidia,
which conduct themselves in a like manner to the organs so
named in Cystopus , and oogonia or resting spores developed on
the mycelium within the tissues of the foster plant also give
origin to similar zoospores.
The conidia are borne upon erect, elongated filaments, origi-
nating from the creeping mycelium. These threads are hollow,
and rarely septate ; the upper portion divided into numerous
branches, and these again are subdivided, the ultimate ramuli
each terminated by a single conidium. This body when mature
is oval or elliptical, filled with protoplasm, but there is a diver-
sity in their mode of germination. In the greater part, of
which P. effiusa may be taken as an example, the conidia have
the function of simple spores. Placed in favourable conditions,
each of them puts forth a germ-tube, the formation of which
does not differ in any essential point from what is known of the
spores of the greater part of fungi.
The short oval conidia of P. gcmgliformis have little obtuse
papillae at their apex, and it is at this point that germination
commences.
The conidia of P. densa are similar, but the germination is
different. When placed in a drop of water, under favourable
circumstances, the following changes may be observed in from
four to six hours. The protoplasm, at first uniformly distributed
in all the conidia, appears strewn with semi-lenticular, and nearly
equidistant vacuoles, of which the plane face is immediately in
contact with the periphery of the protoplasm. These vacuoles
number from sixteen to eighteen in P. macrocorpa , but are less
numerous in P. densa. A short time after the appearance of the
vacuoles the entire conidium extends itself so that the papilla
disappears. Suddenly it reappears, elongates itself, its attenu-
ated membrane vanishes, and the protoplasm is expelled by
154
FUNGI.
the narrow opening that remains in place of the papilla. In
normal cases the protoplasm remains united in a single mass that
shows a clear but very delicate outline. When it has reached
the front of the opening in the conidium, which is thus emptied,
the mass remains immovable. In P. densa it is at first of a very
irregular form, but assumes by degrees a regular globose shape.
This is deprived of a distinct membrane, the vacuoles that disap-
peared in the expulsion again become visible, but soon disappear
for a second time. The globule becomes surrounded with a
membrane of cellulose, and soon puts out from the point oppo-
site to the opening of the conidium a thick tube which grows in
the same manner as the germ- tube of the conidia in other
species. Sometimes the expulsion of the protoplasm is not com-
pletely accomplished ; a portion of it remaining in the membrane
of the conidium detaches itself from the expelled portion, and
while this is undergoing changes takes the form of a vesicle,
which is destroyed with the membrane. It is very rare that the
protoplasm is not evacuated, and that the conidia give out ter-
minal or lateral tubes in the manner that is normal to other
species without papillee. The germination just described does
nob take place unless the conidia are entirely surrounded by water ;
it is not sufficient that they repose upon its surface. Besides,
there is another condition which, without being indispensable,
has a sensible influence on the germination of P. macrocarpa , and
that is the exclusion of light. To ascertain if the light or the
darkness had any influence, two equal sowings were placed side
by side, the one under a clear glass bell, the other under a
blackened glass bell. Repeated many times, these experiments
always gave the same result — germination in from four to six
hours in the conidia under the blackened glass ; no change in
those under the clear glass up to the evening. In the morning
germination was completed.
The conidia of P. umbelliferarum and P. infestans* show
an analogous structure. These bodies, if their development be
normal, become zoosporangia. When they are sown upon water,
one sees at the end of some hours the protoplasm divided by
* This is the mould which produces the potato murrain.
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
155
very fine lines, and each of the parts furnished with a small
central vacuole. Then the papilla of the conidium disappears.
In its place appears a rounded opening, by which the parts of
the protoplasm are expelled rapidly, one after the other. Each
of these, when free, immediately takes the form of a perfect
zoospore, and commences to agitate itself. In a few moments
the sporangium is empty and the spores disappear from the field
of the microscope.
The zoospores are oval or semi-oval, and in P. infestans the
two cilia spring from the same point on the inferior border of
the vacuole. Their number in a sporangium are from six to six-
teen in P. infestans , and from six to fourteen in P. umbellife-
rarum. The movement of the zoospores ceases at the end of
from fifteen to thirty minutes. They become motionless, cover
themselves with a membrane of cellulose, and push out slender
bent germ-tubes which are rarely branched. It is but seldom
that two tubes proceed from the same spore. The same de-
velopment of the zoospores in P. infestans is favoured by the
exclusion of the light. Placed in a position moderately lighted
or protected by a blackened bell, the conidia very readily pro-
duced zoospores.
A second form of germination of the conidia in P. infestans ,
when sown upon a humid body or on the surface of a drop of
water, consists in the conidium emitting from its summit a
simple tube, the extremity of which swells itself into the form
of an oval vesicle, drawing to itself, little by little, all the pro-
toplasm contained in the conidium. Then it isolates itself from
the germ-tube by a septum, and takes all the essential character-
istics of the parent conidium. This secondary conidium can
sometimes engender a third cellule by a similar process. These
secondary and tertiary productions have equally the character of
sporangia. When they are plunged into water, the ordinary pro-
duction of zoospores takes place.
Lastly, there is a third mode of germination which the conidia
of P. infestans manifest, and which consists in the conidium
emitting from its summit a simple or branched germ-tube. This
grows in a similar manner to the conidia first named as of such
156
FUNGI.
species as P. effusa. Tlie conditions which ‘control this orxn
of germination cannot be indicated, since some conidia which
germinate after this manner will sometimes be found mixed
with others, the majority of which furnish zoospores. It may
be that the conidia themselves are in some sort of abnormal
condition.
In all the species examined the conidia possess the power of
germination from the moment of their maturity. The younger
they are the more freely they germinate. They can retain this
power for some days or weeks, provided they are not entirely
dried. Dessication in an ordinary temperature seemed sufficient
to destroy the faculty of germinating in twenty-four hours, when
the conidia had been removed from the leaves on which they
were produced. They none of them retained the faculty during
a few months, hence they cannot preserve it during the winter.
The germs of Peronospora enter the foster plant if the spores
are sown upon a part suitable for the development of the
parasite. It is easy to convince one’s self that the mycelium,
springing from the penetrating germs, soon takes all the
characters that are found in the adult state. Besides, when
cultivated for some time, conidiiphorous branches can be seen
growing, identical with those to which it owes its origin. Such
cultivation is so readily accomplished that it can be made upon
cut leaves preserved fresh in a moist atmosphere.
In the species of Peronospora that inhabit perennial plants, or
annual plants that last through the winter, the mycelium hidden
in the tissues of the foster-plant lasts with it. In the spring it
recommences vegetation, and emits its branches into the newly-
formed organs of its host, there to fructify. The Peronospora
of the potato is thus perennial by means of its mycelium con-
tained in the browned tissue of the diseased tubers. When in
the spring a diseased potato begins to grow, the mycelium rises
in the stalk, and soon betrays itself by blackish spots. The
parasites can fructify abundantly on these little stalks, and in
consequence propagate themselves in the new season by the
conidia coming from the vivacious mycelium.
The diseased tubers of the potato always contain the myce-
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
157
lium of P. infest ans, which never fructifies there as long as the
skin of the tuber is intact. But when, in cutting the tuber, the
parenchyma occupied by the mycelium is exposed to the contact
of the air, it covers itself with conidia-bearing branches at the
end of from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Analogous results
are obtained with the stalks of the potato. It is evident that
in these experiments nothing is changed except the contact of
the air; the specific conditions particularly remain the same.
It appears, therefore, that it is this contact alone which deter-
mines generally the production of the conidiiferous branches.*
The mode of germination and development in the Mucors has
been studied by several observers, but most recently by Van
Tieghem and Le Monnier.t In one of the common forms, the
Mucor pJiycomyces of some authors, and the Phy corny ces nitens
of others, the process is given in detail. In this species germi-
nation will not take place in ordinary water, but it readily takes
place in orange juice and other media. The spore loses colour,
swells, and absorbs fluid around it until double its original size
and ovoid. Then a thick thread is emitted from one or both
extremities, which elongates and becomes branched in a pinnate
manner. Sometimes the exospore is ruptured and detached
loosely from the germinating spore. After about forty-eight
hours from the first sowing, the mycelium will send branches
into the air, which again become abundantly branched ; other
short submerged branches will also remain simple, or have tuft-
like ramifications, each terminating in a point, so as to bristle
with spiny hairs. In two or three days abruptly swollen
branches, of a club shape, will make their appearance on the
threads both in the air and in the fluid. Sometimes these
branches are prolonged into an equal number of sporangia-
bearing threads, but most frequently they divide first at their
swollen summits into numerous branches, of which usually one,
* De Bary, “Champignons parasitiques, ” in “ Annales des Sci. Nat.” (4rae
ser.), xx. p. 5 ; Cooke, “Microscopic Fungi,” cap. xi. p. 138 ; “Popular Science
Review,” iii. 193 (1864).
t Yan Tieghem and Le Monnier, “Researches on Mucorini,”in “Ann. des
Sci. Nat.” (1873), xvii. p. 261 ; Summary in “Quart. Journ. Micro. Science”
(2nd ser.), xiv. p. 49.
158
FUNGI.
sometimes two or three, develop into sporangia-bearing threads,
while the rest are short, pointed, and form a tuft of rootlets.
Sometimes these rootlets reduce themselves to one or more
rounded protuberances towards the base of the sporangia-bear-
ing threads.
There are often also a certain number of the branches
which had acquired a clavate shape, and do not erect
themselves above the surface, instead of producing a fertile
thread, which would seem to have been their first intention,
become abruptly attenuated, and are merely prolonged into a
mycelial filament. Although in other species chlamydospores
are formed in such places on the mycelium, nothing of the kind
has been traced in this species, more than here indicated. Occa-
sionally, when germination is arrested prematurely, certain
portions of the hyphse, in which the protoplasm maintains its
vitality, become partitioned off. This may be interpreted as a
tendency towards the formation of chlamydospores, but there is
no condensation of protoplasm, or investiture with a special
membrane. Later on this isolated protoplasm is gradually
altered, separating into somewhat regular ovoid or fusiform
Fig. 93.— Zygospores of Mucor phycomyces. (Van Tieghem.)
granules, which have, to a certain extent, the appearance of spores
in an ascus, but they seem to be incapable of germination.
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
159
Another method of reproduction, not uncommon in Mucorini ,
is described by Van Tieghem in this species. Conjugating
threads on the substratum by degrees elaborate zygospores, but
these, contrary to the mode in other species, are surrounded by
curious branched processes which emanate from the arcuate cells
on either side of the newly-developed zygospore. This system
of reproduction is again noticed more in detail in the chapter
on polymorphism.
M. de Seynes has given the details of his examination of the
sporidia of Morchella esculenta during germination.* A number
of these sporidia, placed in water in the morning, presented, at
nine o’clock of the same evening, a sprout from one of the
extremities, measuring half the length of the spore. In the
morning of the next day this sprout had augmented, and
become a filament three or four times as long. The next day
these elongated filaments exhibited some transverse divisions
and some ramifications. On the third day, the germination
being more advanced, many more of the sporidia were as com-
pletely changed, and presented, in consequence of the elongation,
the appearance of a cylindrical ruffle, the cellular prolongations
arising from the germination having a tendency towards one of
the extremities of the longer axis of the sporidium, and more
often to the two opposed extremities, either simultaneously or
successively. Out of many hundreds of sporidia examined
during germination, he had only seen a very few exceptions to
this rule, among which he had encountered the centrifugal
tendency to vegetate by two opposed filaments, proving that if
it bears a second by the side of the primal filament situated at
one of the poles, a second would also be seen from the side of
the filament coming from the opposite pole.
Before being submitted to the action of water, the contents
of the sporidia seemed formed of two distinct parts, one big
drop of yellow oil of the same form as the sporidium, with
the space between it and the cell wall occupied by a clear liquid,
more fluid and less refractive, nearly colourless, or at times
slightly roseate. As the membrane absorbed the water by
* Seynes, “Essai d’une Flore Mycologique.”
160
FUNGI.
which it was surrounded, the quantity of this clear liquid was
augmented, and the rosy tint could be more easily distinguished.
All the contents of the spore, which up to this time remained
divided into two parts, presented altogether one aspect, only con-
taining numerous granulations, nearly of equal size, completely
filling it, and reaching the inner face of the sporic membrane.
After this time the sporidium augments in size very rapidly,
becoming at times irregular, and sometimes even as much as
from two to three times its original dimensions, then there
appears at the surface, usually at one of the poles of the ellipse,
a small prominence, with an extremely fine membrane, which
does not appear to separate itself from that which surrounds the
sporidium, and it is difficult to say whether it is a prolongation
of the internal membrane going across the outside, or simply a
prolongation caused by a continuation of tissue of an unique
membrane. Sometimes there may be seen at the point where
the primal filament issues from the sporidium a circular mark,
which appears to indicate the rupture of the external membrane.
From this time another change comes over the contents. We
again find the yellow oily liquid, now occupying the external
position, with some drops of colourless or roseate liquid in the
centre, so that the oily liquid and the more limpid fluid
interchange the positions which they occupied previous to
the commencement of germination. Whether these two fluids
have undergone any change in their constitution is difficult to
determine, at all events the oily liquid appears to be less refrac-
tive and more granular, and it may be that it is a product of
new formation, containing some of the elements of the primitive
oily drop. Having regard to the delicate character of the mem-
brane of the germinating filaments, De Seynes supposed that it
might offer greater facility for the entrance of water by endos-
mose, and account for the rapid enlargement of the sporidia. By
a series of experiments he became satisfied that this was the
case to a considerable extent, but he adds : — “ I cannot help
supposing that a greater absorption of greasy matter in the cell
which is the first product of germination raises an objection to
an aqueous end osm ose. One can also see in this experience a
GERMINATION AND GROWTH.
161
proof of the existence of two special membranes, and so suppose
that the germinative cell is the continuation of the internal
membrane, the external membrane alone being susceptible of
absorbing the liquids, at least with a certain rapidity.”
In other Discomycetes germination takes place in a similar
manner. Boudier * narrates that in Ascobolus , when once the
spore reaches a favourable place, if the circumstances are good,
i.e ., if the temperature is sufficiently high and the moisture
sufficient, it will germinate. The time necessary for this pur-
pose is variable, some hours sufficing for some
species ; those of A. viridis, for example, germi-
nate in eight or ten hours, doubtless because,
being terrestrial, it has in consequence less heat.
The spore slightly augments in size, then opens,
generally at one or other extremity, sometimes at
two, or at any point on its surface, in order to
pass the mycelium tubes. At first simple, with-
out septa, and granular in the interior, above
all at the extremity, these tubes, the rudiment of
the mycelium, are not long in elongating, in
branching, and later in having partitions. These
filaments are always colourless, only the spore
may be coloured, or not. Coemans has described
them as giving rise to two kinds of conidia,f the Fig. 94. — Spori-
one having the form of Torula , when they give dmm. °J. Ascobolu$
rise to continuous filaments, the other in the form
of Penicillium , when they give birth to partitioned filaments.
De Seynes could never obtain this result. Many times he had seen
the Penicillium glaucum invade his sowings, but he feels confident
that it had nothing to do with the Ascobolus. M. Woronin^
has detailed some observations on the sexual phenomena which
he has observed in Ascobolus and Peziza , and so far as the scole-
cite is concerned these have been confirmed by M. Boudier.
* Boudier, “Mdmoire sur l’Ascoboles,” pt. i. iv. f. 13-15.
f Coemans, “ Spicilege Mycologique,” i. p. 6.
t Woronin, “ Abhandlungen der Senchenbergischen Naturfor. Gesellscbaft ”
(1865), p. 333.
M
162
FUNGI.
There is no reason for doubt that in other of the Dis corny cetes
the germination of the sporidia is very similar to that already
seen and described, whilst in the Pyrenomy cetes, as far as we are
aware, although the production of germinating tubes is by no
means difficult, development has not been traced beyond this
stage.*
* In the very important observations made by Dr. Cunningham at Calcutta, on
substances floating in the atmosphere, it appeared that the sporidia of many
Sphcerice actually germinated after being taken up by the air. The multitude
of fungus spores which were observed in every case was quite extraordinary.
163
VIII.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
The existence of some sort of sexual reproduction in Fungi has
long been suspected, although in earlier instances upon insuf-
ficient grounds ; hut1 of late years observations have multiplied
and facts accumulated which leave no doubt of its existence. If
the Saprolegnice are left out of the question as disputed Fungi,
there still remain a number of well authenticated, instances of
the phenomena of copulation, and many other facts which
indicate some sort of sexual relationship. The precise manner
in which those minute bodies, so common amongst the
SpJicGronemei , which we prefer to call stylospores, perform
their functions is still to a great extent a mystery ; yet it is
no longer doubted that certain species of Aposphceria , Phoma ,
Septoria , &c., are only conditions of some species of Sphcdria ,
often developed and matured in close proximity to them on the
same host. In JEcidium, Poestelia , &c., spermogonia are produced
plentifully on or near the same spots on which the fructification
appears, either simultaneously or at a later period.* The rela-
tion of Cytisyora to Valsa was suspected by Fries very many
; years ago, and, as since demonstrated, with very good reason.
All attempts, however, to establish anything like sexual repro-
duction in the higher forms of Hymenomycetes have at present
been unsuccessful ; and the same may be said of the G-asteromy-
cetes ; but in Ascomycetes and Physomycetes instances abound.
We know not whether any importance is to be attached to the
* M. Tulasne has devoted a chapter to the spermogonia of the Uredines in his
1 memoir, to which we have already alluded.
M 2
164
FUNGI.
views of M. A. S. CErsted,* which have not since been con-
firmed, but which have been cited with some approval by Pro-
fessor de Bary, as to a trace of sexual organs in Hymenomycetes.
He is supposed to have seen in Agaricus variabilis, P., oocysts
or elongated reniform cells, which spring up like rudimentary
branches of the filaments of the mycelium, and enclose an abun-
dant protoplasm, if not even a nucleus. At the base of these
oocysts appear the presumed antheridia, that is to say, one or two
slender filaments, which generally turn their extremities towards
the oocysts, and which more rarely are applied to them. Then,
without ulteriorily undergoing any appreciable modifications, the
fertile cell or oocyst becomes enveloped in a network of fila-
ments of mycelium which proceed from the one which bears it,
and this tissue forms the rudiments of the cap. The reality of
some kind of fecundation in this circumstance, and the mode of
the phenomena, if there is one, are for the present equally un-
certain. If M. GErsted’s opinion is confirmed, naturally the
whole of the cap will be the product of fecundation. Probably
Karsten (Bonplandia, 1862, p. 62) saw something similar in
Agaricus camyestris , but his account is obscure.
In Phycomyces the organs of reproduction have been subjected
to close examination by Van Tieghem,f and although he failed
to discover chlamydospores in this, he describes them in other
Mucors. In this species, besides the regular sexual develop-
ment, by means of sporangia, there is a so-called sexual repro-
duction by means of zygospores, which takes place in this wise.
The threads which conjugate to form the zygospores are slender
and erect on the surface of the substratum. Two of these
threads come into close contact through a considerable length,
and clasp each other by alternate protuberances and depressions.
Some of the protuberances are prolonged into slender tubes. At
the same time the free extremities of the threads dilate, and arch
* CEersted, in “Verhandl derKonig. Dan. Gresell. Der Wissensch,” 1st January,
1865; De Bary, “ Handbuch der Physiol. Botanik” (1866), p. 172; “ Annales
des Sci. Nat.” (5me ser.), vol. v. (1866), p. 366.
+ Yan Tieghemand LeMonnier, in “Annales des Sci. Nat.” (1873), vol. xvii.
p. 261.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
165
over one towards the other until their tops tonch like a vice,
each limb of which rapidly increases in size. Each of these
arcuate, clavate cells has now a portion of its extremity isolated
by a partition, by means of which a new hemispherical cell is
formed at the end of each thread at its point of junction with
the opposed thread. These cells become afterwards cylindrical
by pressure, the protoplasm is aggregated into a mass, the double
membrane at the point of first contact is absorbed, and the two
confluent masses of protoplasm form a zygospore invested with
a tubercular coat and enveloped by the primary wall of the two
Fig. 9?.— Zygospore of Mucor phycomyces.
conjugating cells. During this formation of the zygospore, the
two arched cells whence the zygospore originated develop a
series of dichotomous processes in close proximity to the walls
which separate them from the zygospore. These processes
appear at first on one of the arcuate cells in successive order.
The first makes its appearance above upon the convex side ; the
succeeding ones to the right and left in descending order ; the
last is in the concavity beneath. It is only after the development
of this that the first process appears on the opposite cell, which is
followed by others in the same order. These dichotomous pro-
cesses are nothing more than branches developed from the arcuate,
or mother cells. During all these changes, while the zygospore
166
FUNGI.
enlarges, the wall of the arcuate cells becomes coloured brown.
This colouring is more marked on the convex side, and it shows
itself first in the cell on which the dichotomous branches are
first produced, and which retains the darker tint longer than the
other. The zone from whence the processes issue, and also the
processes themselves, have their walls blackened deeply, while
the walls of the conjugated cells, which continue to clothe the
zygospore during the whole of its development, are bluish-black.
By pressure, the thin brittle coat which envelopes the zygospore
is ruptured, and the coat of the zygospore exposed, formed of a
thick cartilaginous membrane, studded with large irregular warts.
The germination of the zygospores in this species has not as
yet been observed, but it is probably the same or very similar to
that observed in other species of Mucor. In these the rough
tuberculate epispore splits on one side, and its internal coat
elongates itself and protrudes as a tube filled with protoplasm
and oil globules, terminating in an ordinary sporangium.
Usually the amount of nutriment contained in the zygospore
is exhausted by the formation of the terminal sporangium, ac-
cording to Brefeld ; # but Yan Tieghem and Le Monnier remark
that in their examinations they have often seen a partition
formed at about a third of the length of the principal filament
from the base, below which a strong branch is given off, and
this is also terminated by a large sporangium.
De Bary has given a precise account of the formation of the
zygospore in another of the Mucors, Rhizopus nigricans , in which
he says that the filaments which conjugate are solid rampant
tubes, which are branched without order and confusedly inter-
mingled. Where two of these filaments meet each of them
pushes towards the other an appendage which is at first cylin-
drical and of the same diameter. From the first these two
processes are applied firmly one to the other by their extremities ;
they increase in size, become clavate, and constitute together
a fusiform body placed across the two conjugated filaments.
Between the two halves of this body there exists no constant
difference of size ; often they are both perfectly equal. In each
* Brefeld, “Bot. Bnt. uber Schimmelpilze, ” p. 31.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
167
there is collected an abundance of protoplasm, and when they
have attained a certain development the largest extremity of
each is isolated by a septum from the clavule, which thus becomes
the support or suspender of the copulative cell. The two conju-
Pio. 95. — Zygospore of Rhizopus in different stages. (De Bary.)
gated cells of the fusiform body are generally unequal ; the one
is a cylinder as long as it is broad, the other is disciform, and
its length is only equal to half its breadth. The primitive mem-
brane of the clavule forms between the copulative cells a solid
partition of two membranes, but soon after the cells have become
defined the medial partition becomes pierced in the centre, and
then soon entirely disappears, so that the two twin cells are
confounded in one single zygospore, which is due to the union
of two more or less similar utricles. After its formation the
zygospore still increases considerably in size, and acquires a
diameter of more than one-fifth of a millimetre. Its form is
generally spherical, and flattened on the faces which are united
to the suspenders, or it resembles a slightly elongated cask.
The membrane thickens considerably, and consists at the time
of maturity of two superposed integuments ; the exterior or
epispore is solid, of a dark blackish-blue colour, smooth on the
plane faces in contact with the suspenders, but covered every-
where else with thick warts, which are hollow beneath. The
endospore is thick and composed of several layers, colourless,
and covered with warts, which correspond and fit into those of
the epispore. The contents of the zygospore are a coarsely
168
FUNGI.
granular protoplasm, in wliicli float large oleaginous drops.
While the zygospore is increasing in size, the suspender of the
smaller copulative cell becomes a rounded and stipitate utricle,
often divided at the base by a septum, and which attains almost
to the size of the zygospore. The suspender of the larger copu-
lative cell preserves its primitive form and becomes scarcely any
larger. It is rare that there is not a considerable difference of
size between the two conjugated cells and the suspenders.*
Similar conjugation with like results also takes place in
Syzygites megalocctrpus. In this species the germination of the
zygospores has been observed. If, after a certain time of repose,
these bodies are placed on a moist substratum, they emit a
germ-like tube, which, without originating a proper mycelium,
develops at the expense of the nutritive material stored in the
zygospore into a carpophore or fruit bearer, which is many times
dichotomously branched, bearing terminal sporangia character-
istic of the species.
It has already been remarked by us that the Saprolegnei are
claimed by some authors as Algse, whilst we are more disposed
to regard them as closely allied to the Mucors, and as they
exhibit in themselves strong evidence in support of the existence
of sexual reproduction, we cannot forbear giving a summary of
what has been observed by De Bary and others in this very
interesting and singular group of plants, to which M. Cornu has
recently dedicated an exhaustive monograph. f
In Saprolegnia monoica , and others, the female organs consist
of oogonia — that is to say, of cells which are at first globose and
ricb in plastic matter, which most generally terminate short
branches of the mycelium, and which are rarely seen in an
interstitial position. The constitutive membrane of the adult
oogonia is reabsorbed in a great many points, and is there
pierced with rounded holes. At the same time the plasma is
divided into a larger or smaller number of distinct portions,
which are rounded into little spheres, and separate from the
* De Bary, “ Morphologie mid Physiologie der Pilze,” cap. 5, p. 160;
“Ann. des. Sci. Nat.” (1866), p. 343.
+ Cornu, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” ( 5me ser.), vol. xv. p. 1 (1872).
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
169
walls of the conceptacle in order to group themselves at the
centre, where they float in a watery fluid. These gonospheres
are then smooth and bare, with no membrane on their surface
of the nature of cellulose.
During the formation of the oogonia there arise from its
pedicel or from neighbouring filaments slight cylindrical curved
branches, sometimes turned round the support of the oogonia,
and which all tend towards this organ. Their superior extremity
is intimately applied to its wall, then ceases to be elongated,
becomes slightly inflated, and is limited below by a partition ;
it is then an oblong cell, slightly
curved, filled with protoplasm, and
intimately applied to the oogonia —
in fact, an antheridium or organ of
the male sex. Each oogonium pos-
sesses one or several antheridia.
Towards the time when the gono-
spheres are formed it may be ob-
served that each antheridium sends
to the interior of the oogonia one
or several tubular processes, which
have crossed its side wall, and which
open at their extremity in order to ^ „ . .
. _ J Fig. 97. — Conjugation in Achlya
discharge their contents. These, racemosa. (Cornu.)
while they are flowing out, present some very agile corpuscles?
and which, considering their resemblance to those in Vaucheria ,
to which the name of spermatozoids are applied, ought to be
considered as the fecundating corpuscles. After the evacuation
of the antheridia the gonospheres are found to be covered with
cellulose ; they then constitute so many oospores, with solid
walls. De Bary considers that, bearing in mind analogous
phenomena observed in Vaucheria , and the direct observations
of Pringsheim,* the cellulose membrane on the surface of the
gonospheres is only the consequence of a sexual fecundation.
In Achlya dioica the antheridium is cylindrical, the plasma
which it encloses is divided into particles, which attain nearly
* Pringsheim’s “ Jahrbucher,” vol. ii. p. 169.
170
FUNGI.
the size of the zoospores of the same plant. These particles
become globose cells, grouped in the centre of the antheridinm.
Afterwards the contents of these latter cells become divided
into numerous bacillary spermatozoids, which first break the
wall of their mother cell, and then issue from the antheridinm.
These rod-like corpuscles, which resemble the spermatozoids in
Vaucheria, have their movements assisted by a long cilium. It
is presumable that here, as in the Algae, the spermatozoids
introduce themselves into the cavity of the oogonium, and unite
with the gonospheres.
Amongst obscure and doubtful bodies are those described
by Pringsheim, which have their origin in thick filaments or
tubes, similar to those which form the zoosporangia, and re-
present so many distinct little masses of plasma within an
homogeneous parietal ganglion. The contour of these plastic
masses is soon delineated in a more precise manner. We
see in their interior some homogeneous granules, which
are at first globose, then oval, and finally travel to the
enlarged and ampulleeform extremity of the generating tube.
There they become rounded or oval cells covered with cellu-
lose, and emit from their surface one or several cylindrical
processes, which elongate towards the wall of the conceptacle,
and pierce it, without, however, ever projecting very far beyond
it. At the same time the lacunose protoplasm of each cell
becomes divided into a number of corpuscles, which escape by
the open extremity of the cylindrical neck. They resemble in
their organization and agility the spermatozoids of Achlya dioica.
They soon become motionless in water, and do not germinate.
During the development of these organs, the protoplasm of the
utricle which contains them offers at first completely normal
characteristics, and disappears entirely by degrees as they
increase. De Bary and Pringsheim believe that these organs
constitute the antheridia of the species of Saprolegnia to which
they belong.
The oospores of the Saprolegnice , when arrived at maturity,
possess a tolerably thick double integument, consisting of an
epispore and an endospore. After a considerable time of repose
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
171
they give rise to tubular or vesicular germs, which, without
being much elongated, produce zoospores.*
De Bary has claimed for the oogonia in Cystopus and Perono-
spora a kind of fecundation which deserves mention here.f
These same fruits, he says, which owe their origin to sexual
organs, should bear the names of oogonia and antheridia , ac-
cording to the terminology proposed by Pringsheim for analo-
gous organs in the Algae. The formation of the oogonia, or
female organs, commences by the terminal or interstitial swelling
of the tubes of the mycelium, which increase and take the form
of large spherical or oboval cells, and which separate themselves
by septa from the tube which carries them. Their membrane
encloses granules of opaque protoplasm, mingled with numerous
bulky granules of colourless fatty matter.
The branches of the mycelium which do not bear oogonia
apply their obtuse extremities against the growing oogonia ;
this extremity swells, and, by a transverse partition, separates
itself from the supporting tube. It is the antheridium, or male
organ, which is formed by this process ; it takes the form of an
obliquely clavate or obovate cellule, which
is always considerably smaller than the
oogonium, and adheres to its walls by a
plane or convex area. The slightly thickened
membrane of the antheridia encloses proto-
plasm which is finely granular. It is seldom
that more than one antheridium applies
itself to an oogonium.
The two organs having together achieved
their development, the large granules con- peronospora; a. antkeri-
tained in the oogonium accumulate at its dium • (De Baryd
centre to group themselves under the form of an irregular
globule deprived of a proper membrane, and surrounded by a
bed of almost homogeneous protoplasm. This globule is the
gonosphere , or reproductive sphere, which, through the means of
* De Bary, in “ Annales des Sciences Naturelles” (5me ser.), vol. v. (1866),
p. 343 ; Hoffmeister’s “Handbook” (Fungi), cap. v. p. 155.
f De Bary, in “Annales des Sci. Nat.” (4me s4r.), vol. xx. p. 129.
172
FUNGI.
and
fecundation, should become the reproductive body, vegetable
egg, or oospore. The gonosphere having been formed, the
antheridium shoots out from the centre of its face, close against
the oogonium, a straight tube, which perforates the walls of
the female cell, and traversing the protoplasm of its periphery,
directs itself to the gonosphere. It ceases to elongate itself
as soon as it touches it, and the gonosphere becomes clothed
with a membrane of cellulose, and takes a regular spheroidal
form.
Considering the great resemblance of these organs with the
sexual organs of the Saprolegnise, which
are closely allied to the Alg80, and of
which the sexuality has been proved,
De Bary adds, we have no doubt what-
ever that the phenomena just described
represent an act of fecundation, and
that the tube pushed out by the anthe-
(De ridium should be regarded as a fecun-
dating tube. It is remarkable that
amongst these fungi the tube projected by the antheridium
effects fecundation only by contact. Its extremity never opens,
and we never find antherozoids ; on the contrary, the anthe-
ridium presents, up to the maturity of the oospore, the appear-
ance which it presented at the moment of fecundation.
The primitive membrane of the oospore, at first very thin,
soon acquires a more sensible thickness, and becomes surrounded
by an external layer (epospore), which is formed at the expense
of the protoplasm of the periphery. This disappears in propor-
tion as the epispore attains maturity, and finally there only re-
mains a quantity of granules, suspended in a transparent watery
fluid. At the period of maturity, the epispore is a slightly thick-
ened, resistant membrane, of a yellowish-brown colour, and finely
punctate. The surface is almost always provided with brownish
warts, which are large and obtuse, sometimes isolated, and some-
times confluent, forming irregular crests. These warts are com-
posed of cellulose, which reagents colour of a deep blue, whilst
the membrane which bears them preserves its primitive colour.
Fro. 99. — Antheridia
oogonium of Peronospora.
Bary.)
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
173
One of the warts, larger than the rest, and recognizable by its
cylindrical form, always forms a kind of thick sheath aronnd
the fecundating tube. The ripe endospore is a thick, smooth,
colourless membrane, composed of cellulose containing a bed of
finely granulated protoplasm, which surrounds a great central
vacuole. This oospore, or resting spore, may remain dormant
in this state within the tissues of the foster plant for some
months. Its ultimate development by production of zoospores
is similar to the production of zoospores from conidia, which
it is unnecessary to repeat here. The oospore becomes an
oosporangium, and from it at least a hundred germinating
bodies are at length expelled.
Amongst the principal observers of certain phenomena of copu-
lation in cells formed in the earliest stages of the Discomycetes
are Professor de Bary,* Dr. Woronin, f and Messrs. Tulasne. £
In the Ascobolus pulcherrimus of Crouan, Woronin ascertained
that the cup derives its origin from a short and flexible tube,
thicker than the other branches of the mycelium, and which is
soon divided by transverse septa into a series of cells, the succes-
sive increase of which finally gives to the whole a torulose and
unequal appearance. The body thus formed he calls a “ vermi-
form body.” The same observer also seems to have convinced
himself that there exists always in proximity to this body certain
filaments, the short arched or inflected branches of which, like
so many antheridia, rest their anterior extremities on the utri-
form cells. This contact seems to communicate to the vermiform
body a special vital energy, which is immediately directed towards
the production of a somewhat filamentous tissue, on which the
hymenium is at a later period developed. This “vermiform
body” of M. "Woronin has since come to be recognized under
the name of “ scolecite.”
Tulasne observes that this “ scolecite ” or ringed body can be
readily isolated in Ascobolus furfuraceus. When the young re-
* De Bary, in “ Annales des Sciences Naturelles” (5me ser.), p. 343.
+ Woronin, in De Bary’s “Beitr. zur. Morph, und Physiol, der Pilze,” ii.
(1866), pp. 1-11.
I Tulasne, “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (5rae ser.), October, 1866, p. 211.
174
FUNGI.
ceptacles are still spherical and white, and have not attained a
diameter exceeding the one-twentieth of a millimetre, it is suffi-
cient to compress them slightly in order to rupture them at the
summit and expel the “ scolecite.” This occupies the centre
of the little sphere, and is formed of from six to eight cells,
curved in the shape of a comma.
In Peziza melanoloma , A. and S., the same observer succeeded
still better in his searches after the scolecite, which he remarks
is in this species most certainly a lateral branch of the filaments
of the mycelium. This branch is isolated, simple, or forked at a
short distance from its base, and in diameter generally exceeding
that of the filament which bears it. This branch is soon arcuate
or bent, and often elongated in describing a spiral, the irregular
turns of which are lax or compressed. At the same time its
interior, at first continuous, becomes divided by transverse septa
into eight or ten or more cells. Sometimes this special branch
terminates in a crozier shape, which is involved in the bent part
of another crozier which terminates a neighbouring filament. In
other cases the growing branch is connected, by its extremity,
with that of a hooked branch. These contacts, however, did
not appear to Tulasne to be so much normal as accidental. But
of the importance of the ringed body, or “ scolecite,” there was
no room for doubt, as being the certain and habitual rudiment
of the fertile cup. In fact, inferior cells are produced from the
flexuous filaments which creep about its surface, cover and sur-
round it on all sides, while joining themselves to each other.
At first continuous, then septate, these cells by their union con-
stitute a cellular tissue, which increases little by little until the
scolecite is so closely enveloped that only its superior extremity
can be seen. These cellular masses attain a considerable volume
before the hymenium begins to show itself in a depression of
their summit. So long as their smallness permits of their being
seen in the field of the microscope, it can be determined that
they adhere to a single filament of the mycelium by the base of
the scolecite which remains naked.
Although Tulasne could not satisfy himself of the presence
of any act of copulation in Ascobolus furfuraceus , or Peziza
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
175
melanoloma , he was more successful with Peziza omphalodes.
As early as 1860 he recognized the large globose, sessile, and
grouped vesicles which originate the fertile tissue, but did not
comprehend the part which these macrocysts were to perform.
Each of these emits from its summit a cylindrical tube, generally
flexuous, but always more or less bent in a crozier shape, some-
times attenuated at the extremity. Thus provided, these utricles
resemble so many tun-shaped, narrow-necked retorts, filled with
a granular thick roseate protoplasm. In the middle of these,
and from the same filaments, are generated elongated clavate
cells, with paler contents, more vacuoles, which Tulasne names
paracysts. These, though produced after the macrocysts , finally
exceed them in height, and seem to carry their summit so as to
meet the crozier-like prolongations. It would be difficult to
determine to which of these two orders of cells belongs the
initiative of conjugation. Sometimes the advance seems to be
on one side, and sometimes on the other. However this may be,
the meeting of the extremity of the
connecting tube with the summit of
the neighbouring paracyst is a con-
stant fact, observed over and over
again a hundred times. There is no
real junction between the dissimilar
cells above described, except at the
very limited point where they meet,
and there a circular perforation may
be discerned at fhe end, defined by a
round swelling, which is either barely
visible or sometimes very decided.
Everywhere else the two organs may FlG- 100—1 Conjugation m Pezua
be contiguous, or more or less near to-
gether, but they are free from any adherence whatever. If the
plastic matters contained in the conjugated cells influence one
another reciprocally, no notable modification in their appearance
results at first. The large appendiculate cell seems, however, to
yield to its consort a portion of the plasma it contains. One
thing only can be affirmed from these phenomena, that the con-
176
FUNGI.
jugated cells, especially the larger, wither and empty themselves,
while the upright compressed filaments, which will ultimately
constitute the asci, increase and multiply.*
Certain phenomena concerned in the development of the
Erysiphei belong also to this connection. The mycelium of
Erysiphe cichoracearum , like that of other species, consists of
branched filaments, crossed in all directions, which adhere as
they climb to the epidermis of the plant on which the fungus
lives as a parasite. The perithecia are engendered where two
filaments cross each other. These swell slightly at this point,
Fig. 100*.
and each emits a process which imitates a nascent branch, and
remains upright on the surface of the epidermis. The process
originating from the inferior filament soon acquires an oval form
and a diameter double that of the filament ; then it becomes
isolated from it by a septum, and constitutes a distinct cell,
which De Bary f terms an oocyst. The appendage which pro-
ceeds from the inferior filament always adheres intimately to
this cell, and elongates into a slender cylindrical tube, which
* Tulasne, “On the Phenomena of Copulation in certain Fungi,” in “Ann.
des Sci. Nat.” (1866), p. 211.
f De Bary, “ Morphologie und Pbys. der Pilze,” cap. v. p. 162.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
177
terminates in an obtuse manner at the summit of the same cell.
At its base it is also limited by a septum, and soon after another
appears a little below its extremity at a point indicated before-
hand by a constriction. This new septum defines a terminal
short obtuse cell, the antheridium, which is thus borne on a
narrow tube like a sort of pedicel. Immediately after the
formation of the antheridia new productions show themselves,
both around the oocyst and within it. Underneath this cell eight
or ten tubes are seen to spring from the filament which bears it ;
these join themselves by the sides to each other and to the pedi-
cel of the antheridium, while they apply their inner face to the
oocyst, above which their extremities soon meet. Each of the
tubes is then divided by transverse septa into two or three dis-
tinct cells, and in this manner the cellular walls of the peri-
thecia come into existence.
During this time the oocyst enlarges and divides, without
its being possible precisely to determine the way in which it
happens, into a central cell and an outer layer, ordinarily
simple, of smaller cells, contiguous to the general enveloping
wall. The central cell becomes the single ascus, which is
characteristic of the species, and the layer which surrounds it
constitutes the inner wall of its perithecium. The only
changes afterwards observed are the increase in size of the
perithecium, the production of the root-like filaments which
proceed from its outer wall, the brown tint which it assumes,
and finally the formation of the sporidia in the ascus. The
antheridium remains for a long time recognizable without under-
going any essential modification, but the dark colour of the
perithecium soon hides it from the observer’s eye. De Bary
thinks that he is authorized in assuming the probability that
i the conceptacles and organs of fructification of others of the
Ascomycetes , including the Discomycetes and the Tuberacei , are
; the results of sexual generation.
Certain phenomena which have been observed amongst
the Coniomycetes are cited as examples of sexual association.
! Amongst these may be named the conjugation of the slender
spores of the first generation, produced on the germinating
N
178
FUNGI.
threads of Tilletio * and similar acts of conjugation, as observed
in some species of Ustilago. Whether this interpretation should
be placed on those phenomena in the present condition of our
knowledge is perhaps an open question.
Finally, the spermogonia must be regarded as in some occult
manner, which as yet has baffled detection, influencing the per-
fection of sporidia.f In Fhy-
tisma , found on the leaves of
maple and willow, black pitchy
spots at first appear, which
contain within them a golden
pulp, in which very slender
corpuscles are mixed with an
abundant mucilage. These
corpuscles are the spermatia,
which in Hhytisma acerinum
are linear and short, in Hhy~
tisma salicinum globose. When
the spermatia are expelled, the
stroma thickens for the pro-
duction of asci and [sporidia,
ceu^ W1-Tilletia mries with wMch are afterwards developed
during the autumn and winter.
Several of the species of Hysterium also possess spermogonia,
notably H. Fraxini , which may be distinguished from the asci-
gerous perithecia with which they are associated by their smaller
size and flask-like shape. From these the spermatia are expelled
long before the maturity of the spores. In Hypodermci virgul-
torum, II. commune , and H. scirpinum , the spermogonia are
small depressed black capsules, which contain an abundance of
minute spermatia. These were formerly regarded as distinct
species, under the name of Leptostroma. In Stictis ocellata a
great number of the tubercles do not pass into the perfect state
* Berkeley, in “Journ. Hort. Soc.” vol. ii. p. 107; Tulasne, “Ann. d. Sc.
Nat.” (4rae ser.), vol. ii. tab. 12.
f Tulasne, “New Researches on the Reproductive Apparatus of Fungi;”
“ Comptes Rendus,” vol. xxxv. (1852), p. 841.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
179
until after they have produced - either linear, very short sper-
matia, or stylospores, the latter being reproductive bodies of an
oblong shape, equal in size to the perfect sporidia. Some of
the tubercles never pass beyond this stage.
Again, there is a very common fungus which forms black dis-
coid spots on dead holly leaves, called Ceuthospora phacidioides,
figured by Grreville in his “ Scottish Cryptogamic Flora,” which
expels a profusion of minute stylospores ; but later in the
season, instead of these, we find the asci and sporidia of Phaci-
diurn ilicis , so that the two are forms and conditions the one of
the other.
In Tympanis conspersa the spermogonia are much more com-
monly met with than the complete fruit. There is a great
external resemblance in them to the ascigerous cups, but there
is no evidence that they are ever transformed into such. The
perfect sporidia are also very minute and numerous, being
contained in asci borne in cups, which usually surround the
spermogonia.
In several species of Dermatea the stylospores and sperm atia
co-exist, but they are disseminated before the appearance of the
ascigerous receptacles, yet they are produced upon a common
stroma not unlike that of Tubercularia.
In its early stage the common and well-known Bulgaria
inquinans , which when mature looks like a black JPeziza , is a
little tubercle, the whole mass of which is divided into ramified
lobes, the extremities of which become, towards the surface of
the tubercle, receptacles from whence escape waves of sper-
matia which are colourless, or stylospores mixed with them
which are larger and nearly black.
Amongst the Sphceriacei numerous instances might be cited
of minute stylosporous bodies in consort with, or preceding,
the ascigerous receptacles. A very familiar example may be
found at the base of old nettle stems in what has been named
Aposphceria acuta , but which truly are only the stylospores of
the Sphceria coniformis , the perithecia of which flourish in com-
pany or in close proximity to them. Most of these bodies are
so minute, delicate, and hyaline that the difficulties in the way
n 2
180
FUNGI.
of tracing them in their relations to the bodies with which they
are associated are very great. Nevertheless there is strong pre-
sumption in favour of regarding some of them as performing
the functions which the name applied to them indicates.
Professor de Bary cautiously refrains from accepting spermatia
other than as doubtful or at least uncertain sexual bodies.* He
says that the Messrs. Tulasne have supposed that the spermo-
gonia represented the male sex, and that the spermatia were
analogous to spermatozoids. Their opinion depends on two
plausible reasons, — the spermatia, in fact, do not germinate,
and the development of the spermogonia generally precedes
the appearance of the sporophorous organs, a double circum-
stance which reminds us of what is known of the spermato-
zoids and antheridia of other vegetables. It remained to
discover which were the female organs which underwent
fecundation from the spermatia.
Many organs placed at first amongst spermatia have been
recognized by M. Tulasne as being themselves susceptible of
germination, and consequently ought to take their place among
legitimate spores. Then it must be considered that very many
spores can only germinate under certain conditions. It is,
therefore, for the present a doubtful question whether there
exist really any spermatia incapable of germination, or if the
default of germination of these corpuscles does not rather
depend on the experiments hitherto attempted not having in-
cluded the conditions required by the phenomena. Moreover,
as yet no trace has been discovered of the female organs which
are specially fecundated by the spermatia.
Finally, there exist in the Ascomycetes certain organs of
reproduction, diverse spore-bearing apparatus, pycnidia, and
others, which, like the spermogonia, usually precede asco-
phorous fruits. The real nature of the spermogonia and
spermatia should therefore be regarded as, at present, very
uncertain ; as regards, however, the spermatia which have
never been seen to germinate, perhaps it is as well not to
absolutely reject the first opinion formed concerning them, or
* De Bary, “ Morpkologie und Pliysiologie der Pilze,” cap. v. p. 168.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION.
181
perhaps they might be thought to perform the part of andro-
spores, attributing to that expression the meaning which
Pringsheim gives it in the Conferoce. The experiments per-
formed with the spermatia which do not germinate, and with
the spermogonia of the Uredines, do not, at any rate, appear
to justify the reputed masculine or fecundative nature of these
organs. The spermogonia constantly accompany or precede
fruits of Mcidium , whence naturally follows the presumption
that the first are in a sexual relation to the second. Still,
when Tulasne cultivated Endophyllum sempervivum , he obtained
on some perfectly isolated rosettes of Sempervivum some JEcidium
richly provided with normal and fertile spores, without any trace
of spermogonia or of spermatia.
182
IX.
POLYMORPHISM.
A great number of very interesting facts bave during late
years been brought to light of the different forms which fungi
assume in the course of their development. At the same time,
we fear that a great many assumptions have been accepted for
fact, and supposed connections and relations between two or
three or more so-called species, belonging to different genera,
have upon, insufficient data been regarded as so many states or
conditions of one and the same plant. Had the very pertinent
suggestions of Professor de Bary been more generally acted
upon, these suspicions would have been baseless. His observa-
tions are so valuable as a caution, that we cannot forbear prefacing
our own remarks on this subject by quoting them.# In order
to determine, he says, whether an organic form, an organ, or an
organism, belongs to the same series of development as another,
or that which is the same is developed from it, or vice versa ,
there is only one way, viz., to observe how the second grows out
of the first. We see the commencement of the second begin as
a part of the first, perfect itself in connection with it, and at
last it often becomes independent ; but be it through spontaneous
dismembering from the first, or that the latter be destroyed
and the second remains, both their disunited bodies are always
connected together in organic continuity, as parts of a whole
(single one) that can cease earlier or later.
By observing the organic continuity, we know that the apple
is the product of development of an apple-tree, and not hung on
* De Bary, in “ Quarterly German Magazine” (1872), p. 197.
POLYMORPHISM.
183
it by chance, that the pip of an apple is a product of the develop-
ment of the apple, and that from the pip an apple-tree can at last
be developed, that therewith all these bodies are members of a
sphere of development or form. It is the same with every simi-
lar experience of our daily life, that where an apple-tree stands,
many apples lie on the ground, or that in the place where apple-
pips are sown seedlings, little apple-trees, grow out of the
ground, is not important to our view of the course of develop-
ment. Every one recognizes that in his daily life, because he
laughs at a person who thinks a plum which lies under an apple-
tree has grown on it, or that the weeds which appear among the
apple seedlings come from apple-pips. If the apple-tree with
its fruit and seed were microscopically small, it would not make
the difference of a hair’s breadth in the form of the question or
the method of answering it, as the size of the object can
be of no importance to the latter, and the questions which apply
to microscopical fungi are to be treated in the same manner.
If it then be asserted that two or several forms belong to a series
of development of one kind, it can only be based on the fact of
their organic continuity. The proof is more difficult than in large
plants, partly because of the delicacy, minuteness, and fragility
of the single parts, particularly the greater part of the my celia,
partly because of the resemblance of the latter in different
species, and therefore follows the danger of confusing them with
different kinds, and finally, partly in consequence of the presence
of different kinds in the same substratum, and therefore the
mixture not only of different sorts of mycelia, but also that
different kinds of spores are sown. With some care and pa-
tience, these difficulties are in no way insurmountable, and they
must at any rate be overcome ; the organic continuity or non-
continuity must be cleared up, unless the question respecting the
course of development, and the series of forms of special kinds,
be laid on one side as insolvable.
Simple and intelligible as these principles are, they have not
always been acted upon, but partly neglected, partly expressly
rejected, not because they were considered false, but because the
difficulties of their application were looked upon as insurmount-
184
FUNGI.
able. Therefore another method of examination was adopted ;
the spores of a certain form were sown, and sooner or later they
were looked after to see what the seed had produced — not every
single spore — but the seed en masse , that is, in other words,
what had grown on that place where the seed had been sown.
As far as it relates to those forms which are so widely spread,
and above all grow in conjunction with one another — and that
is always the case in the specimens of which we speak — we can
never be sure that the spores of the form which we mean to test
are not mingled with those of another species. He who has
made an attentive and minute examination of this kind knows
that we may be sure to find such a mixture, and that such an
one was there can be afterwards decidedly proved. From the
seed which is sown, these spores, for which the substratum was
most suitable, will more easily germinate, and their development
will follow the more quickly. The favoured germs will suppress
the less favoured, and grow up at their expense. The same
relation exists between them as between the seeds, germs, and
seedlings of a sown summer plant, and the seeds which have
been undesignedly sown with it, only in a still more striking
manner, in consequence of the relatively quick development of
the mildew fungus.
Therefore, that from the latter a decided form, or a mixture of
several forms, is to be found sown on one spot, is no proof of their
generic connection with one which has been sown for the purpose
of experiments ; and the matter will only be more confused if we
call imagination to our aid, and place the forms which are found
near one another, according to a real or fancied resemblance, in a
certain series of development. All those statements on the sphere
of form and connection, which have for their basis such a super-
ficial work, and are not based on the clear exposition of the con-
tinuity of development, as by the origin of the connection of the
Mucor with Penicillium , Oidium lactis and JKucor , Oidium and
Penicillium , are rejected as unfounded.
A source of error, which can also interfere in the last-named
superficial method of cultivation for experiments, is, viz., that
heterogeneous unwished-for spores intrude themselves from
POLYMORPHISM.
185
without, among the seed which is sown, but that has been
until now quite disregarded. It is of great importance in
practice, but in truth, for out present purpose, synonymous with
what we have already written. Those learned in the science of
this kind of culture lay great stress on its importance, and
many apparatuses have been constructed, called “ purely cultivat-
ing machines,” for the purpose of destroying the spores which
are contained in the substratum, and preventing the intrusion of
those from without. The mixture in the seed which is sown
has of course not been obviated. These machines may, perhaps,
in every other respect, fulfil their purpose, but they cannot
change the form of the question, and the most ingeniously con-
structed apparatus cannot replace the attention and intellect of
the observer. *
Two distinct kinds of phenomena have been grouped under
the term “ polymorphy.” In one series two or more forms of
fruit occur consecutively or simultaneously on the same indi-
vidual, and in the other two or more forms appear on a dif-
ferent mycelium, on a different part of the same plant, or on a
matrix wholly distinct and different ; in the latter case the con-
nection being attested or suspected circumstantially, in the former
proved by the method suggested by De Bary. It will at once be
conceded that in cases where actual growth and development
substantiate the facts the polymorphy is undoubted, whilst in the
other series it can at best be little more than suspected. We
will endeavour to illustrate both these series by examples.
One of the first and earliest suspected cases of dualism, which
long puzzled the older mycologists, was observed amongst the
Uredines, and many years ago it was held that there must be some
mysterious association between the “red rust” ( Trichobasis ruligo
vera ) of wheat and grasses and the “corn mildew” ( Puccinio
* The method pursued by Messrs. Berkeley and Hoffmann of surrounding the
drop of fluid, in which a definite number of spores or yeast globules had been
placed, with a pellicle of air, into which the germinating threads might pass
and fructify, is perhaps the most satisfactory that has been adopted, though it
requires nice manipulation. If carefully managed, the result is irrefragable,
though doubts have been cast, without any reason, on their observations.
186
FUNGI.
graminis) which succeeded it. The simple spored rust first
makes its appearance, and later the bilocular “ mildew.” It is
by no means uncommon to find the 'two forms in the same pus-
tule. Some have held, without good reason, that the simple
cells became afterwards divided and converted into Puccinia ,
but this is not the case ; the uredo-spores are always simple, and
remain so except in TJredo linearis , where every intermediate
stage has been observed. Both are also perfect in their kind,
and capable of germination.
What the precise relations between the two forms may be has
as yet never been revealed to observers, but that the two forms
belong to one species is not now doubted. Very many species
of Puccinia have already been found associated with a corre-
sponding Trichobasis, and of Phragmidium with a relative Lecy-
thea , but it may be open to grave doubt whether some of the
very many species associated by authors are not so classed upon
suspicion rather than observation. We are ready to admit that
the evidence is strong in favour of the dimorphism of a large
number of species — it may be in all, but this awaits proof, or
substantial presumption on good grounds. Up to the present we
know that there are species of Trichobasis which have never
been traced to association with a Puccinia , and doubtless there
will be species of Puccinia for which no corresponding Uredo
or Trichobasis can be found.
Tulasne remarks, in reference to Puccinia sonchi , in one of his
memoirs, that this curious species exhibits, in effect, that a Puc-
cinia may unite three sorts of reproductive bodies, which, taking
part, constitute for the mycologists of the day three entirely dif-
ferent plants — a Trichobasis, a TJromyces , and a Puccinia. The
Uredines are not less rich, he adds, in reproductive bodies of
divers sorts than the Pyrenomycetes and the Discomycetes ; and
we should not be surprised at this, since it seems to be a law,
almost constant in the general harmony of nature, that the
smaller the organized beings are, the more their races are
prolific.
In Puccinia variabilis , Grrev., it is common to find a unicellular
form, species of Trichobasis , in the same pustules. A like circum-
POLYMORPHISM.
187
stance occurs with Puccinia viol arum, , Link., and Trichobasis vio-
larum , B.; with Puccinia fallens. ,C., and Trichobasis f aliens, sm.;
also with Puccinia menthce , P., and Trichobasis Labiatarum , D. C.
In Melampsora, again, the prismatic pseudospores of Melampsora
salicina , Lev., are the winter fruits of Lecythea caprearum , Lev.,
as those of Melampsora populina , Ley., are of Lecythea populina ,
Ley. In the species of Lecythea themselves will be found, as De
Bary * has shown, hyaline cysts of a larger size, which surround
the pseudospores in the pustules in which they are developed.
A good illustration of dimorphism in one of the commonest of
moulds is given by De Bary in a paper from which we have
already quoted. f He writes thus : — In every household there is
a frequent unbidden guest, which appears particularly on pre-
served fruits, viz., the mould which is called Aspergillus glaucus.
It shows itself to the naked eye as a woolly floccy crust over
the substance, first purely white, then gradually covered with
little fine glaucous, or dark green dusty heads. More minute
microscopical examination shows that the fungus consists of
richly ramified fine filaments, which are partly disseminated in
the substratum, and partly raised obliquely over it. They have
a cylindrical form with rounded ends, and are divided into long
outstretched members, each of which possesses the property
which legitimatizes it as a vesicle in the ordinary sense of the
word ; it contains, enclosed within a delicate structureless wall,
those bodies which bear the appearance of a finely granulated
mucous substance, which is designated by the name of proto-
plasm, and which either equally fills the cells, or the older the
cell the more it is filled with watery cavities called vacuoles.
All parts are at first colourless. The increase in the length
of the filaments takes place through the preponderating growth
near their points ; these continually push forward, and, at a
short distance from them, successive new partitions rise up,
but at a greater distance, the growth in the length ceases.
This kind of growth is called point growth. The twigs and
* De Bary, “ Uber die Brandpilze” (Berlin, 1853), pi. iv. figs. 3, 4, 5.
+ A. de Bary, on Mildew and Fermentation, in “ Quarterly German Magazine,”
vol. ii. 1872.
188
FUNGI.
branches spring np as lateral dilatations of the principal fila-
ment, which, once designed, enlarges according to the point
growth. This point growth of every branch is, to a certain
extent, unlimited. The filaments in and on the substratum are
the first existing members of the fungus ; they continue so long
as it vegetates. , As the parts which absorb nourishment from and
consume the substance, they are called the mycelium. Nearly
every fungus possesses a mycelium, which, without regard to
the specific difference of form and size, especially shows the
described nature in its construction and growth.
The superficial threads of the mycelium produce other fila-
ments beside those numerous branches which have been described,
and which are the fruit thread (carpophore) or conidia thread.
These are on an average thicker than the mycelium threads, and
only exceptionally ramified or furnished with partitions; they
rise almost perpendicularly into the air, and attain a length of,
on an average, half a millimetre, or one-fiftieth of an inch, but
they seldom become longer, and then their growth is at an end.
Their free upper end swells in a rounded manner, and from this
is produced, on the whole of its upper part, rayed divergent
protuberances, which attain an oval form, and a length almost
equal to their radius, or, in weaker specimens, the diameter of
the rounded head. The rayed divergent protuberances are the
direct producers and bearers of the propagating cells, spores,
or conidia, and are called sterigmata. Every sterigma at first
produces at its point a little round protuberance, which, with a
strong narrow basis, rests upon the sterigma. These are filled
with protoplasm, swell more and more, and, after some time,
separate themselves by a partion from the sterigma into inde-
pendent cells, spores, or conidia.
The formation of the first spore takes place at the same end
of the sterigma, and in the same manner a second follows, then
a third, and so on ; every one which springs up later pushes
its predecessor in the direction of the axis of the sterigma in
the same degree in which it grows itself ; every successive spore
formed from a sterigma remains for a time in a row with one
another. Consequently every sterigma bears on its apex a chain
POLYMORPHISM.
1S9
of spores, which are so much the older, the farther they stand
from the sterigma. The number of the links in a chain of spores
reaches in normal specimens to ten or more. All sterigmata
spring np at the same time, and keep pace with one another
in the formation of the spores. Every spore grows for a time,
according to its construction, and at last separates itself from
Pig. 102. — a. Aspergillus glaucus ; b. conidia ; c. germinating conidium ; d. con-
ceptacle of Eurotium ; e. ascus.
its neighbours. The mass of dismembered spores forms that
fine glaucous hue which is mentioned above. The spores, there-
fore, are articulated in rows, one after the other, from the ends
of the sterigmata. The ripe spore, or conidium, is a cell of a
round or broadly oval form, filled with a colourless protoplasm,
190
FUNGI.
and, if observed separately, is found to be provided with a
brownish, finely verruculose, dotted wall.
The same mycelium which forms the pedicel for the conidia
when it is near the end of its development, forms by normal
vegetation a second kind of fructification. It begins as delicate
thin little branches, which are not to be distinguished by the
naked eye, and which mostly in four or six turns, after a quickly
terminated growth, wind their ends like a corkscrew. (Fig- 102.)
The sinuations decrease in width more and more, till they at last
reach close to one another, and the whole end changes from the
form of a corkscrew into that of a hollow screw. In and on
that screw-like body, a change of a complicated kind takes place,
which is a productive process. In consequence of this, from the
screw body a globose receptacle is formed, consisting of a thin
wall of delicate cells, and a closely entwined row of cells sur-
rounded by this dense mass ( d ). By the enlargement of all these
parts the round body grows so much, that by the time it is ripe
it is visible to the naked eye. The outer surface of the wall
assumes a compactness and a bright yellow colour ; the greater
part of the cells of the inner mass become asci for the formation
of sporidia, while they free themselves from the reciprocal union,
take a broad oval form, and each one produces within its inner
space eight sporidia {e). These soon entirely fill the ascus.
When they are quite ripe, the wall of the conceptacle becomes
brittle, and from irregular fissures, arising easily from contact,
the colourless round sporidia are liberated.
The pedicels of both kinds of fruit are formed from the same
mycelium in the order just described. If we examine attentively,
we can often see both springing up close to one another from the
same filament of a mycelium. This is not very easy in the close
interlacing of the stalks of a mass of fungi in consequence of
their delicacy and fragility. Before their connection was known,
the conceptacles and the conidia pedicels were considered as
organs of two very different species of fungi. The conceptacles
were called Eurotium herbariorum , and the conidia bearers were
called Aspergillus glaucus.
Allied to Eurotium is the group of JErysipbei , in which well-
POLYMORPHISM.
191
authenticated polymorph y prevails. These fungi are developed
on the green parts of growing plants, and at first consist of a
white mouldy stratum, composed of delicate mycelium, on which
erect threads are produced, which break up into subglobose
joints or conidia. The species on grass was named Oidium
monilioides before its relationship was known, but undoubtedly
this is only the conidia of Erysiphe graminis. In like manner
the vine disease ( Oidium Tuckeri ) is most probably only the
conidia of a species of Erysiphe , of which the perfect condition
has not yet been discovered. On roses the old Oidium leuco-
conium is but the conidia of Sphwrotheca pannosu , and so
of other species. The Erysiphe which ultimately appears on
the same mycelium consists of globose perithecia, externally
Fig. 103. — Erysiphe cichoracearum. a. Receptacle ; o. mycelium. (De Bary.)
furnished with thread-like appendages, and internally with asci
containing sporidia. In this genus there are no less than five
different forms of fruit, * the multiform threads on the mycelium,
already alluded to as forms of Oidium , the asci contained in
the sporangia, which is the proper fruit of the Erysiphe , larger
stylospores which are produced in other sporangia, the smaller
stylospores which are generated in the pycnidia, and separate
sporules which are sometimes formed in the joints of the neck-
laces of the conidia. These forms are figured in the “ Introduction
* Berkeley, “ Introd. Crypt. Bot.” p. 78, fig. 20.
192
FUNGI.
to Cryptogamic Botany ” from Splicer othec a Castagnei , which is
the hop mildew.* * * § The vine disease, hop mildew, and rose
mildew, are the most destructive species of this group, and the
constant annoyance of cultivators.
When first describing an allied fungus found on old paper, and
named Ascotricha chartarum , the Rev. M. J. Berkeley called atten-
tion to the presence of globose conidia attached to the threads
which surround the conceptacles,t and this occurred as long
since as 1838. In a recent species of Chcetomium found on old
sacking, Chcetomium griseum , Cooke, J we have found tufts in all
respects similar externally to the Chcetomium , but no perithecium
was formed, naked conidia being developed apparently at the
base of the coloured threads. In Chcetomium funicolum , Cooke,
a black mould was also found which may possibly prove to be
its conidia, but at present there is no direct evidence.
The brothers Tulasne have made us acquainted with a greater
number of instances amongst the Sphceriacei in which multiple
organs of reproduction prevail. Yery often old and decaying
individuals belonging to species of Boletus will be found filled,
and their entire substance internally replaced, by the threads and
multitudinous spores of a golden yellow parasite, to which the
name of Sepedonium chrysospermum has been given. According
to Tulasne, this is merely a condition of a sphseriaceous fungus
belonging to his genus Hypomyces.§
The same observers also first demonstrated that Trichoderma
viride , P., was but the conidia-bearing stage of JLypocrea rufa ,
P., another sphasriaceous fungus. The ascigerous stroma of the
latter is indeed frequently associated in a very close manner with
the cushions of the pretended Trichoderma , or in other cases the
same stroma will give rise to a different apparatus of conidia,
of which the principal elements are acicular filaments, which are
short, upright, and almost simple, and which give rise to small
* See also Berkeley, in “ Trans. Hort. Soc. London,” vol. ix. p. 68.
f Berkeley, in “Ann. Nat. Hist.” (June, 1838), No. 116.
X “ Grrevillea,” vol. i. p. 176.
§ Tulasne, “On Certain Fungicolous Sphserise,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.”
4raeser. xiii. (1860), p. 5.
POLYMORPHISM.
198
oval conidia which are solitary on the tips of the threads.
Therefore this Hypocrea will possess two different kinds of
conidia, as is the case in many species of Hypomyces.
A most familiar instance of dualism will be found in Nectria
cinnabarina , of which the conidia form is one of the most common
of fungi, forming little reddish nodules on all kinds of dead
twigs. #
Almost any small currant twig which has been lying on the
ground in a damp situation will afford an opportunity of studying
this phenomenon. The whole surface of the twig will be covered
from end to end with little bright pink prominences, bursting
through the bark at regular distances, scarcely a quarter of an
inch apart. Towards one end of the twig probably the pro-
minences will be of a deeper, richer colour, like
powdered cinnabar. The naked eye is sufficient
to detect some difference between the two kinds
of pustules, and where the two merge into each
other specks of cinnabar will be visible on the
pink projections. By removing the bark it will
be seen that the- pink bodies have a sort of
paler stem, which spreads above into a somewhat
globose head, covered with a delicate mealy bloom.
At the base it penetrates to the inner bark, and
from it the threads of mycelium branch in all
directions, confined, however, to the bark, and
not entering the woody tissues beneath. The
head, placed under examination, will be found to
consist of delicate parallel threads compacted to-
gether to form the stem and head. Some of these
threads are simple, others are branched, bearing FlG- 104 ~ Twig
A ~ with Tubercularia
here and there upon them delicate little bodies, on the upper por-
which are readily detached, and which form the lowerf**™* °n the
mealy bloom which covers the surface. These are the conidia,
little slender cylindrical bodies, rounded at the ends.
Passing to the other bodies, which are of a deeper colour, it
* “A Currant Twig, and Something on it,” in “Gardener’s Chronicle,”
January 28, 1871.
0
194
FUNGI.
will soon be discovered that, instead of being simple rounded
beads, each tubercle is composed of numerous smaller, nearly
globose bodies, closely packed together, often compressed, all
united to a base closely resembling the base of the other
tubercles. If for a moment we look at one of the tubercles near
the spot where the crimson tubercles seem to merge into the
pink, we shall not only find them particoloured, but that the red
points are the identical globose little heads just observed in
clusters. This will lead to the suspicion, which can afterwards
be verified, that the red heads are really produced on the stem
or stroma of the pink tubercles.
A section of one of the red tubercles will show us how much
the internal structure differs. The little subglobose bodies
which spring from a common stroma or stem are hollow shells j
or capsules, externally granular, internally filled with a gelatinous
nucleus. They are, indeed, the perithecia of a sphmriaceous
fungus of the genus Nectria , and the gelatinous nucleus contains j
the fructification. Still further examination will show that this jj
fructification consists of cylindrical asci, each enclosing eight
elliptical sporidia, closely packed together, and mixed with j
slender threads called paraphyses. j
Here, then, we have undoubted evidence of Nectria cinna- •
barina, with its fruit, produced in asci growing from the stroma
or stem, and in intimate relationship with what was formerly j
named Tubercularia vulgaris. A fungus with two forms of fruit, j
* Figs. 104 to 106 by permission from the “Gardener’s Chronicle.”
POLYMORPHISM.
195
one proper to the pink, or Tubercularia form, with naked slender
conidia, the other proper to the mature fungus, enclosed in asci,
and generated within the walls of a perithecium. Instances of
this kind are now known to be far from uncommon, although
Fig. 106.— D. Nectria surrounding Tubercularia; E. tuft of Nectria cinnabarina ;
F. section of stroma ; G. ascus and paraphyses.
they cannot always, or often, be so clearly and distinctly traced
as in the illustration which we have selected.
It is not uncommon for the conidia of the S phceria to partake
of the characteristics of a mould, and then the perithecia are
developed amongst the conidial threads. A recently recorded
instance of this relates to Sphceria EpocTinii, B. and Br.,# the
conidia form of which was long known before the Sphceria
related to it was discovered, under the name of Epochnium ,
fungorum. The Epochnium forms a thin stratum, which over-
runs various species of Corticium. The conidia are at first uni-
septate. The perithecia of the Sphceria are at first pale bottle-
green, crowded in the centre of the Epochnium , then black green
granulated, sometimes depressed at the summit, with a minute
pore. The sporidia are strongly constricted in the centre, at
first uniseptate, with two nuclei in each division.
Another Sphceria in which the association is undoubted is the
* Berkeley and Broome, in “Annals of Natural History” (1866), No. 1177,
pi. v. fig. 36; Cooke, “ Handbook,” ii. p. 866.
o 2
196
FUNGI.
Sphceria aquila , Fr.,* * * § which is almost always found nestling in a
woolly brown snbiculum, for the most part composed of barren
brown jointed threads. These threads, however, produce, under
favourable conditions, mostly before the perfection of the peri-
thecia, minute subglobose conidia, and in this state constitute
what formerly bore the name of Sporotrichum fuscum , Link., but
no.w recognized as the conidia of Sphceria aquila.
In Sphceria nidulans , Schw., a North American species, we have
more than once found the dark brown subiculum bearing large
triseptate conidia, having all the characters of the genus Helmin-
thosporium. In Sphceria pilosa , P., Messrs. Berkeley and Broome
have observed oblong conidia, rather irregular in outline, ter-
minating the hairs of the perithecium.f The same authors
have also figured the curious pentagonal conidia springing from
flexuous threads accompanying Sphceria felina , Fckl.,J and also
the threads resembling those of a Cladotrichum with the angular
conidia of Sphceria cupulifera , B. and Br.§ A most remarkable
example is also given by the Brothers Tulasne in JPleospora
polytricha , in which the conidia-bearing threads not only
surround, but grow upon the perithecia, and are crowned by
fascicles of septate conidia. ||
Instances of this kind have now become so numerous that
only a few can be cited as examples of the rest. It is not at all
improbable that the majority of what are now classed together
as species under the genus of black moulds, Helminthosporium ,
will at some not very distant period be traced as the conidia of
different species of ascomycetous fungi. The same fate may
also await other allied genera, but until this association is
established, they must keep the rank and position which has
been assigned to them.
Another form of dualism, differing somewhat in character
* Cooke, “Handbook,” ii. p. 853, No. 2549 ; specimens in Cooke’s “Fungi
Britannici Exsiccati,” No. 270.
f Berk, and Br. “Ann. Nat. Hist.” (1865), No. 1096.
J “Ann. Nat. Hist.” (1871), No. 1332, pi. xx. fig. 23.
§ Ibid. No. 1333, pi. xxi. fig. 24.
|| Tulasne, “ Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” ii. p. 269, pi. 29.
POLYMORPHISM.
197
from the foregoing, finds illustration in the sphasriaceous genus
Melanconis, of Tulasne, in which the free spores are still called
conidia, though in most instances produced in a sort of spurious
conceptaculum, or borne on short threads from a kind of
cushion-shaped stroma. In the Melanconis stilbostoma there
are three forms, one of slender minute bodies, oozing out in the
form of yellow tendrils, which may be spermatia, formerly called
Nemaspora crocea. Then there are the oval brown or olive brown
conidia, which are at first covered, then oozing out in a black
pasty mass, formerly Melanconium bicolor , and finally the sporidia
in asci of Spbceria stilbostoma , Fries. In Melanconis Berkeleii,
Tul., the conidia are quadrilocular, previously known as Stilbo-
spora macrosperma , B. and Br. In a closely- allied species from
North America, Melanconis bicornis , Cooke, the appendiculate
sporidia are similar, and the conidia would also appear to partake
of the character of Stilbospora. We may remark here that we
have seen a brown mould, probably an undescribed species of
Bematiei, growing in definite patches around the openings in
birch bark caused by the erumpent ostiola of the perithecia of
Melanconis stilbostoma , from the United States.
In Melanconis lanciformis,\ Tul., there are, it would appear,
four forms of fruit. One of these consists of conidia, charac-
terized by Corda as Coryneum disciforme.% Stylospores, which
are also figured by Corda under the name of Coniothecium betu-
linum ; pycnidia,§ first discovered by Berkeley and Broome, and
named by them Hendersonia polycystis ; || and the ascophorous
fruits which constituted the Sphceria lanciformis of Fries. Mr.
Currey indicated Hendersonia polycystis , B. and Br., as a form
of fruit of this species in a communication to the Royal Society
in 185 7. He says this plant grows upon birch, and is in per-
fection in very moist weather, when it may be recognized by the
* Cooke, “Handbook,” ii. p. 878 ;] Tulasne, “ Carpologia, ” ii. p. 120,
plate 1 4.
f Tulasne, “Selecta Fung. Carp.,” ii. plate 16.
+ Corda, “ leones Fungorum,” vol. iii. tig. 91.
§ Corda, “leones,” vol. i. fig. 25.
|| Berk, and Br. “Ann. Nat. Hist.” No. 415.
II Currey, in “ Philosoph. Trans. Boy. Soc.” (1857), pi. 25.
198
FUNGI.
large black soft gelatinous protuberances on the bark, formed
by spores escaping and depositing themselves upon and about
the apex of the perithecium. This I suspect to be an abnormal
state of a well-known Spheeria (S. lanciformis), which grows
upon birch, and upon birch only.
We might multiply, almost indefinitely, instances amongst the
Sphceriacei, but have already given sufficient for illustration, and
will therefore proceed briefly to notice some instances amongst
the Discomycetes , which also bear their complete or perfect fruit
in asci.
The beautiful purple stipitate cups of Bulgaria sarcoides ,
which may be seen flourishing in the autumn on old rotten
wood, are often accompanied by club-shaped bodies of the same
colour ; or earlier in the season these clavate bodies may be
found alone, and at one time bore the name of Tremella
sarcoides. The upper part of these clubs disseminate a great
abundance of straight and very slender spermatia. Earlier than
this they are covered with globose conidia. The fully-matured
j Bulgaria develops on its hymenium clavate delicate asci, each
enclosing eight elongated hyaline sporidia, so that we have three
forms of fruit belonging to the same fungus, viz. conidia and
spermatia in the Tremella stage, and sporidia contained in asci
in the mature condition.* The same phenomena occur with
Bulgaria purpurea, a larger species with different fruit, long
confounded with Bulgaria sarcoides.
On the dead stems of nettles it is very common to meet with
small orange tubercles, not much larger than a pin’s head,
which yield at this stage a profusion of slender linear bodies,
produced on delicate branched threads, and at one time bore the
name of Dacrymyces JJrticce , but which are now acknowledged to
be only a condition of a little tremelloid Beziza of the same size
and colour, which might be mistaken for it, if not examined
with the microscope, but in which there are distinct asci and
sporidia. Both forms together are now regarded as the same
fungus, under the name of Beziza fusarioides , B.
* Tulasne, “ On the Reproductive Apparatus of Fungi,” in “ Comptes Rendus”
(1852), p. 841 ; and Tulasne, “ S electa Fungorum Carpologia,” vol. iii.
POLYMORPHISM.
199
The other series of phenomena grouped together under the
name of polymorphism relate to forms which are removed from
each other, so that the mycelium is not identical, or, more
usually, produced on different plants. The first instance of this
kind to which we shall make reference is one of particular
interest, as illustrative of the old popular creed, that berberry
bushes near corn-fields produced mildewed corn. There is a
village in Norfolk, not far from Great Yarmouth, called “ Mil-
dew Rollesby,” because of its unenviable notoriety in days past
for mildewed corn, produced, it was said, by the berberry
bushes, which were cut down, and then mildew disappeared
from the corn-fields, so that Rollesby no longer merited its
sobriquet. It has already been shown that the corn-mildew
(. Puccinia graminis ) is dimorphous, having a one-celled fruit
(Trichobasis), as well as a two-celled fruit ( Puceinia ). The
fungus which attacks the berberry is a species of cluster- cup
( JEjridium berberidis'), in which little cup-like peridia, containing
bright orange pseudospores, are produced in tufts or clusters on
the green leaves, together with their spermogonia.
De Bary’s observations on this association of forms were pub-
lished in 1865. # In view of the popular belief, he determined
to sow the spores of Puccinia graminis on the leaves of the ber-
berry. For this purpose he selected the septate resting spores from
Poa pratensis and Triticum repens. Having caused the spores to
germinate in a moist atmosphere, he placed fragments of the
leaves on which they had developed their secondary spores on
young but full-grown berberry leaves, under the same atmo-
spheric conditions. In from twenty -four to forty-eight hours
a quantity of the germinating threads had bored through the
walls and penetrated amongst the subjacent cells. This took
place both on the upper and under surface of the leaves. Since,
in former experiments, it appeared that the spores would
penetrate only in those cases where the plant was adapted to
develop the parasite, the connection between P. graminis and
* “ Monatsbericht der Koniglichen Preuss, Acad, der Wissenschaften au
Berlin,” Jan. 1865 ; Summary, in “ Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc., London,” vol. i.
n.s. p. 107.
200
FUNGI.
Mcid. herberidis seemed more than ever probable. In about ten
days the spermogonia appeared. After a time the cut leaves
began to decay, so that the fungus never got beyond the
spermogonoid stage. Some three-year-old seedlings were then
taken, and the germinating resting spores applied as before.
The plants were kept under a bell-glass from twenty-four to
forty-eight hours, and then exposed to the air like other plants.
From the sixth to the tenth day, yellow spots appeared, with
single spermogonia ; from the ninth to the twelfth, spermogonia
appeared in numbers on either surface ; and, a few days later,
on the under surface of the leaves, the cylindrical sporangia
of the A Ecidium made their appearance, exactly as in the
normally developed parasite, except that they were longer,
from being protected from external agents. The younger the
leaves, the more rapid was the development of the parasite, and
sometimes, in the younger leaves, the luxuriance was far greater
than in free nature. Similar plants, to the number of two
hundred, were observed in the nursery, and though some of them
had Mcidium pustules, not one fresh pustule was produced ;
while two placed under similar circumstances, but without the
application of any resting spores, remained all the summer free
from Mcidium. It seems, then, indubitable so far that Mcidium
herberidis does spring from the spores of Puccinia graminis.
It has, however, to be remarked that De Bary was not equally
successful in producing the Puccinia from the spores of the
Mcidium. In many cases the spores do not germinate when
placed on glass, and they do not preserve their power of germi-
nating very long. He reverts then to the evidence of experi-
ments instituted by agriculturists. Bonninghausen remarked, in
1818, that wheat, rye, and barley which were sown in the neigh-
bourhood of a berberry bush covered with Mcidium contracted
rust immediately after the maturation of the spores of the Mcidia.
The rust was most abundant where the wind carried the spores.
The following year the same observations were repeated ; the
spores of the Mcidium were collected, and applied to some healthy
plants of rye. After five or six days these plants were affected
with rust, while the remainder of the crop was sound. In 1863
POLYMORPHISM.
201
some winter rye was sown round a berberry bush, which in the
following year was infested with Mcidium, which was mature in
the middle of May, when the rye was completely covered with
rust. Of the wild grasses near the bush, Triticum repens was
most affected. The distant plants of rye were free from rust.
The spores of the Mcidium would not germinate on berberry
leaves ; the berberry Mcidium could not therefore spring from
the previous Mcidium. The uredospores of Puccinia graminis
on germinating penetrate into the parenchym of the grass on
which they are sown ; but on berberry leaves, if the tips of the
threads enter for a short distance into the stomates their growth
at once ceases, and the leaves remain free from parasites.
Fig. 107. — Cells and pseudospores of JEcidium berberidis.
Montagne has, however, described a Puccinia berberidis on
leaves of Berberis glauca from Chili, which grows in company
Fig. 108.— Cells and pseudospores of Mcidium graveolens.
with Mcidium berberidis. This at first sight seems to contradict
the above conclusions ; but the Mcidium which from the same
disc produces the puccinoid resting spores, appears to be dif-
ferent from the European species, inasmuch as the cells of the
wall of the sporangium are twice as large, and the spores de-
cidedly of greater diameter.* The resting spores, moreover,
* We have before us an Mcidium on leaves of Berberis vulgaris , collected at
202
FUNGI.
differ not only from tliose of Puccinia grominis , but from those
of all other European species.
From this account, then, it is extremely probable that the
JEcidium of the berberry enters into the cycle of existence of
Puccinia grominis , and, if this be true, wherefore should not
other species of Puccinia be related in like manner to other
jPcidia ? This is the conclusion to which many have arrived,
and, taking advantage of certain presumptions, have, we fear, jj
rashly associated many such forms together without substantial
evidence. On the leaves of the primrose we have commonly a
species of JEcidium, Puccinia , and TIromyces nearly at the same
time ; we may imagine that all these belong to one cycle, but
it has not yet been proved. Again, Uromyces cacalice , Unger, i
TJredo cacalice , Unger, and JPcidium cacalice , Thumen, are con-
sidered by Heufler* to form one cycle. Numerous others are
given by Fuckel,f and De Bary, in the same memoir from which
we have already cited, notes Uromyces appendiculatus , Link.,
77. 'phaseolorum , Tub, and Puccinia tragopogonis , Ca., as possessing
five kinds of reproductive organs. Towards the end of the year,
shortly stipifcate spores appear on their stroma, which do not fall
off. These spores, which do not germinate till after a shorter or
longer winter rest, may conveniently be called resting spores, or,
as De Bary calls them, teleutosjpores , being the last which are i
produced. These at length germinate, become articulated, and '
produce ovate or kidney-shaped spores, which in their turn
germinate, penetrating the cuticle of the mother plant, avoiding
the stomates or apertures by which it breathes. After about
two or three weeks, the mycelium, which has ramified among the
Berne by Shuttleworth in 1833. It is named by bim JEcidium graveolens, and j|,
differs in the following particulars from JEcidium berberidis. The peridia are
scattered as in jE. Epilobii, and not collected in clusters. They are not so
much elongated. The cells are larger, and the orange spores nearly twice the
diameter. There is a decided, strong, but unpleasant odour in the fresh plant ;
hence the name. The above figures (figs. 107, 108). of the cells and spores of
both species are drawn by camera lucida to the same scale — 380 diameters.
* Freiherrn von Hohenbiihel-Heufler, in “(Esterr. Botan. Zeitschrift,
No. 3, 1870.
f “ Fuckel Symbols Mycologicse” (1869), p. 49.
POLYMORPHISM.
203
tissues, produces an ttcidium, with its constant companion, sper-
mogonia — distinct cysts, that is, from which a quantity of minute
bodies ooze out, often in the form of a tendril, the function of
which is imperfectly known at present, but which from analogy
we regard as a form of fruit, though it is just possible that they
may be rather of the nature of spermatozoids. The JEcidia
contain, within a cellular membranous sac, a fructifying disc,
which produces necklaces of spores, which ultimately separate
from each other in the form of a granular powder. The grains
of which it is composed germinate in their turn, no longer
avoiding the stomates as before, but penetrating through their
aperture into the parenchym. The new resultant mycelium
reproduces the TJredo , or fifth form of fructification, and the
TJredo spores fall off like those of the AZcidium, and in respect
of germination, and mode of penetration, present precisely the
same phenomena. The disc which has produced the TJredo
spores now gives rise to the resting spores, and so the cycle is
complete.*
The late Professor (Ersted, of Copenhagen, was of opinion
that he had demonstrated the polymorphy of the Tremelloid
Uredines, and satisfied himself that the one condition known as
Podisoma was but another stage of Pcestelia. f Some freshly
gathered specimens of G-ymnosjporangium were damped with
water, and during the night following the spores germinated
profusely, so that the teleutospores formed an orange-coloured
powder. A little of this powder was placed on the leaves of
five small sorbs, which were damped and placed under bell-
glasses. In five days yellow spots were seen on the leaves, and
in two days more indications of spermogonia. The spermatia
were discharged, and in two months from the first sowing,
* Almost simultaneously with De Bary, the late Professor (Ersted instituted
experiments, from which the same results ensued, as to jficidium berberidis and
Puccinia graminis. See “Journ. Hort. Soc. Lond.” new ser. i. p. 85.
t “Oversigt over det Kon. Danske Yidens. Selskabs” (1866), p. 185, t. 3, 4;
(1867,) p. 208, t. 3, 4 ; “ Resume du Bulletin de la Soc. Roy. Danoise des
Sciences” (1866), p. 15 ; (1867), p. 38 ; “ Botanische Zeitung” (1867), p. 104 ;
“ Quekett Microscopical Club Journal,'’ vol. ii. p. 260.
204
FUNGI.
the peridia of Roestelia appeared, and were developed. “ This
trial of spores,” says CErsted, “ has conduced to the resnlt ex-
pected, and proves that the teleutospores of Gymnosporangium ,
when transported npon the sorb, give rise to a totally different
fungus, the Roestelia cor nut a, that is to say, that an alternate
generation comes between these fungi. They appertain in con-
sequence to a single species, and the Gymnosporangium ceased to
be an independent species, and must be considered as synony-
mous with the first generation of Roestelia. The spores have
been transported upon young shoots of the juniper-tree, and
have now commenced to produce some mycelium in the bark.
There is no doubt that in next spring it will result in Gymno-
sporangium.”
Subsequently the same learned professor instituted similar
experiments upon other hosts, with the spores of Rodisoma , and
from thence he concluded that Roestelia and Rodisoma , in all
their known species, were but forms the one of the other.
Hitherto we are not aware that these results have been con-
firmed, or that the sowing of the spores of Roestelia on juniper
resulted in Rodisoma . Such experiments should be received
always with care, and not too hastily accepted in their apparent
results as proven facts. Who shall say that Roestelia would not
have appeared on Sorbus within two months without the sowing
of Rodisoma spores? — because it is not by any means uncommon
for that fungus to appear upon that plant. It is true many
mycologists write and speak of Roestelia and Rodisoma (or
Gymnosporangium ) as identical ; but, as we think, without the
evidence being so complete as to be beyond suspicion. It is,
nevertheless, a curious fact that in Europe the number of species
of Roestelia and Rodisoma are equal, if one species be excluded,
which is certainly not a good Rodisoma, for the reception of
which a new genus has been proposed.*
Amongst the ascigerous fungi will be found a curious but inte-
resting genus formerly called Cordyceps, but for which Tulasne,
in consequence of the discovery of secondary forms of fruit,
* This is Podisoma foliicola, B. and Br., or, as proposed in “ Journ. Quekett
Club,” ii. p. 267, Sarcostroma BerTceleyi, C.
POLYMORPHISM.
205
has substituted that of Torrubio .* * * § These curious fungi partake
more or less of a clavate form, and are parasitic on insects.
The pupse of moths are sometimes seen bearing upon them the
white branched mould, something like a Clavaria in appearance,
to which the name of Isaria farinosci has been given. According
to Tulasne, this is the conidia form of the bright scarlet, club-
shaped body which is also found on dead pupae, called Torrubia
militaris . An American mould of the same genus, Isaria
sphingum, found on mature moths, f is in like manner declared to
be the conidia of Torrubia sphingum ; whereas a similar mould,
found on dead spiders, called Taria arachnophila,\ is probably
of a similar nature. An allied kind of compact mould, which
is parasitic on Cocci , on the bark of trees, recently found in
England by Mr. C. E. Broome, and named Microcera coccophila,§
is said by Tulasne to be a condition of Sphcerostilbe , and it is
intimated that other productions of a similar character bear
like relations to other sphoeriaceous fungi. For many species
of Torrubia no corresponding conidia are yet known.
Some instances might be noted, not without interest, in
which the facts of dimorphism or polymorphism have not been
satisfactorily proved, but final judgment is held in suspense
until suspicion is replaced by conviction. Some years since, a
quantity of dead box leaves were collected, on which flourished at
the time a mould named Penicillium roseum. This mould has a
roseate tint, and occurs in patches on the dead leaves lying upon
the ground ; the threads are erect and branched above, bearing
chains of oblong, somewhat spindle-shaped spores, or, perhaps
more accurately, conidia. When collected, these leaves were
examined, and nothing was observed or noted upon them except
this Penicillium. After some time, certainly between two and
three years, during which period the box remained undisturbed,
circumstances led to the examination again of one or two of the
, leaves, and afterwards of the greater number of them, when the
* Tulasne, “ Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” iii. p. 6, pi. i. figs. 19-31.
+ Cramer’s “ Papilio Exotic” (1782), fig. 267.
t Cooke, “ Handbook,” p. 548, No. 1639.
§ Ibid. p. 556, No. 1666.
I
206
FUNGI.
patches of 1? enicillium were found to be intermixed with another
mould of a higher development, and far different character.
This mould, or rather Mucor , consists of erect branching
threads, many of the branches terminating in a delicate globose,
glassy head, or sporangium, containing numerous very minute
subglobose sporidia. This species was named Mucor hyolinus .*
The habit is very much like that of the Penicillium, but without
any roseate tint. It is almost certain that the Mucor could not
have been present when the P enicillium was examined, and the
leaves on which it had grown were enclosed in the tin box, but
that the Mucor afterwards appeared on the same leaves, some-
times from the same patches, and, as it would appear, from the
same mycelium. The great difference in the two species lies in
the fructification. In the IP enicillium, the spores are naked, and
in moniliform threads ; whilst in Mucor the spores are enclosed
within globose membraneous heads or sporangia. Scarcely can
we doubt that the Mucor alluded to above, found thus intermixed,
under peculiar circumstances, with JPenicillium roseurn , is no other
than the higher and more complete form of that species, and
that the P enicillium is only its conidiiferous state. The pre-
sumption in this case is strong, and not so open to suspicion as it
would be did not analogy render it so extremely probable that
such is the case, apart from the fact of both forms springing
from the same mass of mycelium. In such minute and delicate
structures it is very difficult to manipulate the specimens so as
to arrive at positive evidence. If a filament of mycelium could
be isolated successfully, and a fertile thread, bearing the fruit of
each form, could be traced from the same individual mycelium
thread, the evidence would be conclusive. In default of such
conclusive evidence, we are compelled to rest with assumption
until further researches enable us to record the assumption as
fact.f
Apropos of this very connection of Penicillium with Mucor , a
similar suspicion attaches to an instance noted by a wholly dis-
* Specimens were published under this name in Cooke’s “ Fungi Britannici
Exsiccati,” No. 359.
t Cooke, “ On Polymorphism in Fungi,” in “Popular Science Review.”
POLYMORPHISM.
207
interested observer to this effect. “ On a preparation preserved
in a moist chamber, on tbe third day a white speck was seen on
the surface, consisting of innumerable ‘ yeast ’ cells, with some
filaments, branching in all directions. On the fourth day tufts
of Penicillium had developed two varieties — P. glaucum and
P. viride. This continued until the ninth day, when a few of
the filaments springing up in the midst of the Penicillium were
tipped with a dewdrop-like dilatation, excessively delicate — a
mere distended pellicle. In some cases they seemed to be
derived from the same filament as others bearing the ordinary
branching spores of JPenicillium , but of this I could not be
positive. This kind of fructification increased rapidly, and on
the fourteenth day spores had undoubtedly developed within the
pellicle, just as had been observed in a previous cultivation,
precisely similar revolving movements being also manifested.”*
Although we have here another instance of Mucor and Jdenicillium
growing in contact, the evidence is insufficient to warrant more
than a suspicion of their identity, inasmuch as the equally
minute spores of Mucor and Penicilliumi might have mingled,
and each producing its kind, no relationship whatever have
existed between them, except their development from the same
matrix.
Another case of association — for the evidence does not proceed
further — was recorded by us, in which a dark-coloured species
of Penicillium was closely associated with what we now believe
to be a species of Macrosgorium — but then designated a Sjpo-
ridesmium — and a minute Sphceria growing in succession on
damp wall-paper. Association is all that the facts warrant us
in calling it.
We cannot forbear alluding to one of the species of Sphceria
to which Tulasne f attributes a variety of forms of fruit, and we
do so here because we think that a circumstance so extraordi-
nary should be confirmed before it is accepted as absolutely true.
This refers to the common Splficeria found on herbaceous plants,
* Lewis’s “Report on Microscopic Objects found in Cholera Evacuations,”
Calcutta, 1870.
t Tulasne, “Selecta Fungorum Carpologia,” ii. p. 261.
208
FUNGI.
known as Sphceria ( JPleospora ) herbarum. First of all the very-
common mould called Cladosporium herbarum is constituted as
conidia, and of this again Macrosporium sarcinula , Berk., is con-
sidered to he another condition. In the next place, Cytispora
orbicularis , Berk., and Phoma herbarum , West, are regarded as
pycnidia, enclosing stylospores. Then Alternaria tenuis , Pr.,#
which is said to he parasitic on Cladosporium herbarum , is held
to be only a form of that species, so that here we have (including
the perithecia ) no less than six forms or phases for the same
fungus. As Macrosporium Cheiranthi , Pr., often is found in
company with Cladosporium herbarum, that is also open to
suspicion.
We have adduced in the foregoing pages a few instances
which will serve to illustrate the polymorphism of fungi.
Some of these it will be observed are accepted as beyond doubt,
occurring as they do in intimate relationship with each other.
Others are considered as scarcely so well established, but
probable, although developed sometimes on different species of
plants. Finally, some are regarded as hitherto not satisfactorily
proved, or, it may be, only suspicious. In this latter group,
however much probability may be in their favour, it can hardly
be deemed philosophical to accept them on such slender evidence
as in some cases alone is afforded. It would not have been
difficult to have extended the latter group considerably by the
addition of instances enumerated by various mycologists in
their works without any explanation of the data upon which
their conclusions have been founded. In fact, altogether this
chapter must be accepted as illustrative and suggestive, but by
no means as exhaustive.
Corda, “ Prachtflora,” plate vii.
209
X.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
It is no longer doubted that fungi exercise a large and very
important influence in the economy of nature. It may be that
in some directions these influences are exaggerated ; but it is
certain that on the whole their influence is far more important
for evil and for good than that of any other of the Cryptogamia.
In our endeavour to estimate the character and extent of these
influences it will prove advantageous to examine them under
three sections. 1. Their influence on man. 2. Their influence
on lower animals. 3. Their influence on vegetation. Under
these sections the chief facts may be grouped, and some approxi-
mate idea obtained of the very great importance of this family of
inferior plants, and consequently the advisability of pursuing
their study more thoroughly and nationally than has hitherto
been done.
I. In estimating the influence of fungi upon man, we naturally
enough seek in the first instance to know what baneful effects
they are capable of producing on food. Although in the case of
“poisonous fungi,” popularly understood, fungi may be the
passive agents, yet they cannot be ignored in an inquiry of this
nature. Writing of the Uses of Fungi, we have already shown
that a large number are available for food, and some of these
real delicacies ; so, on the other hand, it becomes imperative,
even with stronger emphasis, to declare that many are poisonous,
and some of them virulently so. It is not sufficient to say that
they are perfectly harmless until voluntarily introduced into the
human system, whilst it is well known that accidents are always
p
210
FUNGI.
possible, and probably would be if every baneful fungus bad the
word poison inscribed in capitals on its pileus.
The inquiry is constantly being made as to what plain rules
can be given for distinguishing poisonous from edible fungi, and
we can answer only that there are none other than those which
apply to flowering plants. How can aconite, henbane, oenanthe,
stramonium, and such plants, be distinguished from parsley,
sorrel, watercress, or spinach ? Manifestly not by any general
characters, but by specific differences. And so it is with the
fungi. We must learn to discriminate Agaricus muscarius from
Agaricus rubescens , in the same manner as we would discriminate
parsley from AEthusa cynajgium . Indeed, fungi have an advantage
in this respect, since one or two general cautions can be given,
when none such are applicable for higher plants. For instance,
it may be said truly that all fungi that exhibit a rapid change
to blue when bruised or broken should be avoided ; that all
Agarics are open to suspicion which possess an acrid taste ; that
fungi found growing on wood should not be eaten unless the
species is well known ; that no species of edible fungus has a
strong, unpleasant odour, and similar cautions, which, after all,
are insufficient. The only safe guide lies in mastering, one by
one, the specific distinctions, and increasing the number of one’s
own esculents gradually, by dint of knowledge and experience,
even as a child learns to distinguish a filbert from an acorn, or
with wider experience will thrust in his mouth a leaf of Oxalis
and reject that of the white clover.
One of the most deleterious of fungi that we possess is at the
same time one of the most beautiful. This is the Agaricus
muscarius , or Fly Agaric, which is sometimes used as a fly
poison.* It has a bright crimson pileus studded with pale
whitish (sometimes yellowish) warts, and a stem and gills of
ivory whiteness. Many instances have been recorded of poison-
ing by this fungus, and amongst them some British soldiers
abroad, and yet it cannot be doubted that this fungus is eaten in j
* A detailed account of the peculiar properties of this fungus and its employ-
ment as a narcotic will he found in Cooke’s “Seven Sisters of Sleep,” p. 337.
It is figured in Greville’s “Scottish Cryptogamic Flora,” plate 54.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
211
Russia. Two instances have come under our notice of persons
with some botanical knowledge, and one a gardener, who had
resided in Russia and eaten of this fungus. In one case the Fly-
Agaric was collected and shown to us, and in the other the
figure was indicated, so that we might be under no doubt as to
the species. Only one hypothesis can be advanced in explana-
tion. It is known that a large number of fungi are eaten in
Russia, and that they enter much into the domestic cookery of
the peasantry, but it is also known that they pay considerable
attention to the mode of cooking, and add a large amount of salt
and vinegar, both of which, with long boiling, must be powerful
agents in counteracting the poison (probably somewhat volatile)
of such fungi as the Fly Agaric. In this place we may give a
recipe published by a French author of a process for rendering
poisonous fungi edible. It must be taken on his authority, and
not our own, as we have never made the experiment, notwith-
standing it seems somewhat feasible : — For each pound of mush-
rooms, cut into moderately small pieces, take a quart of water
acidulated with two or three spoonfuls of vinegar, or two spoon-
fuls of bay salt. Leave the mushrooms to macerate in the liquid
for two hours, then wash them with plenty of water ; this done,
put them in cold water and make them boil. After a quarter or
half hour’s boiling take them off and wash them, then drain, and
prepare them either as a special dish, or use them for seasoning
in the same manner as other species.*
This method is said to have been tried successfully with some
of the most dangerous kinds. Of these may be mentioned the
emetic mushroom, Russula emetica , with a bright red pileus and
* Pour chaque 500 grammes de champignons coupes en morceaux d’assez
mediocre grandeur, il faut un litre d’eau acidulee par deux ou trois cuillerees de
vinaigre, ou deux cuillerees de sel gris. Dans le cas ou l’on n’aurait que de l’eau
& sa disposition, il faut la renouveler une ou deux fois. On laisse les cham-
pignons mac^rer dans le liquide pendant deux heures entieres, puis on les lave &
grande eau. Ils sont alors mis dans de l’eau froide qu’on porte & P ebullition, et
aprbs un quart d’heure ou une demi-heure, on les retire, on les lave, on les
essuie, et ou les appr^te soit comrne un mets special, et ils comportent les
memes assaisonnements que les autres, soit comme condiment. — Morel Traite
des Champignons , p. lix. Paris, 1865.
P 2
212
FUNGI,
white gills, which has a clear, waxy, tempting appearance, but
which is so virulent that a small portion is sufficient to produce
disagreeable consequences. It would be safer to eschew all fungi
with a red or crimson pileus than to run the risk of indulging in
this. A white species, which, however, is not very common,
with a bulbous base enclosed in a volva, called Agaricus vernus ,
should also be avoided. The pink spored species should also be
regarded with suspicion. Of the Boleti several turn blue when
cut or broken, and these again require to be discarded. This is
especially the case with Boletus luridus* * * § and Boletus Satanas,f
two species which have the under surface or orifice of the pores
of a vermilion or blood-red colour.
Not only are species which are known to be poisonous to be
avoided, but discretion should be used in eating recognized good
species. Fungi undergo chemical changes so rapidly that even
the cultivated mushroom may cause inconvenience if kept so
long after being gathered as to undergo chemical change. It is
not enough that they should be of a good kind, but also fresh.
The employment of plenty of salt in their preparation is calcu-
lated very much to neutralize any deleterious property. Salt,
pepper, and vinegar are much more freely employed abroad in
preparing fungi than with us, and with manifest advantage.
It is undoubtedly true that fungi exert an important influence
in skin diseases. This seems to be admitted on all hands by
medical men,^ however much they may differ on the question of
the extent to which they are the cause or consequence of disease.
Facts generally seem to bear out the opinion that a great number
of skin diseases are aggravated, and even produced, by fungi.
Robin § insists that a peculiar soil is necessary, and Dr. Fox
says it is usually taught that tuberculous, scrofulous, and dirty
people furnish the best nidus. It is scarcely necessary to enu-
* Smith's “ Chart of Poisonous Fungi,” fig. 10.
t Ibid. fig. 27. It would be well to become acquainted with all these figures.
X “ Skin Diseases of Parasitic Origin,” by Dr. Tilbury Fox. London, 1863.
§ Robin, “Hist. Nat. des Vegetaux Parasites.” Paris, 1853. Kuchenmeister,
“Animal and Vegetable Parasites of the Human Body.” London, Sydenham
Society, 1857.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
218
merate all these diseases, with which medical men are familiar,
but simply to indicate a few. There is favus or scali-head,
called also “porrigo,” which has its primary seat in the hair
follicles. Plica polonica, which is endemic in Russia, is almost
cosmopolitan. Then there is Tinea tonsurans, Alopecia,
Sycosis, &c., and in India a more deeply-seated disease, the
Madura Foot, has been traced to the ravages of a fungus
described under the name of Chionyphe Carteri .# It is probable
that the application of different names to the very often im-
perfect forms of fungi which are associated with different
diseases is not • scientifically tenable. Perhaps one or two
common moulds, such as Aspergillus or Penicillium, lie at the
base of the majority, but this is of little importance here, and
does not affect the general principle that some skin diseases are
due to fungi.
Whilst admitting that there are such diseases, it must be
understood that diseases have been attributed to fungi as a
primary cause, when the evidence does not warrant such a
conclusion. Diphtheria and thrnsh have been referred to the
devastations of fungi, whereas diphtheria certainly may and
does occur without any trace of fungi. Fevers may some-
times be accompanied by fungoid bodies in the evacuations,
but it is very difficult to determine them. The whole
question of epidemic diseases being caused by the presence
of fungi seems based on most incomplete evidence. Dr.
Salisbury was of opinion that camp measles was produced by
Puccinia grominis , the pseudospores of which germinated in
the damp straw, disseminated the resultant secondary bodies in
the air, and caused the disease. This has never been verified.
Measles, too, has been attributed freely, as well as scarlatina, t
to fungal influences, and the endeavours to implicate fungi in
being the cause of cholera have been pertinaciously persevered
in with no conviction. The presence of certain cysts, said to
be those of TJrocgstis , derived from rice, was announced by Dr.
* Berkeley, in “ Intellectual Observer,” Nov., 1862. “ Mycetoma,” H.
Vandyke Carter, 1874.
t Hallier and Zurn, “ Zeitschrift fur Parasitenkunde.” Jena, 1869-71.
214
FUNGI.
Hallier, but when it was shown that no such fungus was found
on rice, this phase of the theory collapsed. Special and compe-
tent experts were sent from this country to examine the prepara-
tions and hear the explanations of Dr. Hallier on his theory of
cholera contagion, but they were neither convinced nor satisfied.
As long ago as 1853, Dr. Lauder Lindsay examined and
reported on cholera evacuations, and in 1856 he declared — “ It
will be evident that I can see no satisfactory groundwork for
the fungus theory of cholera, which I am not a little surprised
to find still possesses powerful advocates.”* And of the exam-
inations undertaken by him he writes : — “ The mycelium and
sporules of various species of fungi, constituting various forms
of vegetable mould, were found in the scum of the vomit, as
well as of the stools, but only at some stage of decomposition.
They are found, however, under similar circumstances, in the
vomit and stools of other diseases, and, indeed, in all decom-
posing animal fluids, and they are therefore far from peculiar to
cholera.”
Some writers have held that the atmosphere is often highly
charged with fungi spores, others have denied the presence of
organic bodies to any extent in the air. The experiments con-
ducted in India by Dr. Cunningham t have been convincing
enough on this point. This report states that spores and similar
cells were of constant occurrence, and were generally present in
considerable numbers. That the majority of the cells were living
and ready to undergo development on meeting with suitable
conditions was very manifest, as in those cases in which prepa-
rations were retained under observation for any length of time,
germination rapidly took place in many of the cells ; indeed,
many spores already germinating were deposited on the slides.
In few instances did any development take place beyond the
* Dr. Lauder Lindsay, ‘ ‘ On Microscopical and Clinical Characters of Cholera
Evacuations,” reprinted from “Edinburgh Medical Journal,” February and
March, 1856 ; also “Clinical Notes on Cholera,” by W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D.,
F.L.S., in “ Association Medical Journal” for April 14, 1854.
f “ Microscopic Examinations of Air,” from the “ Ninth Annual Report of the
Sanitary Commissioner,” Calcutta, 1872.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
215
formation of mycelium or masses of toruloid cells, but in
one or two distinct sporules were developed on tbe filaments
arising from some of the larger septate spores, and in a few
others Penicillium and Aspergillus produced their characteristic
heads of fructification.
With regard to the precise nature of the spores and other
cells present in various instances little can be said, as, unless
their development were to be carefully followed out through all
its stages, it is impossible to refer them to their correct species
or even genera. The greater number of them are apparently
referable to the old orders of fungi — Sphceronemei , Melanconei ,
Torulacei , Dematiei , and Mucedines , while some probably be-
longed to the Pucciniei and Cocemacei. Amongst those belonging
to the Torulacei , the most interesting was a representative of
the rare genus Tetraploa . Distinct green algoid cells occurred
in some specimens. Then follow in the report details of obser-
vations made on the rise and fall of diseases, of which diarrhoea,
dysentery, cholera, ague, and dengue were selected and compared
with the increase or diminution of atmospheric cells. The con-
clusions arrived at are : —
“ Spores and other vegetable cells are constantly present in
atmospheric dust, and usually occur in considerable numbers ;
the majority of them are living, and capable of growth and
development. The amount of them present in the air appears
to be independent of conditions of velocity and direction of the
wind, and their number is not diminished by moisture.
“ No connection can be traced between the numbers of
bacteria, spores, &c., present in the air, and the occurrence of
diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, ague, or dengue, nor between the
presence or abundance of any special form or forms of cells, and
the prevalence of any of these diseases.
“ The amount of inorganic and amorphous particles and other
debris suspended in the atmosphere is directly dependent on
conditions of moisture and velocity of wind.”
This report is accompanied by fourteen large and well-executed
plates, each containing hundreds of figures of organic bodies col-
lected from the air between February and September. It is valu-
216
FUNGI.
able botb for its evidence as to tbe number and character of the
spores in tbe air, and also for tbe tables showing tbe relation
between five forms of disease, and their fluctuations, as com-
pared with the amount of spores floating in the atmosphere.
We are fain to believe that we have represented the influence
of fungi on man as far as evidence seems to warrant. The
presence of forms of mould in some of their incipient conditions
in different diseased parts of the human body, externally and
internally, may be admitted without the assumption that they
are in any manner the cause of the diseased tissues, except in
such cases as we have indicated. Hospital gangrene may be
alluded to in this connection, and it is possible that it may be
due to some fungus allied to the crimson spots (blood rain)
which occur on decayed vegetation and meat in an incipient
stage of decomposition. This fungus was at one time regarded
as an algal, at another as animal ; but it is much more probable
that it is a low condition of some common mould. The readiness
with which the spores of fungi floating in the atmosphere
adhere to and establish themselves on all putrid or corrupt sub-
stances is manifest in the experience of all who have had to do
with the dressing of wounds, and in this case it is a matter of
the greatest importance that, as much as possible, atmospherical
contact should be avoided.
Recently a case occurred at the Botanic Gardens at Edin-
burgh which was somewhat novel. The assistant to the bota-
nical professor was preparing for demonstration some dried
specimens of a large puff-ball, filled with the dust-like spores,
which he accidentally inhaled, and was for some time confined
to his room under medical attendance from the irritation they
caused. This would seem to prove that the spores of some
fungi are liable, when inhaled in large quantities, to derange
the system and become dangerous ; but under usual and natural
conditions such spores are not likely to be present in the atmo-
sphere in sufficient quantity to cause inconvenience. In the
autumn a very large number of basidiospores must be present?
in the atmosphere of woods, and yet there is no reason to'
believe that it is more unhealthy to breathe the atmosphere of
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
217
a wood in September or October than in January or May.
Dreadful effects are said to be produced by a species of black
rust which attacks the large South of Europe reed, Arundo donax.
This is in all probability the same species with that which
attacks Arundo gJiragmitis in this country, the spores of which
produce violent headaches and other disorders amongst the
labourers who cut the reeds for thatching. M. Michel states
that the spores from the parasite on Arundo donax, either inhaled
or injected, produce violent papular eruption on the face,
attended with great swelling, and a variety of alarming symp-
toms which it is unnecessary to particularize, in various parts of
the body.* Perhaps if Sarcina should ultimately prove to be a
fungus, it may be added to the list of those which aggravate, if
they are not the primary cause of, disease in the human subject.
II. What influences can be attributed to fungi upon animals
other than man P Clearly instinct preserves animals from many
dangers. It may be presumed that under ordinary circum-
stances there is not much fear of a cow or a sheep poisoning
itself in a pasture or a wood. But under extraordinary
circumstances it is not only possible, but very probable, that
injuries may occur. For instance, it is well known that not
only rye and wheat, but also many of the grasses, are liable to
infection from a peculiar form of fungus called “ ergot.” In
certain seasons this ergot is much more common than others,
and the belief is strong in those who ought to know something
of the subject from experience, viz., farmers and graziers, that in
such seasons it is not uncommon for cattle to slip their young
through feeding on ergotized grass. Then, again, it is fairly*
open to inquiry whether, in years when “red rust” and
“mildew” are more than usually plentiful on grasses, these
may not be to a certain extent injurious. Without attempting
to associate the cattle plague in any way with fungi on
grass, it is nevertheless a most remarkable coincidence that
the year in which the cattle disease was most prevalent in
this country was one in which there was — at least in some
districts — more “red rust” on grasses than we ever remem-
* “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” March 26, 1864.
218
FUNGI.
her to have seen before or since ; the clothes of a person
walking through the rusty field soon became orange-coloured
from the abundance of spores. Graziers on this point again
seem to be generally agreed, that they do not think “ red rust ”
has been proved to be injurious to cattle. The direct influence
of fungi on quadrupeds, birds, reptilia, &c., seems to be in-
finitesimally small.
Insects of various orders have been observed from time to
time to become the prey of fungi. # That known at Guadaloupe
under the name of La Guepe Vegetale , or vegetable wasp, has
been often cited as evidence that, in some instances at least,
the fungus attacks the insect whilst still living. Dr. Madianna
states that he has noticed the wasp still living with its in-
cumbrance attached to it, though apparently in the last stage of
existence, and seeming about to perish from the influence of its
destructive parasite. j- This fungus is called by Tulasne Torrubia
sphecocephala.X About twenty-five species of this genus of
spheeriaceous fungi have been described as parasitic on insects.
Dive species are recorded in South Carolina, one in Penn-
sylvania, found on the larvae of the May-bug, and one other
North American species on Nocturnal Lepidoptera, one in
Cayenne, one in Brazil, on the larva of a Cicada , and one on a
species of ant, two in the West Indies, one in New Guinea on
a species of Coccus , and one on a species of Vesjpa in Senegal.
In Australia two species have been recorded, and two are natives
of New Zealand. Dr. Hooker found two in the Khassya moun-
tains of India, and one American species has also been found
at Darjeeling. It has long been known that one species, which
has a medicinal repute there, is found in China, whilst three
have been recorded in Great Britain. Opinions are divided as
to whether in these instances the fungus causes or is subsequent
to the death of the insect. It is generally the belief of ento-
mologists that the death of the insect is caused by the fungus.
* Gray, G., “ Notices of Insects that are Known to Form the Bases of Fungoid
Parasites.” London, 1858.
+ Halsey, “Ann. Lyceum,” New York, 1824, p. 125.
X Tulasne, “ Selecta Fung. Carp.” vol. iii. p. 17.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
219
In the case of Isaria sphingum , which is the conidia form of a
species of Torrubia , the moth has been found standing on a leaf,
as during life, with the fungus sprouting from its body.
Other and less perfect forms of fungi also attack insects.
During the summer of 1826, Professor Sebert collected a great
many caterpillars of Arctia villica , for the purpose of watching
their growth. These insects on arriving at their full size became
quite soft, and then suddenly died. Soon after they became
hard, and, if bent, would easily break into two pieces. Their
bodies were covered with a beautiful shining white mould.
If some of the caterpillars affected with the parasitic mould
were placed on the same tree with those apparently free from
its attack, the latter soon exhibited signs that they also were
attacked in the same manner, in consequence of coming into
contact with each other.*
During the spring of 1851, some twelve or twenty specimens
were found from amongst myriads of Cicada septemdecim , which,
though living, had the posterior third of the abdominal contents
converted into a dry, powdery, ochreous-yellow compact mass
of sporuloid bodies. The outer coverings of that portion of
the insect were loose and easily detached, leaving the fungoid
matter in the form of a cone affixed by its base to the unaffected
part of the abdomen of the insect. The fungus may commence,
says Dr. Leidy, its attacks upon the larva, develop its mycelium,
and produce a sporular mass within the active pupa, when many
are probably destroyed ; but should some be only affected so far
as not to destroy the organs immediately essential to life, they
might undergo their metamorphosis into the imago, in which
case they would be affected in the manner previously described. t
The common house-fly in autumn is very usually subject to
the attacks of a mouldy fungus called Sporendonema muscas , or
Empusa musccd in former times, which is now regarded as the
terrestrial condition of one of the Saprolegniei.% The flies
become sluggish, and at last fix themselves to some object on
* “Berlin Entom. Zeitung,” 1858, p. 178.
f “Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge,” v. p. 53.
+ “ Wiegmann Archiv.’’ 1835, ii. p. 354 ; “ Ann. Nat. Hist.” 1841, p. 405.
220
FUNGI.
which they die, with their legs extended and head depressed,
the body and wings soon becoming covered with a minute white
mould, the joints of which fall on the surrounding object. Ex-
amples are readily distinguished when they settle on windows
and thus succumb to their foe. Mr. Gray says that a similar
mould has been observed on individuals of the wasp family.
A Gryllotdl'pa was found in a wood near Newark, Delaware,
U. S., upon turning over a log. The insect was seen standing
very quietly at the mouth of its oval cell, which is formed
in the earth, having a short curved tube to the surface. Upon
taking it up it exhibited no signs of movement, though perfectly
fresh and lifelike in appearance. On examining it next morning
it still presented no signs of life. Every part of the insect was
perfect, not even the antennas being broken. Upon feeling ifc,
it was very hard and resistant, and on making an incision
through the thorax it exhaled a fungoid odour. The insect had
been invaded by a parasitic fungus which everywhere filled the
animal, occupying the position of all the soft tissue, and extend-
ing even into the tarsal joints. It formed a yellowish or cream-
coloured compact mass.*
The destructive silk-worm disease, Botrytis Bassiana , is also
a fungus which attacks and destroys the living insect, concern-
ing which an immense deal has been written, but which has not
yet been eradicated. It has also been supposed that a low form
or imperfect condition of a mould has much to do with the
disease of bees known as “ foul brood.” t
Penicillium Fieberi, figured by Corda on a beetle, was doubt-
less developed entirely after death, with which event it had
probably nothing whatever to do. J Sufficient, however, has
been written to show that fungi have an influence on insect life,
and this might be extended to other animal forms, as to spiders,
on which one or two species of Isaria are developed, whilst
Dr. Leidy has recorded observations on Julus§ which may be
* Leidy, “Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.” 1851, p. 204.
f “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” November 21, 1868.
t Corda, “ Prachtflora,” pi. ix.
§ Leidy, “ Fauna and Flora within Living Animals,” in “Smithsonian Con-
tributions to Knowledge.”
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
221
perused with advantage. Fish are subject to a mouldy-looking
parasite belonging to the Saprolegniei, and a similar form
attacks the ova of toads and frogs. Gold fish in globes and
aquaria are very subject to attack from this mouldy enemy, and
although we have seen them recover under a constant change of
water, this is by no means always the case, for in a few weeks
the parasite will usually prevail.
The influence of fungi upon animals in countries other than
European is very little known, except in the case of the species
of Torrubia found on insects, and the diseases to which silk-
worms are subject. Instances have been recorded of the occur-
rence of fungoid mycelium — for in most it is nothing more — in
the tissues of animals, in the hard structure of bone and shell,
in the intestines, lungs, and other fleshy parts, and in various
organs of birds.* In some of the latter cases it has been de-
scribed as a Mucor, in most it is merely cells without sufficient
character for determination. It is by no means improbable that
fungi may be found in such situations; the only question with
regard to them is whether they are not accidental, and not the
producers of unhealthy or diseased tissues, even when found in
proximity thereto.
There is one phase of the influences of fungi on the lower
animals which must not be wholly passed over, and that is the
relation which they bear to some of the insect tribes in fur-
nishing them with food. It is especially the case with the
Coleoptera that many species seem to be entirely dependent on
fungi for existence, since they are found in no other situations.
Beetle-hunters tell us that old Polyporei, and similar fungi of
a corky or woody nature, are always sought after for certain
species which they seek in vain elsewhere, t and those who pos-
sess herbaria know how destructive certain minute members of
the animal kingdom are to their choicest specimens, against
whose depredations even poison is sometimes unavailing.
Some of the Uredines, as Trichobasis suaveolens and Coleospo-
; rium sonchi, are generally accompanied by a little orange larva
* Murie, in “Monthly Microscopical Journal” (1872), vii. p. 149.
t See genus Mycetophagus , “ Stephen’s Manual Brit. Coleopt.” p. 132.
222
FUNGI.
which preys upon the fnngns ; and in the United States Dr.
Bolles informs us that some species of ttcidium are so con-
stantly infested with this red larva that it is scarcely possible
to get a good specimen, or to keep it from its sworn enemy.
Minute Anguillidcd revel in tufts of mould, and fleshy Agarics,
as they pass into decay, become colonies of insect life. Small
Lepidoptera, belonging to the Tineina , appear to have a likin,g
for such Polyporei as P. sulfureus when it becomes dry and
hard, or P. squamosus when it has attained a similar condition.
Acari and Psocidce attack dried fungi of all kinds, and speedily
reduce them to an unrecognizable powder.
III. What are the influences exerted by fungi on other j
plants P This is a broad subject, but withal an important one,
since these influences act indirectly on man as well as on the
lower animals. On man, inasmuch as it interferes with the vege-
table portion of his food, either by checking its production or
depreciating its quality. On the lower animals, since by this
means not only is their natural food deteriorated or diminished,
but through it injurious effects are liable to be produced by the
introduction of minute fungi into the system. These remarks
apply mainly to fungi which are parasitic on living plants. On
the other hand, the influence of fungi must not be lost sight of
as the scavengers of nature when dealing with dead and decay-
ing vegetable matter. Therefore, as in other instances, we have
here also good and bad influences intermingled, so that it can-
not be said that they are wholly evil, or unmixed good.
Wherever we encounter decaying vegetable matter we meet
with fungi, living upon and at the expense of decay, appropri-
ating the changed elements of previous vegetable life to the {
support of a new generation, and hastening disintegration and
assimilation with the soil. No one can have observed the
mycelium of fungi at work on old stumps, twigs, and decayed
wood, without being struck with the rapidity and certainty with
which disintegration is being carried on. The gardener casts
on one side, in a pile as rubbish, twigs and cuttings from his
trees, which are useless to him, but which have all derived much
from the soil on which they flourished. Shortly fungi make
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
223
their appearance in species almost innumerable, sending their
subtle threads of mycelium deep into the tissues of the woody
substance, and the whole mass teems with new life. In this
metamorphosis as the fungi flourish so the twigs decay, for the
new life is supported at the expense of the old, and together
the destroyers and their victims return as useful constituents to
the soil from whence they were derived, and form fresh pabulum
for a succeeding season of green leaves and sweet flowers. In
woods and forests we can even more readily appreciate the good
offices of fungi in accelerating the decay of fallen leaves and
twigs which surround the base of the parent trees. In such
places Nature is left absolutely to her own resources, and what
man would accomplish in his carefully attended gardens and
shrubberies must here be do?ie without his aid. What we call
decay is merely change; change of form, change of relationship,
change of composition; and all these changes are effected by
various combined agencies — water, air, light, heat, these furnish-
ing new and suitable conditions for the development of a new
race of vegetables. These, by their vigorous growth, continue
what water and oxygen, stimulated by light and heat, had
begun, and as they flourish for a brief season on the fallen
glories of the past summer, make preparation for the coming
spring.
Unfortunately this destructive power of fungi over vegetable
tissues is too often exemplified in a manner which man does not
approve. The dry rot is a name which has been given to the
ravages of more than one species of fungus which flourishes at
the expense of the timber it destroys. One of these forms of
dry rot fungus is Merulius lacrymans , which is sometimes spoken
of as if it were the only one, though perhaps the most destruc-
tive in houses. Another is JPolyporus hybridus , which attacks
oak-built vessels ; * and these are not the only ones which are
capable of mischief. It appears that the dry rot fungus acts
indirectly on the wood, whose cells are saturated with its juice,
and in consequence lose their lignine and cellulose, though their
walls suffer no corrosion. The different forms of decay in wood
* Sowerbys “Fungi,” plates 289 and 387, fig. 6.
224
FUNGI.
are accompanied by fungi, which either completely destroy the
tissue, or alter its nature so much by the abstraction of the
cellulose and lignine, that it becomes loose and friable. Thus
fungi induce the rapid destruction of decaying wood. These
are the conclusions determined by Schacht, in his memoir on
the subject.*
We may allude, in passing, to another phase of destructive-
ness in the mycelium of fungi, which traverse the soil and in-
terfere most injuriously with the growth of shrubs and trees.
The reader of journals devoted to horticulture will not fail to
notice the constant appeals for advice to stop the work of fungi
in the soil, which sometimes threatens vines, at others conifers,
and at others rhododendrons. Dead leaves, and other vegetable
substances, not thoroughly and completely decayed, are almost
sure to introduce this unwelcome element.
Living plants suffer considerably from the predations of para-
sitic species, and foremost amongst these in importance are
those which attack the cereals. The corn mildew and its accom-
panying rust are cosmopolitan, as far as we know, wherever
corn is cultivated, whether in Australia or on the slopes of the
Himalayas. The same may also be said of smut, for Ustilago is
as common in Asia and America as in Europe. We have seen it
on numerous grasses as well as on barley from the Punjab, and
a species different from Ustilago maydis on the male florets of
maize from the same locality. In addition to this, we learn
that in 1870 one form made its appearance on rice. It was
described as constituting in some of the infested grains a
whitish, gummy, interlaced, ill- defined, thread-like mycelium,
growing at the expense of the tissues of the affected organs,
and at last becoming converted into a more or less coherent
mass of spores, of a dirty green colour, on the exterior of the
deformed grains. Beneath the outer coating the aggregated
spores are of a bright orange red ; the central portion has a vesi-
cular appearance, and is white in colour, f It is difficult to
* Schacht, “ Fungous Threads in the Cells of Plants,” in Pringsheim’s “ Jahr-
bueh.” Berlin, 1863.
t “ Proceedings of the Agri. Hort. Soc. of Indi ” (1871), p. 85.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
225
determine from the description what this so-called TJstilago may
be, which was said to have affected a considerable portion of the
standing rice crop in the vicinity of Diamond Harbour.
Bunt is another pest ( Tilletia caries) which occupies the
whole farinaceous portion of the grains of wheat. Since
dressing the seed wheat has been so widely adopted in this
country, this pest has been of comparatively little trouble.
Sorghum and the small millets, in countries where these are
cultivated for food, are liable to attacks from allied parasites.
Ergot attacks wheat and rice as well as rye, but not to such an
extent as to have any important influence upon the crop. Two
or three other species of fungi are sometimes locally trouble-
some, as Dilophospora graminis , and Septoria nodorum on wheat,
but not to any considerable extent. In countries where maize is
extensively grown it has not only its own species of mildew
(. Puccinia ), but also one of the most enormous and destructive
species of Usiilago.
A singular parasite on grasses was found by Cesati in Italy,
in 1850, infesting the glumes of Andropogon .* It received the
name of Gerebella Andropogonis , but it never appears to have
increased and spread to such an extent as was at first feared.
Even more destructive than any of these is the potato
disease + ( JPeronospora infestans ), which is, unfortunately, too
well known to need description. This disease was at one time
attributed to various causes, but long since its ascertained source
has been acknowledged to be a species of white mould, which
also attacks tomatoes, but less vigorously. De Bary has given
considerable attention to this disease, and his opinions are
clearly detailed in his memoir on JPeronospora , as well as in his
special pamphlet on the potato disease. £ One sees the cause of
the epidemic, he says, in the diseased state of the potato itself,
produced either accidentally by unfavourable conditions of soil
and atmosphere, or by a depravation that the plant has experi-
* “Gardener’s Chronicle” (1852), p. 643, with fig.
+ Berkeley, “ On the Potato Murrain,” in “Jour. Hort. Soc.” vol. i. (1846),
p. 9.
+ De Bary, “ Die gegenwartig herrschende Kartoffelkrankheit.”
Q
226
FUNGI.
enced in its culture. According to these opinions, the vegetation
of the parasite would be purely accidental, the disease would be
independent of it, the parasite would be able frequently even to
spare the diseased organs. Others see in the vegetation of the
JPeronospora the immediate or indirect cause of the various
symptoms of the disease ; either that the parasite invades the
stalks of the potato, and in destroying them, or, so to speak, in
poisoning them, determines a diseased state of the tubercles, or
that it introduces itself into all the organs of the plant, and
that its vegetation is the immediate cause of all the symptoms
of the disease that one meets with in any organ whatever.
His observations rigorously proved that the opinions of the
latter were those only which were well founded. All the altera-
tions seen on examining spontaneous individuals are found
when the Peronospora is sown in a nourishing plant. The most
scrupulous examination demonstrates the most perfect identity
between the cultivated and spontaneous individuals as much in
the organization of the parasite as in the alteration of the plant ■
that nourishes it. In the experiments that he had made he j
affirms that he never observed an individual or unhealthy pre- j
disposition of the nourishing plant. It appeared to him, on the i
contrary, that the more the plant was healthy, the more the j
mould prospered.
We cannot follow him through all the details of the growth j
and development of the disease, or of his experiments on this j
and allied species, which resulted in the affirmation that the
mould immediately determines the disease of the tubercles as |
well as that of the leaves, and that the vegetation of the
Teronospora alone determines the redoubtable epidemic to which
the potato is exposed.* We believe that this same observer
is still engaged in a series of observations, with the view,
if possible, of suggesting some remedy or mitigation of the
disease.
Dr. Hassall pointed out, many years since, the action of
fungous mycelium, when coming in contact with cellular tissue,
De Bary, “ Memoir on Peronospora, ” in “ Annales des Sei. Nat,
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
227
of inducing decomposition, a fact which has been fully confirmed
by Berkeley.
Unfortunately there are other species of the same genus of
moulds which are very destructive to garden produce. Perono-
spora gangliformis , B., attacks lettuces, and is but too common
and injurious. Peronospora effusa , Grrev., is found on spinach
and allied plants. Peronospora Schleideniana , D. By., is in some
years very common and destructive to young onions, and field
crops of lucerne are very liable to attack from Peronospora
trifoliorum , D. By.
The vine crops are liable to be seriously affected by a species
of mould, which is but the conidia form of a species of Frysiphe.
This mould, known under the name of Oidium Tuckeri , B.,
attacks the vines in hothouses in this country, but on the Conti-
nent the vineyards often suffer severely * from its depredations ;
unfortunately, not the only pest to which the vine is subject, for
an insect threatens to be even more destructive.
Hop gardens suffer severely, in some years, from a similar
disease ; in this instance the mature or ultimate form is per-
fected. The hop mildew is SphcerotJieca Castagnei , Lev., which
first appears as whitish mouldy blotches on the leaves, soon
becoming discoloured, and developing the black receptacles on
either surface of the leaf. These may be regarded as the
cardinal diseases of fungoid origin to which useful plants are
subject in this country.
Amongst those of less importance, but still troublesome
enough to secure the anathemas of cultivators, may be men-
tioned Puccinia Apii, Ca., often successful in spoiling beds of
I celery by attacking the leaves: Cyst opus candidus, Lev., and
Glceosporiiom concentricum , Grev., destructive to cabbages and
1 other cruciferous plants ; Trichobasis Fabce , Lev., unsparing
when once established on beans ; Erysiphe Martii , Lev., in some
seasons a great nuisance to the crop of peas.
'
* “ Reports of H. M. Secretaries of Embassy and Legation on the Effects of
the Vine Disease on Commerce, 1859;” “Reports of H. M. Secretaries of
Embassy, &c., on Manufactures and Commerce, Vine Disease in Bavaria and
'Switzerland, 1859,” pp. 54 and 62.
228
FUNGI.
Fruit trees do not wholly escape, for Bcestelia cancellata , Tul.,
attacks the leaves of the pear. iPuccinia prunorum affects the
leaves of almost all the varieties of plum. Blisters caused by
Ascomyces deformans , B., contort the leaves of peaches, as Asco-
myces bullatus, B., does those of the pear, and Ascomyces jug-
landis, B., those of the walnut. Happily we do not at present
suffer from Ascomyces pruni , Fchl., which, on the Continent,
attacks young plum-fruits, causing them to shrivel and fall.
During the past year pear-blossoms have suffered from what seems
to be a form of Helminthosporium pyrorum , and the branches are
sometimes infected with Capnodium elongatum ; but orchards in
the United States have a worse foe in the “ black knot,”* * * § which
causes gouty swellings in the branches, and is caused by the
SpTiceria morbosa of Schweinitz.
Cotton plants in India f were described by Dr. Shortt as
subject to the attacks of a kind of mildew, which from the
description appeared to be a species of JErysipJie , but on receiv-
ing specimens from India for examination, we found it to be j
one of those diseased conditions of tissue formerly classed with 1
fungi under the name of Erineum ; and a species of Torula
attacks cotton pods after they are ripe. Tea leaves in planta-
tions in Cachar have been said to suffer from some sort of blight,
but in all that we have seen insects appear to be the depredators,
although on the decaying leaves Uendersonia theicola , Cooke,
establishes itself. X The coffee plantations of Ceylon suffer from j
the depredations of Hemiliea vastatrix , as well as from insects. § \
Other useful plants have also their enemies in parasitic fungi.
Olive-trees in the south of Europe suffer from the attacks of a
species of Antennaria , as do also orange and lemon trees from a j
Capnodium , which covers the foliage as if with a coating of soot.
In fact most useful plants appear to have some enemy to contend jl
with, and it is fortunate, not only for the plant, but its cultiva- j| |
* C. H. Peck, “Oil the Black Knot,” in “ Quekett Microscopical Journal,” 1
vol. iii. p. 82.
f Cooke, “Microscopic Fungi,” p. 177.
X “ Grrevillea,” i. p. 90.
§ “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” 1873.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
229
tors, if this enemy is less exacting than is the case with the
potato, the vine, and the hop.
Forestry in Britain is an insignificant interest compared to
what it is in some parts of Enrope, in the United States, and
in our Indian possessions. In these latter places it becomes a
matter of importance to inquire what influence fungi exert on
forest trees. It may, however, be predicated that the injury
caused by fungi is far outstripped by insects, and that there are
not many fungi which become pests in such situations. Coni-
ferous trees may be infested with the species of JPeridermium ,
which are undoubtedly injurious, Teridermium elatinum , Lk.,
distorting and disfiguring the silver fir, as JPeridermium Thoms oni,
B,* does those of Abies Smithiana in the Himalayas. This
species occurred at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The leaves be-
come reduced in length one-half, curved, and sprinkled, some-
times in double rows, with the large sori of this species, which
gives the tree a strange appearance, and at length proves fatal,
from the immense diversion of nutriment requisite to support a
parasite so large and multitudinous. The dried specimens have
a sweet scent resembling violets. In Northern Europe Cceoma
pinitorquum , D. By., seems to be plentiful and destructive. All
species of juniper, both in Europe and the United States, are
liable to be attacked and distorted by species of JPodisoma f and
G-ymnosporangium. Antennaria pinoyhila , Fr., is undoubtedly
injurious, as also are other species of Antennaria , which probably
attain their more complete development in Capnodium , of which
Capnodium Citri is troublesome to orange-trees in the south of
Europe, and other species to other trees. How far birch-trees
are injured by Dothidea betulina , Fr., or Melampsora betulina ,
Lev., or poplars and aspens by Melampsora yopulina , Lev.,
and Melampsora tremulce, Lev., we cannot say. The species of
Lecythea found on willow leaves have decidedly a prejudicial
effect on the growth of the affected plant.
Floriculture has to contend with many fungoid enemies, which
sometimes commit great ravages amongst the choicest flowers.
* “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” 1852, p. 627, with fig.
f “ Podisoma Macropus,” Hook, “ Journ. Bot.” vol. iv. plate xii. fig. 6.
230
FUNGI,
Roses have to contend against the two forms of Phragmidiv/m
mucronatuni as well as Asteroma Posce. Still more disastrous
is a species of Prysiphei , which at first appears like a dense
white mould. This is named Splicer otheca pannosa. Nor is this
all, for Peronospora sparsa , when it attacks roses in conservatories,
is merciless in its exactions.* Sometimes violets will be distorted
and spoiled by Urocystis Violce. The garden anemone is freely
attacked by AEcidivm quadrifidum. Orchids are liable to spot
from fungi on the leaves, and recently the whole of the choicest
hollyhocks have been threatened with destruction by a merciless
foe in Puccinia malvacearum. This fungus was first made known
to the world as an inhabitant of South America many years ago.
It seems next to have come into notoriety in the Australian
colonies. Then two or three years ago we hear of it for the
first time on the continent of Europe, and last year for the first
time in any threatening form in our own islands. During the
present year its ravages are spreading, until all admirers of
hollyhocks begin to feel alarm lest it should entirely exterminate
the hollyhock from cultivation. It is common on wild mallows,
and cotton cultivators must be on the alert, for there is a
probability that other malvaceous plants may suffer.
A writer in the “ Gardener’s Chronicle ” has proposed a remedy
for the hollyhock disease, which he hopes will prove effectual.
He says, “ This terrible disease has now, for twelve months,
threatened the complete annihilation of the glorious family of
hollyhock, and to baffle all the antidotes that the ingenuity of
man could suggest, so rapidly does it spread and accomplish its
deadly work. Of this I have had very sad evidence, as last
year at this time I had charge of, if not the largest, one of the
largest and finest collections of hollyhocks anywhere in cultiva-
tion, which had been under my special care for eleven years,
and up to within a month of my resigning that position I had
observed nothing uncommon amongst them ; but before taking
my final leave of them I had to witness the melancholy spectacle
of bed after bed being smitten down, and amongst them many
splendid seedlings, which had cost me years of patience and
* Berkeley, in “Gardener’s Chronicle,” 1862, p. 308.
INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS.
231
anxiety to produce. And again, upon taking a share and the
management of this business, another infected collection fell to
my lot, so that I have been doing earnest battle with this disease
since its first appearance amongst us, and I must confess that,
up to a very short time back, I had come in for a great deal the
worst of the fight, although I had made use of every agent I
could imagine as being likely to aid me, and all that many
competent friends could suggest. But lately I was reminded of
Condy’s patent fluid, diluted with water, and at once procured a
bottle of the green quality, and applied it in the proportion of a
large tablespoonful to one quart of water, and upon examining
the plants dressed, twelve hours afterwards, was delighted to
find it had effectually destroyed the disease (which is easily
discernible, as when it is living and thriving it is of a light
grey colour, but when killed it becomes of a rusty black).
Further to test the power at which the plant was capable of
bearing the antidote without injury, I used it double the
strength. This dose was instant death to the pest, leaving
no trace of any injury to the foliage. As to its application,
I advocate sponging in all dressings of this description.
Syringing is a very ready means, but very wasteful. No doubt
sponging consumes more time, but taking into consideration the
more effectual manner in which the dressing can be executed
alone, it is in the end most economical, especially in regard to
this little parasite. I have found it difficult by syringing, as it
has great power of resisting and throwing off moisture, and if
but a very few are left living, it is astonishing how quickly it
redistributes itself. I feel confident, that by the application of
this remedy in time another season, I shall keep this collection
clean. I believe planting the hollyhock in large crowded beds
should be avoided, as I have observed the closer they are
growing the more virulently does the disease attack them,
whereas isolated rows and plants are but little injured.” *
The “ Giardener’s Chronicle” has also sounded a note of warning
that a species of Uredine has been very destructive to pelar-
goniums at the Cape of Good Hope. Hitherto these plants
* “Grardener’s Chronicle,1’ August 22, 1874, p. 243.
232
FUNGI.
have not suffered much in this country from parasites. Besides
these, there are many other less troublesome parasites, such as
TJredo jilicum , on ferns ; Puccinia Lychnidearum , on leaves of
sweet-william ; TJredo Orchidis , on leaves of orchids, &c.
If we would sum up the influences of fungi in a few words, it
could be done somewhat in the following form.
Eungi exert a deleterious influence —
On Man ,
When eaten inadvertently.
By the destruction of his legitimate food.
In producing or aggravating skin diseases.
On Animals ,
By deteriorating or diminishing their food supplies.
By establishing themselves as parasites on some species.
On Plants ,
By hastening the decay of timber.
By establishing themselves as parasites.
By impregnating the soil.
But it is not proved that they produce epidemic diseases in
man or animals, or that the dissemination of their multitudinous
spores in the atmosphere has any appreciable influence on the
health of the human race. Hence their association with cholera,
diarrhoea, measles, scarlatina, and the manifold ills that flesh is
heir to, as producing or aggravating causes, must, in the present
state of our knowledge and experience, be deemed apocryphal.
233
XI.
HABITATS.
It commonly happens that one of the first inquiries which the
student seeks to have answered, after an interest is excited in
fungi, is — Where, and under what circumstances, are they to be
found P The inexperienced, indeed, require some guide, or much
labour will be expended and patience lost in seeking microscopic
forms in just such places as they are least likely to inhabit. Xor
is it wholly unprofitable or uninteresting for others, who do not
claim to be students, to summarize the habitats of these organ-
isms, and learn how much the circumstances of their immediate
surrounding elements influence production. For reasons which
will at once be recognized by the mycologist, the most satis-
factory method of study will be somewhat that of the natural
groups into which fungi are divided.
Agaricihi. — There is such a close affinity between all the
genera of this group that it will be a manifest advantage to take
together all those fleshy pileate fungi, the fruit of which is
borne on folded plates or gills. It must be premised of this
group that, for the majority, shade, a moderate amount of mois-
ture, and steady warmth, but not too great heat, are required.
A stroll through a wood in autumn will afford good evidence of
the predilection of Agaricini , as well as some smaller groups, for
such spots. A larger proportion will be found in woods, where
shade is afforded, than on open heaths or pastures. These
wood-loving forms will consist, again, of those which appear
on the soil, and those which are found on rotten stumps and
decaying trees. Many of those which grow on trees have a
234
FUNGI.
lateral stem, or scarcely any stem at all. It may be remarked,
that some species which spring from the soil delight most in
the shelter of particular trees. The Agarics of a beech wood will
materially differ largely from those in an oak wood, and both will
differ from those which spring up beneath coniferous trees.
It may be accepted as true of the largest proportion of terres-
trial species, that if they do not spring directly from rotten
leaves, and vegetable debris in the last stage of decay, the
soil will be rich in vegetable humus. A few only occur on
sandy spots. The genus Marasmius is much addicted to dead
leaves ; Russula , to open places in woods, springing immediately
from the soil. Lactarius prefers trees, and when found in
exposed situations, occurs mostly under the shadow of trees.*
Cantharellus , again, is a woodland genus, many of the species
loving to grow amongst grass or moss, and some as parasites on
the latter. Coprinus is not a genus much addicted to woods, but
is rather peculiar in its attachment to man — if such expression,
or one even implying domesticity, might be employed — farm-
yards, gardens, dunghills, the base of old gateposts and railings,
in cellars, on plaster walls, and even on old damp carpets.
PCygropborus loves “ the open,” whether pastures, lawns, heaths,
commons, or up the slopes of mountains, nearly to the top of the
highest found in Great Britain. Cortinarius seems to have a
preference for woods, whilst j Bolbitius affects dung, or a rich
soil. Lentinus , Panus , Lenzites , and ScMzophyllum all grow on
wood. Coming to the subgenera of Agaricus , we find Pleurotus ,
Crepidotus , Pluteus , Collybia , Pkoliota, Flammula, Hypholoma ,
and some species of Psathyra growing on wood, old stumps, or
charcoal ; Amanita , Tricholoma , and Hebeloma most attached to
woods ; Clitocybe and Mycena chiefly amongst leaves ; Nolanea
amongst grass ; Ompbalia and Galera chiefly in swampy places ;
Lepiota , Leptonia , Psalliota, Stropharia, Psilocybe, and Psathyrella
mostly in open places and pastures ; Deconica and Panaolus
mostly on dung ; Fntoloma and Clitopilus chiefly terrestrial, and
the rest variable.
* These predilections must be accepted as general, to which there will be
exceptions.
HABITATS.
235
Of special habitats, we may allude to JVyctalis, of which
the species are parasitic on dead fungi belonging to the genus
Russula. One or two species of Agaricus , such as Agaricus
tuberosus and Agaricus racemosus, P., grow on decaying
Agarics, whilst Agaricus loveianus flourishes on Agaricus
nebularis even before it is thoroughly decayed. A few species
grow on dead fir cones, others on old ferns, &c. Agaricus
cepoestipes , Sow., probably of exotic origin, grows on old tan in
hothouses. Agaricus caulicinalis , Bull, flourishes on old thatch,
as well as twigs, &c. Agaricus juncicola , Fr., affects dead
rushes in boggy places, whilst Agaricus affricatus , Fr., and
Agaricus sphagnicola, B., are attached to bog moss in similar
localities. Some few species are almost confined to the stems of
herbaceous plants. Agaricus petasatus, Fr., Agaricus cucu/mis , P.,
and JPaocillus panuoides, F., have a preference for sawdust.
Agaricus carpophilus , Fr., and Agaricus balaninus , P., have a
predilection for beech mast. Agaricus urticoccola , B. and Br.,
seems to confine itself to nettle roots. Coprinus radians , Fr.,
makes its appearance on plaster walls, Coprinus domesticus , Fr.,
on damp carpets. The only epizoic species, according to M.
Fries, is Agaricus cerussatus v. nauseosus , which has been met
with in Russia on the carcase of a wolf ; this, however, might
have been accidental. Persoon described Agaricus Neapoliianus ,
which was found growing on coffee-grounds at Naples ; and
more recently Yiviani has described another species, Agaricus
Coffece , with rose-coloured spores, found on old fermenting coffee-
grounds at Genoa.* Tratinnick figures a species named Aga-
ricus Marhii , which was found in wine casks in Austria. A
Coprinus has, both in this country and on the Continent, been
found, after a very short time, on the dressing of wounds, where
there has been no neglect. A curious case of this kind, which
at the time excited great interest, occurred some fifty years since
at St. George’s Hospital. Some species appear to confine them-
selves to particular trees, some to come up by preference on soil
in garden pots. Certain species have a solitary, others a gre-
garious habit, and, of the latter, Agaricus grammopodius , Bull)
* Yiviani, “I Funghi d’ltalia.”
236
FUNGI.
Agaricus gambosus , Fr., Marasmius oreades , Fr., and some others
grow in rings. Hence it will be seen that, within certain limits,
there is considerable variation in the habitats of the Agaricini.
Boleti do not differ much from Agaricini in their localization.
They seem to prefer woods or borders of woods to pastures,
seldom being found in the latter. One species, B. parasiticus.
Bull, grows on old specimens of Scleroderma , otherwise they are
for the most part terrestrial.
Bolypori also have no wide range of habitat, except in choice
of trees on which to grow, for the majority of them are corti-
colous. The section Mesopus , which has a distinct central stem,
has some species which prefer the ground. Bolyporus tuberaster ,
P., in Italy springs from the Bietra funghaia,* and is cultivated
for food as well as Bolyporus avellanus , which is reared from
charred blocks of cob-nut trees.
In other genera of the Bolyporei similar habitats prevail.
Merulius lacrymans, Fr., one form of dry rot, occurs in cellars,
and too often on worked timber ; whilst Merulius himantoides ,
Fr., is much more delicate, sometimes running over plants in
conservatories.
Hydnei. — There is nothing calling for special note on the
habitats of these fungi. The stipitate species of ILydnum are
some of them found in woods, others on heaths, one on fir-cones,
while the rest have similar habitats to the species of Bolyporus.
Auricularini. — The genera BEymenochoete, Stereum, and Cor-
ticium , with some species of Thelephora , run over corticated or
decorticated wood ; other species of Thelephora grow on the
ground. The Pezizoid forms of Gyphella and Solenia , like species
of Beziza , sometimes occur on bark, and of the former genus
some on grasses and others on moss.
Clavariei. — The interesting, often brightly- coloured, tufts of
Clavaria are usually found amongst grass, growing directly from
the ground. Only in rare instances do they occur on dead leaves
or herbaceous stems. Calocera probably should be classed with
the Tremellini , to which its structure seems more closely allied.
The species are developed on vood. The species of Typhula
* Badham’s “ Esculent Funguses,” Ed. i. pp. 42, 116.
HABITATS.
237
and Pistillaria are small, growing chiefly on dead herbaceous
plants. One or two are developed from a kind of Sclerotium,
which is in fact a compact perennial mycelium.
Tremellini. — These curious gelatinous fungi are, with rare
exceptions, developed on branches or naked wood; Tremella
versicolor , B. and Br., one of the exceptions, being parasitic on a
species of Gorticium , and Tremella epigcea , B. and Br., spreading
over the naked soil. This completes onr rapid survey of the
habitats of the Hymenomycetes. Very few of them are really
destructive to vegetation, for the Agarics and Polypori found on
growing trees are seldom to be seen on vigorous, but rather on
dead branches or partly-decayed trunks.
The Gasteromycetes are far less numerous in species, and also
in individuals, but their habitats are probably more variable.
The Hypogcei , or subterranean species, are found either near the
surface or buried in the soil, usually in the neighbourhood of trees.
Phalloidei. — In most cases the species prefer woody places.
They are mostly terrestrial, and have the faculty of making their
presence known, even when not seen, by the fetid odour which
many of them exhale. Some of them occur in sandy spots.
Podaxinei. — These resemble in their localities the Tricho-
gastres. Species of Podaxon affect the nests of Termites in
tropical countries.* Others are found growing amongst grass.
Trichogastres. — These are chiefly terrestrial. The rare but
curious Patarrea phalloides , P., has been found on sand-hills,
and in hollow trees. Tulostoma mammosum , Fr., occurs on old
stone walls, growing amongst moss. Geaster striatus , D. C.,
was at one time usually found on the sand of the Denes at Great
Yarmouth. Although Ly coper don giganteum , Batsch., occurs
most frequently in pastures, or on hedge banks in fields, we
have known it to occur annually for some consecutive years
in a garden near London. The species of Scleroderma seem to
prefer a sandy soil. Agloeocystis is rather an anomalous genus,
occurring on the fruit heads of Cyperus , in India. Proomeia
occurs at the Cape on rotten wood.
* An excellent white Agaric occurs on ant nests in the Neilgherries, and a
curious species is found in a similar position in Ceylon.
238
FUNGI.
Mtxogastres. — Rotten wood is one of the most favoured of
matrices on which these fungi develop themselves ; some of
them, however, are terrestrial. AEthalium will grow on spent
tan and other substances. Species of Diderma flourish on
mosses, jungermanniae, grass, dead leaves, ferns, &c. Angiori-
dium sinuosum , Grev., will run over growing plants of different
kinds, and Spumaria, in like manner, encrusts living grasses.
Dadhamia not only flourishes on dead wood, but one species is
found on the fading leaves of coltsfoot which are still green.
Craterium runs over almost any substance which lies in its way.
Licea perreptans was found in a cucumber frame heated with
spent hops. One or two Myxogastres have been found on lead,
or even on iron which had been recently heated. Sowerby
found one on cinders, in one of the galleries of St. Paul’s
Cathedral.
Hidulariacei grow on the ground, or on sticks, twigs, chips,
and other vegetable substances, such as sawdust, dung, and
rotten wood.
The Coniomycetes consist of two sections, which are based on
their habitats. In one section the species are developed on dead
or dying plants, in the other they are parasitic on living plants.
The former includes the Splicer onemei, which are variable in their
proclivities, although mostly preferring dead herbaceous plants
and the twigs of trees. The exceptions are in favour of Sphcer-
onema , some of which are developed upon decaying fungi. In the
large genera, Septoria , Ascochyta , Dhyllosticta , Asteroma, &c.,
the favourite habitat is fading and dying leaves of plants of all
kinds. In the majority of cases these fungi are not autonomous,
but are merely the stylosporous conditions of Sphceria. They
are mostly minute, and the stylospores are of the simplest kind.
The Melanconiei have a preference for the twigs of trees, burst-
ing through the bark, and expelling the spores in a gelati-
nous mass. A few of them are foliicolous, but the exceptions
are comparatively rare, and are represented chiefly in Gleeo-
sporium , species of which are found also on apples, peaches,
nectarines, and other fruits. The Torulacei are superficial,
having much of the external appearance of the black moulds,
HABITATS.
239
and like them are found on decaying vegetable substances, old
stems of herbaceous plants, dead twi'gs, wood, stumps of trees, &c.
The exceptions are in favour of such species as Torula sporendo-
nema , which is the red mould of cheese, and also occurs on rats’
dung, old glue, &c., and Sporendonema Muscce , which is only
the conidia of a species of Achlyci. One species of Pactridium
is parasitic on the hymenium of Peziza , and Pchinobotryum
atrv/m , on the flocci of black moulds.
In the other section of Coniomycetes the species are parasitic
upon, and destructive to, living plants, very seldom being found
on really dead substances, and even in such rare cases un-
doubtedly developed during the life of the tissues. Mostly the
ultimate stage of these parasites is exhibited in the ruptured cu-
ticle, and the dispersion of the dust-like spores; but in Tilletia
caries , Thecaphora Jiyalina , and Puccinia incarcerate they remain
enclosed within the fruit of the foster-plant. The different
genera exhibit in some instances a liking for plants of certain
orders on which to develop themselves. Peridermium attacks
the Coniferce; Gymnosporangium and Podisoma the different
species of Juniper; Melampsora chiefly the leaves of deciduous
trees ; Poestelia attaches itself to pomaceous trees, whilst Gra-
pbiola affects the Palmacece , and Pndophyllum the succulent
leaves of houseleek. In AEcidium a few orders seem to be more
liable to attack than others, as the Compositce, Panunculacece ,
Leguminosce , Labiatce , &c., whilst others, as the Graminacece ,
Pricacece , Malvacece , Gruciferce , are exempt. There are, never-
theless, very few natural orders of phanerogamous plants in
which some one or more species, belonging to this section of the
Coniomycetes , may not be found ; and the same foster-plant will
occasionally nurture several forms. Recent investigations tend
to confirm the distinct specific characters of the species found
on different plants, and to prove that the parasite of one host
will not vegetate upon another, however closely allied. This
admission must not, however, be accepted as universally appli-
cable, and therefore it should not be assumed, because a
certain parasite is found developed on a special host, that it is
distinct, unless distinctive characters, apart from habitat, can be
240
FUNGI.
detected. AEcidium compositarum and JEcidium ranunculacearu/m ,
for instance, are found on various composite and ranunculaceous
plants, and as yet no sufficient evidence has been adduced to
prove that the different forms are other than varieties of one of
the two species. On the other hand, it is not improbable that
two species of JEcidium are developed on the common berberry,
as De Bary has indicated that two species of mildew, Puccinia
graminis , and Puccinia straminis , are found on wheat.
Hyphomycetes. — The moulds are much more universal in their
habitats, especially the Mucedines. The Isariacei have a pre-
dilection for animal substances, though not exclusively. Some
species occur on dead insects, others on decaying fungi, and the
rest on sticks, stems, and rotten wood. The Stilbacei have also
similar habitats, except that the species of Illosporium seem to be
confined to parasitism on lichens. The black moulds, Dematiei ,
are widely diffused, appearing on herbaceous stems, twigs, bark,
and wood in most cases, but also on old linen, paper, millboard,
dung, rotting fruit, &c., whilst forms of Cladosporium and Macro -
sporium are met with on almost every kind of vegetable substance
in which the process of decay has commenced.
Mucedines , in some instances, have not been known to appear
on more than one kind of matrix, but in the far greater number
of cases they flourish on different substances. Aspergillus
glaueus and Penicillium crustaceum are examples of these uni-
versal Mucedines. It would be far more difficult to mention
substances on which these moulds are never developed than to
indicate where they have been found. With the species of
Peronospora it is different, for these are truly parasitic on living
plants, and, as far as already known, the species are confined to
certain special plants, and cannot be made to vegetate on any
other. The species which causes the potato murrain, although
liable to attack the tomato, and other species of Solanacece , does
not extend its ravages beyond that natural order, whilst Pero-
nospora parasitica confines itself to cruciferous plants. One
species is restricted to the JJmbelliferce , another, or perhaps two,
to the Leguminosce , another to Pubiacece , two or three to Panun-
culacece , and two or three to Caryopliyllacece. All the experi-
HABITATS.
241
ments made by De Bary seem to prove that the species of
Peronospora will only flourish on certain favoured plants, to the
exclusion of all others. The non-parasitic moulds are scarcely
exclusive. In Oidium some species are parasitic, but probably
all the parasitic forms are states of Erysipbe , the non-parasitic
alone being autonomous ; of these one occurs on Porrigo lupi-
nosa , others on putrefying oranges, pears, apples, plums, &c.,
and one on honeycomb. Acrospeira grows in the interior of
sweet chestnuts, and we have seen a species growing within the
hard testa of the seeds of Guilandina Bonduc , from India, to
which there was no external opening visible, and which was
broken with considerable difficulty. Several Mucedines are
developed on the dung of various animals, and seldom on any-
thing else.
The Physomycetes consist of two orders, Antennariei and Mu-
corini , which differ from each other almost as much in habitat
as in external appearance. The former, if represented by Anten-
naria , runs over the green and fading leaves of plants, forming
a dense black stratum, like a congested layer of soot ; or in Zas-
midium , the common cellar fungus, runs over the walls, bottles,
corks, and other substances, like a thick sooty felt. In the Mu-
corini , as in the Mucedines, there is usually less restriction to
any special substance. Mucor mucedo occurs on bread, paste,
preserves, and various substances ; other species of Mucor seem
to have a preference for dung, and some for decaying fungi, but
rotting fruits are nearly sure to support one or other of the
species. The two known species of the curious genus Pilobolus,
as well as BLydrophora, are confined to dung. Sporodinia, Syzy-
gites , &c., flourish on rotten Agarics, where they pass through
their somewhat complicated existence.
The Ascomycetes contain an immense number of species, and in
general terms we might say that they are found everywhere. The
Tuber acei are subterraneous, with a preference for calcareous dis-
tricts. The Perisporiacei are partly parasitical and partly not.
The Erysiphei include those of the former which flourish at the
expense of the green parts of roses, hops, maples, poplars, peas,
and many other plants, both in Europe and in North America,
R
242
FUNGI.
whilst in warmer latitudes the genus Meliola appears to take
their place.
The JElveUacei are fleshy fungi, of which the larger forms are
terrestrial ; Morchella , G-yromitra , and Helvella mostly growing
in woods, Mitrula , Spathularia , and Leotia in swampy places,
and Geoglossum amongst grass. The very large genus Peziza
is divided into groups, of which Aleurice are mostly terrestrial.
This group includes nearly all the large-sized species, although
a few belong to the next. Lachnece are partly terrestrial and
partly epiphytal, the most minute species being found on twigs
and leaves of dead plants. In Phialea the species are nearly
entirely epiphytal, as is also the case in Helotium and allied
genera. Some species of Peziza are developed from the curious
masses of compact mycelium called Sclerotia. A few are rather
eccentric in their habitats. P. viridaria , P. domestica , and P.
hoemastigma , grow on damp walls ; P. gronulata and some others
on dung. Peziza Bullii was found growing on a cistern. P. the-
leboloides appears in profusion on spent hops. P. episphceria ,
P. clovariarum , P. vulgaris , Helotium pruinosum, and others are
parasitic on old fungi. One or two species of Helotiwn grow on
submerged sticks, so as to be almost aquatic, a circumstance of
rare occurrence in fungi. Other Discomycetes are similar in
their habitats to the Plvellacei. The group to which the old
genus Ascobolus belongs is in a great measure confined to the
dung of various animals, although there are two or three lignh
colons species ; and Ascophanus saccharinus was first found on
old leather, Ascophanus testaceus on old sacking, &c. Ascomyces
is, perhaps, the lowest form which ascomycetous fungi assume,
and the species are parasitic on growing plants, distorting the
leaves and fruit, constituting themselves pests to the cultivators
of peach, pear, and plum trees.
The S 'phceriacei include a very large number of species which
grow on rotten wood, bark, sticks, and twigs ; another group is
developed on dead herbaceous stems ; yet another is confined to
dead or dying leaves. One genus, Torrubia , grows chiefly on
insects ; Hypomyces is parasitic on dead fungi ; Claviceps is deve-
loped from ergot, Poronia on dung, Polystigma on living leaves,
HABITATS.
243
as well as some species of Stigmatea and Dothidea. Of tlie
genus SpJiceria , a considerable number are found on dung, now
included by some authors under & 'ordaria and Sporormia, genera
founded, as we think, on insufficient characters.
A limited number of species are parasitic on
lichens, and one species only is known to be
aquatic.
We have thus rapidly, briefly, and casually
indicated the habitats to which the majority
of the larger groups of fungi are attached,
regarding them from a systematic point of
view. There is, however, another aspect from
which we might approach the subject, taking
the host or matrix, or in fact the habitat, as
the basis, and endeavouring to ascertain what
species of fungi are to be found in such posi-
tions. This has partly been done by M. West-
endorp ; * but every year adds considerably to wAiitaris^oj^u^oit
the number of species, and what might have
been moderately accurate twelve years since can scarcely be so
now. To carry this out fully a special work would be neces-
sary, so that we shall be content to indicate or suggest, by means
of a few illustrations, the forms of fungi, often widely distinct
in structure and character, to be found in the same locality.
The stems of herbaceous plants are favourite habitats for
minute fungi. The old stems of the common nettle, for ex-
ample, perform the office of host to about thirty species. t Of
these about nine are Pezizce, and there are as many sphseriaceous
fungi, whilst three species of Dendryphium , besides other moulds,
select this plant. Some of these have not hitherto been detected
growing on any other stems, such as Sphceria urticce and Lophios-
toma sex-nucleatum , to which we might add Peziza fusarioides and
Dendryphium griseum. These do not, however, include the whole
of the fungi found on the nettle, since others are parasitic upon
* Westendorp, “ Les Cryptogams apres leurs stations naturelles.”
+ Cooke, “On Nettle Stems and their Micro-Fungi,” in “Journ. Quekett
Micro. Club,” iii. p. 69.
244
FUNGI.
its living green parts. Of these may be named JEcidium urticce
and Peronospora urticce , as well as two species described by
Desmazieres as Fusisporium urticce and Septoria urticce. Hence
it will be seen how large a number of fungi may attach them-
selves to one herbaceous plant, sometimes whilst living, but most
extensively when dead. This is by no means a solitary instance,
but a type of what takes place in many others. If, on the other
hand, we select such a tree as the common lime, we shall find
that the leaves, twigs, branches, and wood bear, according to
M. Westendorp,* no less than seventy-four species of fungi, and
of these eleven occur on the leaves. The spruce fir, according to
the same authority, nourishes one hundred and fourteen species,
and the oak not less than two hundred.
It is curious to note how fungi are parasitic upon each other
in some instances, as in that of Hypomyces , characteristic of the
genus, in which sphaeriaceous fungi make hosts of dead Lactarii,
&c. We have already alluded to Nyctalis , growing on decayed
Bussulce , to Boletus parasiticus , flourishing on old Scleroderma ,
and to Agaricus Loveianus , on the pileus of Agaricus nebular is.
To these we may add Torrubia ophioglossoides and T. capitata ,
which flourish on decaying Flaphomyces , Stilbuzm tomentosum on
old Trichia , Peziza Clavariarum on dead Clavaria , and many
others, the mere enumeration of which would scarcely prove
interesting. A very curious little parasite was found by Messrs.
Berkeley and Broome, and named by them Hypocrea inclusa ,
which makes itself a home in the interior of truffles. Mucors
and moulds flourish on dead and decaying Agarics, and other
fleshy forms, in great luxuriance and profusion. Mucor ramosus
is common on Boletus luridus , and Syzygites megalocarpus on
Agarics, as well as Acrostalagmus cinnabarinus. A very curious
little parasite, EcJiinobotryum atrum , occurs like minute nodules
on the flocci of black moulds. Bactridium Helvellce usurps the
fructifying disc of species of Peziza. A small Spliinctrina is
found both in Britain and the United States on old Polypori.
In Splicer ia nigerrima , Nectria epispliceria , and two or three
Westendorp, “ Les Cryptogams apres leurs stations naturelles,” 1865.
HABITATS.
245
others, we have examples of one sphseriaceous fungus growing
upon another.
Mr. Phillips has recently indicated the species of fungi found
by him on charcoal beds in Shropshire,* but, useful as it is, that
only refers to one locality. A complete list of all the fungi
which have been found growing on charcoal beds, burnt soil,
or charred wood, would be rather extensive. The fungi found
in hothouses and stoves are also numerous, and often of con-
siderable interest from the fact that they have many of them
never been found elsewhere. Those found in Britain, f for in-
stance, are excluded from the British Flora as doubtful, because,
growing upon or with exotic plants, they are deemed to be of
exotic origin, yet in very few cases are they known to be inha-
bitants of any foreign country. Some species found in such
localities are not confined to them, as Agaricus coepestipes ,
Agaricus cristatus, Mthalium vaporarium , &c. It is somewhat
singular that certain species have a predilection for growing in
proximity with other plants with which they do not appear to
have any more intimate relation. Truffles, for instance, in asso-
ciation with oaks, JPeziza lanuginosa under cedar-trees, Hyd-
nangium carneum about the roots of Eucalypti , and numerous
species of Agaricini , which are only found under trees of a par-
ticular kind. As might be anticipated, there is no more fertile
habitat for fungi than the dung of animals, and yet the kinds
found in such locations belong to but a few groups. Amongst
the Discomycetes , a limited number of the genus JPeziza are
fimicolous, but the allied genus Ascobolus , and its own imme-
diate allies, include amongst its species a large majority that are
found on dung. If we take the number of species at sixty-four,
there are only seven or eight which do not occur on dung, whilst
fifty-six are fimicolous. The species of Sphceria which are found
on the same substances are also closely allied, and some Conti-
nental authors have grouped them under the two proposed
* “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” 1874.
f W. Gr. Smith, in “ Journ. Botany,” March, 1873; Berkeley, in “ Grrevillea,”
vol. i. p. 88.
246
FUNGI.
genera Sporormia and Sordaria , whilst Fuckel * * * § proposes a dis-
tinct group of Sphceriacei , under the name of Fimicoli , in which
he includes as genera Coprolepa, Hypocopra , Delitschia, Sporor-
mia, Fleophragmia, Malinvernia , Sordaria , and Cercophora. The
two species of Filobolus, and some of Mucor , are also found on
dung, Isaria felina on that of cats, Stilbum fimetarium and a
few other moulds, and amongst Agarics some species of Coprinus.
Animal substances are not, as a rule, prolific in the production
of fungi. Ascobolus saccharinus and one or two others have
been found upon old leather. Onygena of two or three species
occurs on old horn, hoofs, &c. Cheese, milk, &c., afford a few
forms, but the largest number infest dead insects, either under
the mouldy form of Isaria or the more perfect condition of Tor-
rubia , and occasionally under other forms.
Robin f has recorded that three species of Frachinus , of the
order Coleoptera, have been found infected, whilst living, with a
minute yellow fungus which he calls Laboulbenia Bougeti , and
the same species has been noted on other beetles. Torrubia
Melolonthcc J has been described by Tulasne as occurring on the
maybug or cockchafer, which is allied to, if not identical with,
Cordyceps Bavenelii , B. and C., and also that described and figured
by M. Fougeroux de Bondaroy.§ Torrubia curculionum , Tul.,
occurs on several species of beetles, and seems to be by no means
uncommon in Brazil and Central America. Torrubia ccespitosa ,
Tul., which may be the same as Cordyceps Sinclairi, B.,|| is found
on the larvae of Ortlioptera in New Zealand, Torrubia Miquelii
on the larvae of Cicada in Brazil, and Torrubia sobolifera on the
pupae of Cicada in the West Indies. A romantic account is
given of this in an extract cited by Dr. Watson in his communi-
cation to the Royal Society. % “ The vegetable fly is found in
the island Dominica, and (excepting that it has no wings) re-
* Fuckel, “ Symbolse Mycologicse,” p. 240.
+ Robin, “ Veg4t. Parasites,” p. 622, t. viii. f. 1, 2.
J Tulasne, “ Selecta Fung. Carp.” iii. p. 12.
§ “ Hist, de l’Acad. des Sciences,” 1769. Paris, 1772.
|| Berkeley, “Crypt. Bot.” p. 73; Hooker, “ New Zealand Flora, ’ ii. 338.
Tf “ Philosophical Transactions,” liii. (1763), p. 271.
HABITATS.
247
sembles the drone, both in size and colour, more than any other
English insect. In the month of May it buries itself in the
earth and begins to vegetate. By the latter end of July, the
tree is arrived at its full growth, and resembles a coral branch,
and is about three inches high, and bears several little pods,
which, dropping off, become worms, and from thence flies, like
the English caterpillar.” Torrubia Taylori , which grows from
the caterpillar of a large moth in Australia, is one of the finest
examples of the genus. Torrubia 'Bobertsii , from New Zealand,
has long been known as attacking the larva of Hepialus
virescens. There are several other species on larvae of different
insects, on spiders, ants, wasps, &c., and one or two on mature
Lepidoptera, but the latter seem to be rare.
That fungi should make their appearance and flourish in
localities and conditions generally considered inimical to vegetable
life is no less strange than true. We have already alluded to
the occurrence of some species on spent tan, and some others
have been found in locations as strange. We have seen a yellow
mould resembling Sporotrichum in the heart of a ball of opium,
also a white mould appears on the same substance, and more
than one species is troublesome in the opium factories of India.
A mould made its appearance some years since in a copper
solution employed for electrotyping in the Survey Department
of the United States,* decomposing the salt, and precipitating
the copper. Other organisms have appeared from time to time
in various inorganic solutions, some of which were considered
destructive to vegetable life, and it is not improbable that some
of these organisms were low conditions of mould. It may well
occasion some surprise that fungi should be found growing
within cavities wholly excluded from the external air, as in the
hollow of filberts, and the harder shelled nuts of Gruilandina , in
the cavities of the fruit of tomato, or in the interior of an egg.
It is scarcely less extraordinary that Hypocrea inclusa should
flourish in the interior of a kind of truffle.
From the above it will be concluded that the habitats of fungi
are exceedingly variable, that they may be regarded as almost
* Berkeley’s “ Outlines,” p. 30.
248
FUNGI.
universal wherever decaying vegetable matter is found, and
that under some conditions animal substances, especially of
vegetable feeders, such as insects, furnish a pabulum for their
development.
A very curious and interesting inquiry presents itself to our
minds, which is intimately related to this subject of the habitats
of fungi. It shapes itself into a sort of “puzzle for the curious,”
but at the same time one not unprofitable to think about. How
is the occurrence of new and before unknown forms to be
accounted for in a case like the following ? *
It was our fortune — good fortune as far as this investigation
was concerned — to have a portion of wall in our dwelling per-
sistently damp for some months. It was close to a cistern
which had become leaky. The wall was papered with “ marbled ”
paper, and varnished. At first there was for some time nothing
worthy of observation, except a damp wall — decidedly damp,
discoloured, but not by any means mouldy. At length, and
rather suddenly, patches of mould, sometimes two or three
inches in diameter, made their appearance. These were at first
of a snowy whiteness, cottony and dense, just like large tufts of
cotton wool, of considerable expansion, but of miniature eleva-
tion. They projected from the paper scarcely a quarter of an
inch. In the course of a few weeks the colour of the tufts
became less pure, tinged with an ochraceous hue, and resembling
wool rather than cotton, less beautiful to the naked eye, or under
a lens, and more entangled. Soon after this darker patches
made their appearance, smaller, dark olive, and mixed with, or
close to, the woolly tufts ; and ultimately similar spots of a
dendritic character either succeeded the olive patches, or were
independently formed. Finally, little black balls, like small
pin heads, or grains of gunpowder, were found scattered about
the damp spots. All this mouldy forest was more than six
months under constant observation, and during that period was
held sacred from the disturbing influences of the housemaid’s
broom and duster.
Curiosity prompted us from the first to submit the mouldy
* “Popular Science Review,” vol. x. (1871), p. 25.
HABITATS.
249
denizens of the wall to the microscope, and this curiosity was
increased week by week, on finding that none of the forms
found vegetating on nearly two square yards of damp wall
could be recognized as agreeing specifically with any described
moulds with which we were acquainted. Here was a problem
to be solved under the most favourable conditions, a forest of
mould indoors, within a few yards of the fireside, growing quite
naturally, and all strangers. Whence could these new forms
proceed ?
The cottony tufts of white mould, which were the first to
appear, had an abundant mycelium, but the erect threads which
sprang from this were for a long time sterile, and closely inter-
laced. At length fertile threads were developed in tufts, mixed
with the sterile threads. These fruit-bearers were shorter and
stouter, more sparingly branched, but beset throughout nearly
their whole length with short patent, alternate branchlets.
These latter were broadest towards the apex, so as to be almost
clavate, and the extremity was beset with two or three short
spicules. Each spicule was normally surmounted by an obovate
spore. The presence of fertile threads imparted the ochraceous
tint above alluded to. This tint was slight, and perhaps would
not have been noticed, but from the close proximity of the snow-
white tufts of barren threads. The fertile flocci were decumbent,
probably from the weight of the spores, and the tufts were a
little elevated above the surface of the matrix. This mould
belonged clearly to the Mucedines , but it hardly accorded well
with any known genus, although most intimately related
to RJiinotrichim , in which it was placed as Rhinotrichum
lanosum .*
The white mould having become established for a week or
two, small blackish spots made their appearance on the paper,
sometimes amongst thin patches of the mould, and sometimes
outside them. These spots, at first cloudy and indefinite, varied
in size, but were usually less than a quarter of an inch in
diameter. The varnish of the paper was afterwards pushed off
* Specimens of this mould were distributed in Cooke’s “Fungi Britannici
Exsiccati,” No. 356, under the name of Clinotrichum lanosum.
250
FUNGI.
in little translucent flakes or scales, an erect olivaceous mould
appeared, and the patches extended to nearly an inch in
diameter, maintaining an almost universal circular form. This
new mould sometimes possessed a dirty reddish tint, but was
commonly dark olive. There could be no mistake about the
genus to which this mould belonged ; it had all the essential
characters of Penicillimn. Erect jointed threads, branched in
the upper portion in a fasciculate manner, and bearing long
beaded threads of spores, which formed a tassel-like head, at
the apex of each fertile thread. Although at first reminded of
Penicillium olivacemi , of Corda, by the colour of this species, it
was found to differ in the spores being oblong instead of globose,
and the ramifications of the flocci were different. Unable again
to find a described species of Penicillium with which this new
mould would agree, it was described under the name of Peni-
cillium chartarum.*
Almost simultaneously, or but shortly after the perfection
of the spores of Penicillium , other and very similar patches
appeared, distinguished by the naked eye more particularly by
their dendritic form. This peculiarity seemed to result from the
dwarfed habit of the third fungus, since the varnish, though
cracked and raised, was not cast off, but remained in small
angular fragments, giving to the spots their dendritic appearance,
the dark spores of the fungus protruding through the fissures.
This same mould was also found in many cases growing in the
same spots amongst Penicillium chartarum , but whether from
the same mycelium could not be determined.
The distinguishing features of this fungus consist in an
extensive mycelium of delicate threads, from which arise
numerous erect branches, bearing at the apex dark brown
opaque spores. Sometimes the branches were again shortly
branched, but in the majority of instances were single. The
septate spores had from two to four divisions, many of them
divided again by cross septa in the longitudinal direction of the
spore, so as to impart a muriform appearance. As far as the
structure and appearance of the spores are concerned, they re-
* Cooke’s “Handbook of British. Fungi,” p. 602.
HABITATS.
251
sembled those of Sporidesmium polymorphum , under which name
specimens were at first published,* but this determination was
not satisfactory. The mycelium and erect threads are much too
highly developed for a good 'species of Sporidesmium, although
the name of Sporidesmium alternaria was afterwards adopted.
In fresh specimens of this fungus, when seen in situ by a half-
inch objective, the spores appear to be moniliform, but if so, all
attempts to see them so connected, when separated from the
matrix, failed. On one occasion, a very immature condition was
examined, containing simple beaded, hyaline bodies, attached
to each other by a short neck. The same appearance of
beaded spores, when seen in situ , was recognized by a myco-
logical friend, to whom specimens were submitted for con-
firmation, f
The last production which made its appearance on our wall-
paper burst through the varnish as little black spheres, like
grains of gunpowder. At first the varnish was elevated by
pressure from beneath, then the film was broken, and the little
blackish spheres appeared. These were, in the majority of cases,
gregarious, but occasionally a few of the spheres appeared
singly, or only two or three together. As the whole surface of
the damp paper was covered by these different fungi, it was
scarcely possible to regard any of them as isolated, or to declare
that one was not connected with the mycelium of the others.
The little spheres, when the paper was torn from the wall, were
also growing from the under surface, flattened considerably by
the pressure. The spherical bodies, or perithecia, were seated
on a plentiful hyaline mycelium. The walls of the perithecia,
rather more carbonaceous than membranaceous, are reticulated,
reminding one of the conceptacles of Erysiphe , to which the
perithecia bear considerable resemblance. The ostiolum is so
* Cooke’s “Fungi Britannici Exsiccati,” No. 329, under the name of
Sporidesmium polymorphum var. chartarum.
f This reminds one of Preuss’s Alternaria, figured in Sturm’s “Flora;” it
has been suggested that the mould, as seen when examined under a power of
320 diam., is very much like a Macrosporium. Again arises the question of the
strings of spores attached end to end.
252
FUNGI.
obscure that we doubt its existence, and hence the closer affinity
of the plant to the Perisporiacei than to the Sphceriacei . The
interior of the perithecium is occupied by a gelatinous nucleus,
consisting of elongated cylindrical asci, each enclosing eight
globose hyaline sporidia, with slender branched paraphyses. A
new genus has been proposed for this and another similar form,
and the present species bears the name of Orbicula cyclospora .*
The most singular circumstance connected with this narrative
is the presence together of four distinctly different species oi
fungi, all of them previously unknown and undescribed, and no
trace amongst them of the presence of any one of the very common
species, which would be supposed to develop themselves under
such circumstances. It is not at all unusual for Sporocybe
alternata, B., to appear in broad black patches on damp papered
walls, but in this instance not a trace was to be found. What
were the peculiar conditions present in this instance which led
to the manifestation of four new forms, and none of the old
ones? We confess that we are unable to account satisfactorily
for the mystery, but, at the same time, feel equally unwilling to
invent hypotheses in order to conceal our own ignorance.
* “Handbook of British Fungi,” vol. ii. p. 926, No. 2,788.
253
XII.
CULTIVATION.
The cultivation of fungi in this country for esculent purposes
is confined to a single species, and yet there is no reason why,
by a series of well-conducted experiments, means should not
be devised for the cultivation of others, for instance, Maras-
mius oreades , and the morel. Efforts have been made on the
Continent for the cultivation of truffles, but the success has
hitherto been somewhat doubtful. For the growth of the com-
mon mushroom, very little trouble and care is required, and
moderate success is certain. A friend of ours some years since
was fortunate enough to have one or two specimens of the large
puff-ball, Lycoperdon giganteum , growing in his garden. Know-
ing its value, and being particularly fond of it when fried for
breakfast, he was anxious to secure its permanence. The spot
on which the specimens appeared was marked off and guarded,
so that it was never desecrated by the spade, and the soil
remained consequently undisturbed. Year after year, so long
as he resided on the premises, he counted upon and gathered
several specimens of the puff-ball, the mycelium continuing to
produce them year after year. All parings, fragments, &c., not
utilized of the specimens eaten were cast on this spot to rot, so
that some of the elements might be returned to the soil. This
was not true cultivation perhaps, as the fungus had first estab-
lished itself, but it was preservation, and had its reward. It
must be admitted, however, that the size and number of speci-
mens diminished gradually, probably from exhaustion of the
soil. This fungus, though strong, is much approved by many
254
FUNGI.
palates, and its cultivation might be attempted. Burying a ripe
specimen in similar soil, and watering ground with the spores,
has been tried without success. *
As to the methods adopted for cultivation of the common mush-
room, it is unnecessary to detail them here, as there are several
special treatises devoted to the subject, in which the particulars
are more fully given than the limits of this chapter will permit. f
Recently, M. Chevreul exhibited at the French Academy some
splendid mushrooms, said to have been produced by the following
method : he first develops the mushrooms by sowing spores on
a pane of glass, covered with wet sand ; then he selects the most
vigorous individuals from among them, and sows, or plants their
mycelium in a cellar in a damp soil, consisting of gardener’s
mould, covered with a layer of sand and gravel two inches thick,
and another layer of rubbish from demolitions, about an inch deep.
The bed is watered with a diluted solution of nitrate of potash,
and in about six days the mushrooms grow to an enormous
size.J The cultivation of mushrooms for the market, even in
this country, is so profitable, that curious revelations sometimes
crop up, as at a recent trial at the Sheriffs’ Court for compensa-
* Experiments were made at Bel voir, by Mr. Ingram, in tbe cultivation of
several species of Agaricini, but without success, and a similar fate attended
some spawn of a very superior kind from the Swan River, which was submitted
to the late Mr. J. Henderson. No result was obtained at Chiswick, either from
the cultivation of truffles or from the inoculation of grass-plots with excellent
spawn. Mr. Disney’s experiments at the Hyde, near Ingatestone, were made with
dried truffles, and were not likely to succeed. The Yiscomte Noe succeeded in
obtaining abundant truffles, in an enclosed portion of a wood fenced from wild
boars, by watering the ground with an infusion of fresh specimens ; but it is
possible that as this took place in a truffle country, there might have been a crop
without any manipulation. Similar trials, and it is said successfully, have been
made with Boletvs edulis. Specimens of prepared truffle-spawn were sent many
years since to the “Gardener’s Chronicle,” but they proved useless, if indeed
they really contained any reliable spawn.
f Robinson, “On Mushroom Culture,” London, 1870. Cuthill, “On the
Cultivation of the Mushroom,” 1861. Abercrombie, “The Garden Mushroom ;
its Culture, &c.” 1802.
J This has, however, not been confirmed, and is considered (how justly we
cannot say) a “ canard.”
CULTIVATION.
255
tion by the Metropolitan Railway Company for premises and
business of a nurseryman at Kensington. The Railway had
taken possession of a mushroom-ground, and the claim for
compensation was £716. It was stated in evidence that the
profits on mushrooms amounted to 100 or 150 per cent. One
witness said if £50 were expended, in twelve months, or perhaps
in six months, the sum realized would be £200.
Immense quantities of mushrooms are produced in Paris, as
is well known, in caves, and interesting accounts have been
written of visits to these subterranean mushroom- vaults of the
gay city. In one of these caves, at Montrouge, the proprietor
gathers largely every day, occasionally sending more than
400 pounds weight per day to market, the average being
about 300 pounds. There are six or seven miles’ run of
mushroom-beds in this cave, and the owner is only one of a
large class who devote themselves to the culture of mushrooms.
Large quantities of preserved mushrooms are exported, one
house sending to England not less than 14,000 boxes in a year.
Another cave near Erepillon was in full force in 1867, sending
as many as 3,000 pounds of mushrooms to the Parisian markets
daily. In 1867, M. Renaudot had over twenty-one miles o'*
mushroom-beds in one great cave at Mery, and in 1869 there
were sixteen miles of beds in a cave at Erepillon. The tem-
perature of these caves is so equal that the cultivation of the
mushroom is possible at all ge&sons of the year, but the best
crops are gathered in the winter.
Mr. Robinson gives an excellent account, not only of the sub-
terranean, but also of the open-air culture of mushrooms about
Paris. The open-air culture is never pursued in Paris during
the summer, and rarely so in this country.* What might be
termed the domestic cultivation of mushrooms is easy, that is,
the growth by inexperienced persons, for family consumption, of
a bed of mushrooms in cellars, wood-houses, old tubs, boxes, or
other unconsidered places. Even in towns and cities it is not
impracticable, as horse-dung can always be obtained from mews
* This method is pursued with great success by Mr. Ingram, at Belvoir, and by
Mr. Gilbert, at Burleigh.
256
FUNGI.
and stables. Certainly fungi are never so harmless, or seldom
so delicious, as when collected from the bed, and cooked at once,
before the slightest chemical change or deterioration could pos-
sibly take place.
Mr. Cuthill’s advice may be repeated here. He says : — “ I
must not forget to remind the cottager that it would be a
shilling or two a week saved to him during the winter, if he had
a good little bed of mushrooms, even for his own family, to say
nothing about a shilling or two that he might gain by selling to
his neighbours. I can assure him mushrooms grow faster than
pigs, and the mushrooms do not eat anything ; they only want
a little attention. Addressing myself to the working classes, I
advise them, in the first place, to employ their children or others
collecting horse-droppings along the highway, and if mixed with
a little road-sand, so much the better. They must be deposited
in a heap during summer, and trodden firmly. They will heat
a little, but the harder they are pressed the less they will heat.
Over-heating must be guarded against ; if the watch or trial
stick which is inserted into them gets too hot for the hand to
bear, the heat is too great, and will destroy the spawn. In that
case artificial spawn must be used when the bed is made up, but
this expedient is to be avoided on account of the expense. The
easiest way for a cottager to save his own spawn would be to
do so when he destroys his old bed ; he will find all round the
edges or driest parts of the dung one mass of superior spawn ;
let him keep this carefully in a very dry place, and when he
makes up his next bed it can then be mixed with his summer
droppings, and will insure a continuance and excellent crop.
These little collections of horse-droppings and road-sand, if kept
dry in shed, hole, or corner, under cover, will in a short time
generate plenty of spawn, and will be ready to be spread on the
surface of the bed in early autumn, say by the middle of Sep-
tember or sooner. The droppings during the winter must be
put into a heap, and allowed to heat gently, say up to eighty or
ninety degrees ; then they must be turned over twice daily to
let off the heat and steam ; if this is neglected the natural spawn
of the droppings is destroyed. The cottager should provide
CULTIVATION.
257
himself with a few barrowfuls of strawy dung to form the
foundation of his bed, so that the depth, when all is finished, be
not less than a foot. Let the temperature be up to milk heat.
He will then, when quite sure that the bed will not overheat, put
on his summer droppings. By this time these will be one mass
of natural spawn, having a grey mouldy and thready appear-
ance, and a smell like that of mushrooms. Let all be pressed
very hard ; then let mould, unsifted, be put on, to the thickness
of four inches, and trodden down hard with the feet and watered
all over ; and the back of a spade may now be used to make it
still harder, as well as to plaster the surface all over.” * Mush-
rooms are cultivated very extensively by Mr. Ingrain, at Belvoir,
without artificial spawn. There is a great riding-house there, in
which the litter is ground down by the horses’ feet into very
small shreds. These are placed in a heap and turned over once
or twice during the season, when a large quantity of excellent
spawn is developed which, placed in asparagus beds or laid under
thin turf, produces admirable mushrooms, in the latter case as
clean as in our best pastures. f
Other species will sometimes be seen growing on mushroom-
beds besides the genuine mushroom, the spawn in such cases
being probably introduced with the materials employed. We
have seen a pretty crisped variety of Agaricus dealbatus growing
in profusion in such a place, and devoured it accordingly. Some-
times the mushrooms will, when in an unhealthy condition, be
subject to the ravages of parasitic species of mould, or perhaps
of Hypomyces. Xylaria vctporaria has, in more than one instance,
usurped the place of mushrooms. Mr. Berkeley has received
abundant specimens in the Sclerotioid state, which he succeeded
in developing in sand under a bell glass. Of course under such
conditions there is much loss. The little fairy-ring champignon
is an excellent and useful species, and it is a great pity that
some effort should not be made to procure it by cultivation. In
* Cuthill, “ Treatise on the Cultivation of the Mushroom,” p. 9.
+ Mr. Berkeley lately recommended, at one of the meetings of the Horticul-
tural Society at South Kensington, that the railway arches should be utilized for
the cultivation of mushrooms.
S
258
FUNGI.
Italy a kind of Poly porus, unknown in this country, is obtained
by watering tbe Pietra funghaia , or fungus stone, a sort of tufa
impregnated with mycelium. Tbe Polypori , it is said, take seven
days to come to perfection, and may be obtained from tbe foster
mass, if properly moistened, six times a year. There are speci-
mens which were fully developed in Mr. Lee’s nursery at Ken-
sington many years since. Another fungus is obtained from tbe
pollard bead of tbe black poplar. Dr. Badham says that it is
usual to remove these beads at the latter end of autumn, as soon
as tbe vintage is over, and their marriage with tbe vine is
annulled ; hundreds of such beads are then cut and transported
to different parts ; they are abundantly watered during tbe first
month, and in a short time produce that truly delicious fungus
Agaricus caudicinus , which, during tbe autumn of tbe year, makes
tbe greatest show in tbe Italian market-places. These pollard
blocks continue to bear for from twelve to fourteen years.
Another fungus, which Dr. Badham himself reared ( Polyporus
avellanus ), is procured by singeing, over a handful of straw, a
block of the cob-nut tree, which is then watered and put by.
In about a month the fungi make their appearance, and are
quite white, of from two to three inches in diameter, and ex-
cellent to eat, while their profusion is sometimes so great as
entirely to hide the wood from whence they spring. # It has
been said that Poletus edulis may be propagated by watering
the ground with a watery infusion of the plants, but we have no
knowledge of this method having been pursued with success.
The culture of truffles has been partially attempted, on the
principle that, in some occult manner, certain trees produced
truffles beneath their shade. It is true that truffles are found
under trees of special kinds, for Mr. Broome remarks that some
trees appear more favourable to the production of truffles than
others. Oak and hornbeam are specially mentioned ; but, be-
sides these, chestnut, birch, box, and hazel are alluded to. He
generally found Tuber cestivum under beech-trees, but also under
hazel, Tuber macrosporum under oaks, and Tuber brumale under
* Badham, “Esculent Funguses,” 1st ed. p. 43.
CULTIVATION.
259
oaks and abele. The men who collect truffles for Covent Gar-
den Market obtain them chiefly under beech, and in mixed
plantations of fir and beech.*
Some notion may be obtained of the extent to which the trade
of truffles is carried in France, when we learn that in the market
of Apt alone about 3,500 pounds of truffles are exposed for sale
every week during the height of the season, and the quantity
sold during the winter reaches upwards of 60,000 pounds, whilst
the Department of Vaucluse yields annually upwards of 60,000
pounds. It may be interesting here to state that the value of
truffles is so great in Italy that precautions are taken against
truffle poachers, much in the same way as against game poachers
in England. They train their dogs so skilfully that, while they
stand on the outside of the truffle grounds, the dogs go in and
dig for the fungi. Though there are multitudes of species,
they bring out those only which are of market value. Some
dogs, however, are employed by botanists, which will hunt for
any especial species that may be shown to them. The great
difficulty is to prevent them devouring the truffles, of which
they are very fond. The best dogs, indeed, are true retrievers.
The Count de Borch and M. de Bornholz give the chief ac-
counts of the efforts that have been made towards the cultivation
of these fungi. They state that a compost is prepared of pure
mould and vegetable soil mixed with dry leaves and sawdust, in
which, when properly moistened, mature truffles are placed in
winter, either whole or in fragments, and that after the lapse of
some time small truffles are found in the compost, ■f The most
successful plan consists in sowing acorns over a considerable
extent of land of a calcareous nature ; and when the young oaks
have attained the age of ten or twelve years, truffles are found
in the intervals between the trees. This process was carried on
in the neighbourhood of Loudun, where truffle-beds had formerly
existed, but where they had long ceased to be productive — a fact
indicating the aptitude of the soil for the purpose. In this case
* Broome, “On Truffle Culture,” in “ Journ. Hort. Soc.” i. p. 15 (1866).
+ No faith, however, is, in general, placed on these realises, as they were
merely conjectural.
s 2
260
FUNGI.
no attempt was made to produce truffles by placing ripe speci-
mens in the earth, but they sprang up themselves from spores
probably contained in the soil. The young trees were left
rather wide apart, and were cut, for the first time, about the
twelfth year after sowing, and afterwards at intervals of from
seven to nine years. Truffles were thus obtained for a period
of from twenty- five to thirty years, after which the plantations
ceased to be productive, owing, it was said, to the ground being
too much shaded by the branches of the young trees. It is the
opinion of the Messrs. Tulasne that the regular cultivation of
the truffle in gardens can never be so successful as this so-called
indirect culture at Loudun, but they think that a satisfactory
result might be obtained in suitable soils by planting fragments
of mature truffles in wooded localities, taking care that the other
conditions of the spots selected should be analogous to those of
the regular truffle-grounds, and they recommend a judicious
thinning of the trees and clearing the surface from brushwood,
etc., which prevents at once the beneficial effects of rain and of
the direct sun’s rays. A truffle collector stated to Mr. Broome
that whenever a plantation of beech, or beech and fir, is made on
the chalk districts of Salisbury Plain, after the lapse of a few
years truffles are produced, and that these plantations continue
productive for a period of from ten to fifteen years, after which
they cease to be so.
M. Grasparin reported to the jurors of the Paris Exhibition of
1855, concerning the operations of M. Rousseau, of Carpentras,
on the production of oak truffles in Prance. The acorns of ever-
green and of common oaks were sown about five yards apart.
In the fourth year of the plantation three truffles were found ; at
the date of the report the trees were nine years old, and over a
yard in height. Sows w~ere employed to search for the truffles.
Although these plantations consist both of the evergreen and
common oak, truffles cannot be gathered at the base of the latter
species, it so happening that it arrives later at a state of pro-
duction. The common oak, however, produces truffles like the
evergreen oak, this report states, for a great number of the
natural truffle-grounds at Yaucluse are planted with common
CULTIVATION.
261
oaks. It is remarked that the truffles produced from these
are larger but less regular than those of the evergreen oak,
which are smaller, but nearly always spherical. The truffles are
gathered at two periods of the year ; in May only white truffles
are to be found, which never blacken and have no odour ; they
are dried and sold for seasoning. The black truffles ( Tuber
melanosporum ) commence forming in June, enlarging towards
the frosty season ; then they become hard, and acquire all their
perfume. They are dug a month before and a month after
Christmas. It is also asserted that truffles are produced about
the vine, or at any rate that the association of the vine is
favourable to the production of truffles, because truffle-plots near
vines are very productive. The observation of this decided
M. Rousseau to plant a row of vines between the oaks. The
result of this experiment altogether does not appear to have
been by any means flattering, for at the end of eight years only
little more than fifteen pounds were obtained from a hectare of
land, which, if valued at 45 francs, would leave very little profit.
M. Rousseau also called attention to a meadow manured ( sic )
with parings of truffles, which was said to have given prodigious
results.
The cultivation of minute fungi for scientific purposes has
been incidentally alluded to and illustrated in foregoing chapters,
and consequently will not require such full and particular details
here. Somewhat intermediately, we might allude to the species
of Sclerotium, which are usually compact, externally blackish,
rounded or amorphous bodies, consisting of a cellular mass of
the nature of a concentrated mycelium. Placed in favourable
conditions, these forms of Sclerotium will develop the peculiar
species of fungus belonging to them, but in certain cases the
production is more rapid and easy than in others. In this
country, Mr. P. Currey has been the most successful in the cul-
tivation of Sclerotia. The method adopted is to keep them in
a moist, somewhat warm, but equable atmosphere, and with
patience await the results. The well-known ergot of rye, wheat,
and other grasses may be so cultivated, and Mr. Currey has
developed the ergot of the common reed by keeping the stem
262
FUNGI.
immersed in water. The final conditions are small clavate bodies
of the order Sphceriacei, belonging to the genus Claviceps. The
Sclerotium of the Eleocharis has been found in this country, but
we are not aware that the Claviceps developed from it has been
met with or induced by cultivation. One method recommended
for this sort of experiment is to fill a garden-pot half full of
crocks, over which to place sphagnum broken up until the pot is
nearly full, on this to place the Sclerotia , and cover with silver
sand ; if the pot is kept standing in a pan of water in a warm
room, it is stated that production will ensue. Ergot of the
grasses will not always develop under these conditions, but
perseverance may ultimately ensure success.
A species of Sclerotium on the gills of dead Agarics originates
Agaricus tuberosus, another Agaricus cirrliatus * but this should
be kept in situ when cultivated artificially, and induced to
develop whilst still attached to the rotten Agarics. Eeziza tube-
rosa, in like manner, is developed from Sclerotia, usually found
buried in the ground in company with the roots of Anemone
nemorosa. At one time it was supposed that some relationship
existed between the roots of the anemone and the Sclerotia.
From another Sclerotium, found in the stems of bulrushes, Mr.
Currey has developed a species of Eeziza , which has been named
-P. CurreyanaA This Eeziza has been found growing naturally
from the Sclerotia imbedded in the tissue of common rushes.
De Bary has recorded the development of Eeziza Euclceliana
from a Sclerotium of which the conidia take the form of a species
of Eolyactis. Eeziza ciborioides is developed from a Sclerotium
found amongst dead leaves ; and recently we have received from
the United States an allied Eeziza which originated from the
Sclerotia found on the petals of Magnolia , and which has been
named Eeziza gracilipes, Cooke, from its very slender, thread-
like stem. Other species of Eeziza are also known to be
developed from similar bases, and these Fuckel has associated
* Dr. Bull has been very successful in developing the Sclerotium of Agaricus
cirrliatus.
f Currey, “ On Development of Sclerotium roseum,” in “Journ. Linn. Soc.”
vol. i. p. 148.
CULTIVATION.
263
together under a proposed new genus with the name of Sclero-
iinici. Two or three species of Typhula , in like manner, spring
from forms of Sclerotium , long known as Sclerotium compla -
natum and Sclerotium scutellatum. Other forms of Sclerotium
are known, from one of which, found in a mushroom-bed, Mr.
Currey developed Xylaria vaporciria , B., by placing it on damp
sand covered with a bell glass.* Others, again, are only known
in the sclerotioid state, such as the Sclerotium stipitatum found in
the nests of white ants in South India. t From what is already
known, however, we feel justified in the conclusion that the
so-called species of Sclerotium are a sort of compact mycelium,
from which, under favourable conditions, perfect fungi may be
developed. Mr. Berkeley succeeded in raising from the minute
Sclerotium of onions, which looks like grains of coarse gun-
powder, a species of Mucor. This was accomplished by placing
a thin slice of the Sclerotium in a drop of water under a glass
slide, surrounded by a pellicle of air, and luted to prevent
evaporation and external influences. £
As to the cultivation of moulds and Mucors , one great diffi-
culty has to be encountered in the presence or introduction of
foreign spores to the matrix employed for their development.
Bearing this in mind, extensive cultivations may be made, but
the conditions must influence the decision upon the results.
Rice paste has been used with advantage for sowing the spores
of moulds, afterwards keeping them covered from external in-
fluences. In cultivation on rice paste of rare species, the
experimenter is often perplexed by the more rapid growth of
the common species of Mucor and JPenicillium. Mr. Berkeley
succeeded in developing up to a certain point the fungus of the
Madura Foot, but though perfect sporangia were produced, the
further development was masked by the outgrowth of other
species. In like manner, orange juice, cut surfaces of fruits,
* Currey, in “Linn. Trans.” xxiv. pi. 25, figs. 17, 26.
■f Berkeley, “On Two Tuberiform Veg. Productions from Travancore,” in
“ Trans. Linn. Soc.” vol. xxiii. p. 91.
+ Berkeley, “ On a Peculiar Form of Mildew in Onions,” “ Journ. Hort. Soc.”
vol. iii. p. 91.
264
FUNGI.
slices of potato tubers, etc., have been employed. Eresh horse-
dung, placed under a bell glass and kept in a humid atmosphere,
will soon be covered with Mucor, and in like manner the growth
of common moulds upon decayed fruit may be watched ; but this
can hardly be termed cultivation unless the spores of some indi-
vidual species are sown. Different solutions have been proposed
for the growth of such conditions as the cells which induce fer-
mentation, to which yeast plants belong. A fly attacked by
Pmpusa muscce , if immersed in water, will develop one of the
SaprolegnicB.
The TJredines and other epiphyllous Coniomycetes will readily
germinate by placing the leaf which bears them on damp sand,
or keeping them in a humid atmosphere. Messrs. Tulasne and
De Bary have, in their numerous memoirs, detailed the methods
adopted by them for different species, both for germination of
the pseudospores and for impregnating healthy foster plants.
The germination of the pseudospores of the species of Podi-
soma may easily be induced, and secondary fruits obtained. The
germination of the spores of Tilletia is more difficult to accom-
plish, but this may be achieved. Mr. Berkeley found no difficulty,
and had the stem impregnated as well as the germen. On the
other hand, the pseudospores of Cystopus , when sown in water
on a slip of glass, will soon produce the curious little zoospores
in the manner already described.
The sporidia of the Discomycetes , and some of the Sphariacei,
germinate readily in a drop of water on a slip of glass, although
not proceeding further than the protrusion of germ-tubes. A
form of slide has been devised for growing purposes, in which
the large covering glass is held in position, and one end of the
slip being kept immersed in a vessel of water, capillary attrac-
tion keeps up the supply for an indefinite period, so that there is
no fear of a check from the evaporation of the fluid. Even when
saccharine solutions are employed this method may be adopted.
The special cultivation of the Peronosporei occupied the atten-
tion of Professor De Bary for a long time, and his experiences
are detailed in his memoir on that group,* but which are too
* De Bary, “Ann. des Sei. Nat.” 4th series, yoI. xx.
CULTIVATION.
265
long for quotation here, except his observations on the develop-
ment of the threads of Peronospora infestans on the cut surface
of the tubers of diseased potatoes. When a diseased potato is
cut and sheltered from dessication, the surface of the slice covers
itself with the mycelium and conidiiferous branches of Perono -
spora , and it can easily be proved that these organs originate
from the intercellulary tubes of the brown tissue. The mycelium
that is developed upon these slices is ordinarily very vigorous ;
it often constitutes a cottony mass of a thickness of many milli-
metres, and it gives out conidiiferous branches, often partitioned,
and larger and more branched than those observed on the leaves.
The appearance of these fertile branches ordinarily takes place
at the end of from twenty-four to forty-eight hours ; sometimes,
nevertheless, one must wait for many days. These phenomena
are observed in all the diseased tubercles without exception, so
long as they have not succumbed to putrefaction, which arrests
the development of the parasite and kills it.
Young plants of the species liable to attack may be inoculated
with the conidia of the species of Peronospora usually developed
on that particular host, in the same manner that young cruci-
ferous plants, watered with an infusion of the spores of Cystopus
ccmdidus , will soon exhibit evidence of attack from the white
rust.
It is to the cultivation and close investigation of the growth
and metamorphoses of the minute fungi that we must look for
the most important additions which have yet to be made to our
knowledge of the life- history of these most complex and interest-
ing organisms.
266
XIII.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
' Jnfortunately no complete or satisfactory account can be given
>f the geographical distribution of fungi. The younger Fries,*
with all the facilities at his disposal which the lengthened
experience and large collections of his father afforded, could only
give a very imperfect outline, and now we can add very little
to what he has given. The cause of this difficulty lies in the
fact that the Mycologic Flora of so large a portion of the world
remains unexplored, not only in remote regions, but even in
civilized countries where the Phanerogamic Flora is well known.
Europe, England, Scotland, and Wales are as well explored as
any other country, but Ireland is comparatively unknown, no
complete collection having ever been made, or any at least
published. Scandinavia has also been well examined, and the
northern portions of France, with Belgium, some parts of Ger-
many and Austria, in Russia the neighbourhood of St. Peters-
burg, and parts of Italy and Switzerland. Turkey in Europe,
nearly all Russia, Spain, and Portugal are almost unknown. As
to Xorth America, considerable advances have been made since
Schweinitz by Messrs. Curtis and Ravenel, but their collections
in Carolina cannot be supposed to represent the whole of the
United States ; the small collections made in Texas, Mexico,
etc., only serve to show the richness of the country, not yet half
exhausted. It is to be hoped that the young race of botanists
in the United States will apply themselves to the task of investi-
* Mr. E. P. Fries, in “ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 1861, xv. p. 10.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
267
gating the My cologic Mora of this rich and fertile region. In
Central America very small and incomplete collections have as
yet been made, and the same may be said of South America and
Canada. Of the whole extent of the New World, only the
Carolina States of North America can really be said to be satis-
factorily known. Asia is still less known, the whole of onr vast
Indian Empire being represented by the collections made by
Dr. Hooker in the Sikkim Himalayas, and a few isolated speci-
mens from other parts. Ceylon has recently been removed from
the category of the unknown by the publication of its My cologic
Flora.* All that is known of Java is supplied by the researches
of Junghuhn; whilst all the rest is completely unknown, includ-
ing China, Japan, Siam, the Malayan Peninsula, Burmah, and
the whole of the countries in the north and west of India. A
little is known of the Philippines, and the Indian Archipelago,
but this knowledge is too fragmentary to be of much service.
In Africa no part has been properly explored, with the exception
of Algeria, although something is known of the Cape of Good
Hope and Natal. The Australasian Islands are better repre-
sented in the Floras published of those regions. Cuba and the
West Indies generally are moderately well known from the
collections of Mr. C. Wright, which have been recorded in the
journal of the Linneean Society, and in the same journal Mr.
Berkeley has described many Australian species.
It will be seen from the above summary how unsatisfactory
it must be to give anything like a general view of the geographi-
cal distribution of fungi, or to estimate at all approximately
the number of species on the globe. Any attempt, therefore,
must be made and accepted subject to the limitations we have
expressed.
The conditions which determine the distribution of fungi are
not precisely those which determine the distribution of the
higher plants. In the case of the parasitic species they may be
said to follow the distribution of their foster-plants, as in the
case of the rust, smut, and mildew of the cultivated cereals,
* Berkeley and Broome, “Enumeration of the Fungi of Ceylon,” in “Journ.
Linn. Soc.” xiv. Nos. 73, 74, 1873.
2G8
FUNGI.
which have followed those grains wherever they have been
distributed, and the potato disease, which is said to have been
known in the native region of the potato plant before it made
its appearance in Europe. We might also allude to JPuccinia
malvacearum , Ca., which was first made known as a South
American species ; it then travelled to Australia, and at length
to Europe, reaching England the next year after it was recorded
on the Continent. In the same manner, so far as we have the
means of knowing, Puccinia Apii , Ca., was known on the Con-
tinent of Europe for some time before it was detected on the
celery plants in this country. Experience seems to warrant the
conclusion that if a parasite affects a certain plant within
a definite area, it will extend in time beyond that area to
other countries where the foster-plant is found. This view
accounts in some part for the discovery of species in this country,
year after year, which had not been recorded before ; some
allowance being made for the fact that an increased number of
observers and collectors may cause the search to be more com-
plete, yet it must be conceded that the migration of Continental
species must to some extent be going on, or how can it be
accounted for that such large and attractive fungi as Sparassis
crispa, Helvellas gigas , and Morchella crassipes had never been
recorded till recently, or amongst parasitic species such as the
two species of Puccinia above named ? In the same manner it
is undoubtedly true that species which at one time were common
gradually become somewhat rare, and at length nearly extinct.
We have observed this to apply to the larger species as well as
to the microscopic in definite localities. For instance, Crater-
ellus cornucopioides some ten years ago appeared in one wood,
at a certain spot, by hundreds, whereas during the past three or
four years we have failed to find a single specimen. As many
years since, and in two places, where the goat’s-beard was abun-
dant, as it is now, we found nearly half the flowering heads
infested with TJstilago receptaculorum , but for the past two or
three years, although we have sought it industriously, not a
single specimen could be found. It is certain that plants found
by Dickson, Bolton, and Sowerby, have not been detected since,
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
269
whilst it is not improbable that species common with ns may be
very rare fifty years hence. In this manner it would really
appear that fungi are much more liable than flowering plants to
shift their localities, or increase and diminish in number.
The fleshy fungi, Agciricini and JBoleti especially, are largely
dependent upon the character of woods and forests. When the
undergrowth of a wood is cleared away, as it often is every few
years, it is easy to observe a considerable difference in the fungi.
Species seem to change places, common ones amongst a dense
undergrowth are rare or disappear with the copse wood, and
others not observed before take their place. Some species, too,
are peculiar to certain woods, such as beech woods and fir woods,
and their distribution will consequently depend very much
on the presence or absence of such woods. Epiphytal species,
such as Agaricus ulmarius , Agaricus mucidus , and a host of
others, depend on circumstances |which do not influence the
distribution of flowering plants. It may be assumed that
such species as flourish in pastures and open places are subject
to fewer adverse conditions than those which affect woods and
forests.
Any one who has observed any locality with reference to its
Mycologic Flora over a period of years will have been struck
with the difference in number and variety caused by what may
be termed a “ favourable season,” that is, plenty of moisture in
August with warm weather afterwards. Although we know but
little of the conditions of germination in Agarics, it is but
reasonable to suppose that a succession of dry seasons will con-
siderably influence the flora of any locality. Heat and humidity,
therefore, are intimately concerned in the mycologic vegetation
of a country. Fries has noted in his essay the features to which
we have alluded. “ The fact,” he says, “ must not be lost sight
of that some species of fungi which have formerly been common
in certain localities may become, within our lifetime, more and
more scarce, and even altogether cease to grow there. The
cause of this, doubtless, is the occurrence of some change in the
physical constitution of a locality, such as that resulting from
the destruction of a forest, or from the drainage, by ditches and
270
FUNGI.
cuttings, of more or less extensive swamps, or from the cul-
tivation of the soil — all of them circumstances which cause the
destruction of the primitive fungaceous vegetation and the pro-
duction of a new one. If we compare the fungal flora of America
with that of European countries, we observe that the former
equals, in its richness and the variety of its forms, that of the
phanerogamous flora ; it is probable, however, that, in the
lapse of more or fewer years, this richness will decrease, in
consequence of the extension of cultivation — as is illustrated,
indeed, in what has already taken place in the more thickly
peopled districts, as, for example, in the vicinity of New
York.”
Although heat and humidity influence all kinds of vegetation,
yet heat seems to exert a less, and humidity a greater, influence
on fungi than on other plants. It is chiefly during the cool
moist autumnal weather that the fleshy fungi flourish most
vigorously in our own country, and we observe their number to
increase with the humidity of the season. Rain falls copiously
in the United States, and this is one of the most fruitful coun-
tries known for the fleshy fungi. Hence it is a reasonable
deduction that moisture is a condition favourable to the develop-
ment of these plants. The Myxogastres , according to Dr. Henry
Carter, are exceedingly abundant — in individuals, at least, if not
in species — in Bombay, and this would lead to the conclusion
that the members of this group are influenced as much by heat
as humidity in their development, borne out by the more plen-
tiful appearance of the species in this country in the warmer
weather of summer.
In the essay to which we have alluded, Fries only attempts
the recognition of two zones in his estimate of the distribution
of fungi, and these are the temperate and tropical. The frigid
zone produces no peculiar types, and is poor in the number of
species, whilst no essential distinction can be drawn between the
tropical and sub-tropical with our present limited information.
Even these two zones must not be accepted too rigidly, since
tropical forms will in some instances, and under favourable con-
ditions, extend far upwards into the temperate zone.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
271
“In any region whatever,” writes Fries, “it is necessary, in
the first instance, to draw a distinction between its open naked
plains and its wooded tracts. In the level open country there is
a more rapid evaporation of the moisture by the conjoined action
of the sun and wind ; whence it happens that such a region is
more bare of fungi than one that is mountainous or covered by
woods. On the other hand, plains possess several species pecu •
liar to themselves ; as, for example, Agaricus pediades , certain
Tricholomata , and, above all, the family Coprini, of which they
may be regarded as the special habitat. The species of this
family augment in number, in any given country, in proportion
to the extent and degree of its cultivation ; for instance, they
grow more luxuriantly in the province of Scania, in Sweden —
a district further distinguished above all others by its cultivation
and fertility. In well-wooded countries moisture is retained a
much longer time, and, as a result, the production of fungi is
incomparably greater; and it is here desirable to make a distinc-
tion between the fungi growing in forests of resinous-wooded
trees {Conifer ce) and those which inhabit woods of other trees,
for these two descriptions of forests may be rightly regarded, as
to their fungaceous growths, as two different regions. Beneath
the shade of Confer oe , fungi are earlier in their appearance ; so
much so, that it often happens they have attained their full de-
velopment when their congeners in forests of non-resinous trees
have scarcely commenced their growth. In woods of the latter
sort, the fallen leaves, collected in thick layers, act as an obstacle
to the soaking of moisture into the earth, and thereby retard
the vegetation of fungi ; on the other hand, such woods retain
moisture longer. These conditions afford to several large and
remarkable species the necessary time for development. The
beech is characteristic of our own region, but further north this
tree gives place to the birch. Coniferous woods are, moreover,
divisible into two regions — that of the pines and that of the firs.
The latter is richer in species than the former, because, as is
well known, fir-trees flourish in more fertile and moister soils.
Whether, with respect to the South of Europe, other sub-
divisions into regions are required, we know not ; still less are
272
FUNGI.
we able to decide on the like question in reference to the coun-
tries beyond Europe.” *
In very cold countries the higher fungi are rare, whilst in
tropical countries they are most common at elevations which
secure a temperate climate. In Java, Junghuhn found them
most prolific at an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 feet ; and in
India, Dr. Hooker remarked that they were most abundant at
an elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea level.
Eor the higher fungi we must be indebted to the summary
made by Dries, to which we have little to add.
The genus Agaricus occupies the first place, and surpasses, in
the number of species, all the other generic groups known. It
appears, from our present knowledge, that the Agarici have their
geographic centre in the temperate zone, and especially in the
colder portion of that zone. It is a curious circumstance that
all the extra-European species of this genus Agaricus may be
referred to various European subgenera.
In tropical countries it appears that the Agarici occupy only a
secondary position in relation to other genera of fungi, such as
JPolgporus , Lenzites , etc. North America, on the other hand, is
richer in species of Agaricus than Europe; for whilst the ma-
jority of typical forms are common to both continents, America
further possesses many species peculiar to itself. In the tem-
perate zone, so close is the analogy prevailing between the
various countries in respect to the Agaricini , that from Sweden
to Italy, and as well in England as North America, the same
species are to be found. Of 500 Agaricini met with in St.
Petersburg, there are only two or three which have not been
discovered in Sweden ; and again, of fifty species known in
Greenland, there is not one that is not common in Sweden. The
same remarks hold good in reference to the Agaricini of Siberia,
Kamtschatka, the Ukraine, etc. The countries bordering upon
the Mediterranean possess, however, several peculiar types ; and
Eastern and Western Europe present certain dissimilarities in
their Agaric inhabitants. Several species, for example, of Armil-
* Fries, “On the Geographical Distribution of Fungi,’’ in “Ann. and Mag.
Nat. Hist.” ser. iii. vol. ix. p. 279.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
273
laria and Tricholomo , which have been found in Russia, have
been met with in Sweden only in Upland, that is, in the most
eastern province ; all the species which belong to the so-called
abiegno-rupestres and pineto-montance regions of Sweden are
wanting in England ; and it is only in Scotland that the species
of northern mountainous and pine-bearing regions are met with —
a circumstance explicable from the similarity in physical features
between Sweden and the northern portions of Great Britain.
The species of Coprinus appear to find suitable habitats in
every quarter of the globe.
The Cortinarice predominate in the north; they abound in
Northern latitudes, especially on wooded hills ; but the plains offer
also some peculiar species which flourish during the rainy days
of August and September. In less cold countries they are more
scarce or entirely absent. The species of the genus Hygrophorus
would at first seem to have a similar geographical distribution
to those of the last group ; but this is really not the case, for
the same Hygrophori are to be found in nearly every country of
Europe, and even the hottest countries (and those under the
equator) are not destitute of representatives of this wide-spread
genus.
The Loctarii , which are so abundant in the forests of Europe
and North America, appear to grow more and more scarce
towards both the south and north. The same may be stated
in regard to Russula.
The genus Marasmius is dispersed throughout the globe, and
everywhere presents numerous species. In inter-tropical coun-
tries they are still more abundant, and exhibit peculiarities in
growth which probably might justify their collection into a
distinct group.
The genera Lentinus and Lenzites are found in every region
of the world; their principal centre, however, is in hot countries,
where they attain a splendid development. On the contrary,
towards the north they rapidly decrease in number.
The Rolypori constitute a group which, unlike that of the
Agarics, especially belongs to hot countries. The Boleti con-
stitute the only exception to this rule, since they select the
T
274
FUNGI.
temperate and frigid zones for their special abode, and some of
them at times find their way to the higher regions of the Alps.
No one can describe the luxuriance of the torrid zone in Poly-
pori and Trametes , genera of Hymenomycetes , which flourish
beneath the shade of the virgin forests, where perpetual moisture
and heat promote their vegetation and give rise to an infinite
variety of forms. But though the genus Polyporus , which rivals
Agaricus in the number of its species, inhabits, in preference,
warm climates at large, it nevertheless exhibits species peculiar
to each country. This arises from the circumstance that the
Polypori , for the most part, live upon trees, and are dependent
on this or that particular tree for a suitable habitat ; and the
tropical flora being prolific in trees of all kinds, a multitude of
the most varied forms of these fungi is a necessary consequence*
Hexagona , Favolus , and Laschia are common in inter-tropical
countries, but they are either entirely absent or extremely rare
in temperate climes.
When the majority of the species of a genus are of a fleshy
consistence, it may generally be concluded that that genus
belongs to a Northern region, even if it should have some repre-
sentatives in lands which enjoy more sunshine. Thus the PLydna
are the principal ornaments of Northern forests, where they attain
so luxuriant a growth and beauty that every other country must
yield the palm to Sweden in respect to them. In an allied genus,
that of Irpex , the texture assumes a coriaceous consistence, and
we find its species to be more especially inhabitants of warm
climates.
Most of the genera of Auricularini are cosmopolitan, and the
same is true of some species of Stereum , of Corticium , etc., which
are met with in countries of the most different geographical
position. In tropical countries, these genera of fungi assume the
most curious and luxuriant forms. The single and not consider-
able genus Cyphella appears to be pretty uniformly distributed
over the globe. The Clavaricei are equally universal in their
diffusion, although more plentiful in the north; however, the
genus Pterula possesses several exotic forms, though in Europe
it has but two representative species. That beautiful genus of
/
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
275
Hymenomycetes , Sparassis , occupies a similar place next the
Clavaricei, and is peculiarly a production of the temperate zone
and of the coniferous region.
The fungi which constitute the family of Tremellini prevail in
Europe, Asia, and North America, and exhibit no marked differ-
ences amongst themselves, notwithstanding the distances of the
several countries apart. It must, however, be stated that the
Hirneolce for the most part inhabit the tropics.
We come now to the Gasteromycetes — an interesting family,
which exhibits several ramifications or particular series of de-
velopments. The most perfect Gasteromycetes almost exclusively
belong to the warmer division of the temperate, and to the
tropical zone, where their vegetation is the most luxuriant. Of
late the catalogue of these fungi has been greatly enriched by
the addition of numerous genera and species, proper to hot coun-
tries, previously unknown. Not uncommonly, the exotic floras
differ from ours, not merely in respect of the species, but also of
the genera of Gasteromycetes. It must, besides, be observed
that this family is rich in well-defined genera, though very poor
in distinct specific forms. Among the genera found in Europe,
many are cosmopolitan.
The Phalloidei present themselves in the torrid zone under
the most varied form and colouring, and comprise many genera
rich in species. In Europe their number is very restricted. As
we advance northward they decrease rapidly, so that the central
districts of Sweden possess only a single species, the Phallus
impudicus , and even this solitary representative of the family is
very scarce. In Scania, the most southern province of Sweden,
there is likewise but one genus and one species belonging to it,
viz., the Mutinus caninus. Among other members of the Phal-
| loidei , may be further mentioned the Lysurus of China, the
Aserde of Yan Diemen’s Land, and the Clathrus , one species of
I which, C. cancellatus , has a very wide geographical range ; for
j instance, it is found in the south of Europe, in Germany, and in
j America ; it occurs also in the south of England and the Isle of
Wight; whereas the other species of this genus have a very
limited distribution.
t 2
276
FUNGI.
The Tuberacei * are remarkable amongst the fungi in being
all of them more or less hypogeous. They are natives of warm
countries, and are distributed into numerous genera and species.
The Tuber acei constitute in Northern latitudes a group of fungi
very poor in specific forms. The few species of the Hymeno-
gastres belonging to Sweden, with the exception of Hyperrhiza
variegata and one example of the genus Oetaviana , are confined
to the southern provinces. The greater part of this group, like
the Lyco/perdacei , are met with in the temperate zone. Most
examples of the genus Lyco/perdon are cosmopolitan.
The Nidulariacei and the Trichodermacei appear to be scat-
tered over the globe in a uniform manner, although their species
are not everywhere similar. The same statement applies to the
Myocogastres , which are common in Lapland, and appear to have
their central point of distribution in the countries within the
temperate zone. At the same time, they are not wanting in
tropical regions, notwithstanding that the intensity of heat, by
drying up the mucilage which serves as the medium for the
development of their spores, is opposed to their development. f
Of the Coniomycetes , the parasitic species, as the Cceomocei , the
Tucciniei , and the Ustilagines, accompany their foster-plants into
almost all regions where they are found ; so that smut, rust, and
mildew are as common on wheat and barley in the Himalayas
and in New Zealand as in Europe and America. Ravenelia and
Cronartium only occur in the warmer parts of the temperate
zone, whilst Sartvellia is confined to Surinam. Species of
Todisoma and Roestelia are as common in the United States as
in Europe, and the latter appears also at the Cape and Ceylon.
Wherever species of Sphceria occur there the Sphceronemei are
found, but they do not appear, according to our present know-
ledge, to be so plentiful in tropical as in temperate countries.
The Torulacei and its allies are widely diffused, and probably
occur to a considerable extent in tropical countries.
Hyphomycetes are widely diffused; some species are peculiarly
* The Hypogcei are evidently intended here by Fries.
•f Fries, “On the Geographical Distribution of Fungi,” in “Ann. and Mag.
Nat. Hist.” ser. 3, vol. ix. p. 285.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
277
cosmopolitan, and all seem to be less influenced by climatic
conditions than the more fleshy fungi. The Sepedoniei are
represented by at least one species wherever Boletus is found.
The Mucedines occur everywhere in temperate and tropical
regions, Benicillium and Aspergillus flourishing as much in the
latter as in the former. Botrytis and Beronospora are almost as
widely diffused and as destructive in warmer as in temperate
countries, and although from difficulty in preservation the moulds
are seldom represented to any extent in collections, yet indica-
tions of their presence constantly occur in connection with other
forms, to such an extent as to warrant the conclusion that they
are far from uncommon. The JDematiei are probably equally as
widely diffused. Species of Helminthosporium , Cladosporium ,
and Macrosporium seem to be as common in tropical as temper-
ate climes. The distribution of these fungi is imperfectly known,
except in Europe and North America, but their occurrence in
Ceylon, Cuba, India, and Australasia indicated a cosmopolitan
range. Cladosporium Jierbarum would seem to occur everywhere.
The Stilbacei and Isariacei are not less widely diffused, although
as yet apparently limited in species. Isaria occurs on insects
in Brazil as in North America, and species of Stilbum and Isaria
are by no means rare in Ceylon.
The Bbysomycetes have representatives in the tropics, species
of Mucor occurring in Cuba, Brazil, and the southern states of
North America, with the same and allied genera in Ceylon.
Antennaria and Bisomyxa seem to reach their highest develop-
ment in hot countries.
The Ascomycetes are represented everywhere, and although
certain groups are more tropical than others, they are represented
in all collections. The fleshy forms are most prolific in temper-
ate countries, and only a few species of Beziza affect the tropics,
yet in elevated districts of hot countries, such as the Himalayas
of India, Beziza , Morchella, and Geoglossum are found. Two or
three species of Morchella are found in Kashmir, and at least
one or two in Java, where they are used as food. The genus
Cyttaria is confined to the southern parts of South America
and Tasmania. The United States equal if they do not exceed
278
FUNGI.
European states in the number of species of the Riscomycetes.
The Rhacidiacei are not confined to temperate regions, but are
more rare elsewhere. Cordierites and Acroscyphus (?) are tro-
pical genera, the former extending upwards far into the tem-
perate zone, as JELysterium and Rhytisma descend into the tropics.
Amongst the Sphceriacei , Xylaria and Hypoxylon are well repre-
sented in the tropics, such species as Xylaria hypoxylon and
Xylaria corniformis being widely diffused. In West Africa an
American species of Hypoxylon is amongst the very few speci-
mens that have ever reached us from the Congo, whilst
H. concentricum and TJstulina vulgaris seem to be almost cosmo-
politan. Torrubia and Nectria extend into the tropics, but are
more plentiful in temperate and sub- tropical countries. Rothidea
is well represented in the tropics, whilst of the species of
Sphceria proper, only the more prominent have probably been
secured by collectors ; hence the Superficiales section is better
represented than the Obtectce , and the tropical representatives
of foliicolous species are but few. Asterina , Mdcropeltis , and
Remphidium are more sub-tropical than temperate forms. The
Rerisporiacei are represented almost everywhere ; although
species of JErysiphe are confined to temperate regions, the genus
Meliola occupies its place in warmer climes. Finally, the
Tuberacei , which are subterranean in their habits, are limited
in distribution, being confined to the temperate zone, never
extending far into the cold, and but poorly represented out of
Europe. One species of Mylitta occurs in Australia, another
in China, and another in the Neilgherries of India ; the genus
Raurocotylis is found in New Zealand and Ceylon. It is said
that a species of Tuber is found in Himalayan regions, but in
the United States, as well as in Northern Europe, the Tuberacei
are rare.
The imperfect condition of our information concerning very
many countries, even of those partially explored, must render
any estimate or comparison of the floras of those countries most
fragmentary and imperfect. Recently, the mycology of our own
islands has been more closely investigated, and the result of
many years’ application on the part of a few individuals has
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
279
appeared in a record of some 2,809 species,* * * § to which subsequent
additions have been made, to an extent of probably not much
less than 200 species, f which would bring the total to about
3,000 species. The result is that no material difference exists
between our flora and that of Northern France, Belgium, and
Scandinavia, except that in the latter there are a larger number
of Hymenomycetal forms. The latest estimates of the flora of
Scandinavia are contained in the works of the illustrious Fries, J
but these are not sufficiently recent, except so far as regards
the Hymenomycetes , for comparison of numbers with British
species.
The flora of Belgium has its most recent exponent in the post-
humous work of Jean Kickx; but the 1,370 species enumerated
by him can hardly be supposed to represent the whole of the
fungi of Belgium, for in such case it would be less than half the
number found in the British Islands, although the majority of
genera and species are the same. §
For the North of France no one could have furnished a
more complete list, especially of the microscopic forms, than
M. Desmazieres, but we are left to rely solely upon his papers in
“ Annales des Sc. Nat.” and his published specimens, which,
though by no means representative of the fleshy fungi, are doubt-
less tolerably exhaustive of the minute species. From what we
know of French Hymenomycetes , their number and variety
appear to be much below those of Great Britain. ||
The mycologic flora of Switzerland has been very well investi-
* Cooke’s “Handbook of British Fungi,” 2 vols. 1871.
f “ Grrevillea,” vols. i. and ii. London, 1872-1874.
+ Fries, “Summa Yegetabilium Scandinavia'’ (1846), and “Monographia
Hymenomycetum Suecise” (1863); “Epicrisis Hymenomycetum Europ.” (1874).
§ “ Flore cryptogamique des Flanders” (1867).
|| “Aine Plantes Cryptogames-cellulaires du Department de Saone et Loire ”
(1863) ; Bulliard, ‘‘Hist, des Champignons de la France” (1791) ; De Candolle,
“Flore Fran§aise” (1815); Duby, “ Botanicon Grallicum” (1828-1830); Paulet,
“ Iconographie des Champignons” (1855); Godron, “Catalogue des Plantes
Cellulaires du Department de la Meurthe” (1845); Crouan, “ Florule du
Finistere ” (1867) ; De Seynes, “ Essai d’une Flore Mycologique de la Region de
Montpellier et du Hard ” (1863).
280
FUNGI.
gated, although, requiring revision. Less attention having been
given to the minute forms, and more to the Hymenomycetes than
in France and Belgium, may in part account for the larger pro-
portion of the latter in the Swiss flora.* * * §
In Spain and Portugal scarce anything has been done ; the
small collection made by Welwitsch can in no way be supposed
to represent the Peninsula.
The fungi of Italy + include some species peculiar to the
Peninsula. The Tuber acei are well represented, and although
the Hymenomycetes do not equal in number those of Britain or
Scandinavia, a good proportion is maintained.
Bavaria and Austria (including Hungary and the Tyrol) are
being more thoroughly investigated than hitherto, but the works
of Schaeffer, Tratinnick, Corda, and Krombholz have made us
acquainted with the general features of their mycology, J to
which more recent lists and catalogues have contributed. § The
publication of dried specimens has of late years greatly facili-
tated acquaintance with the fungi of different countries in
Europe, and those issued by Baron Thiimen from Austria do not
differ materially from those of Northern Germany, although
Dr. Behm has made us acquainted with some new and inter-
esting forms from Bavaria. ||
Russia is to a large extent unknown, except in its northern
borders.^ Karsten has investigated the fungi of Finland,** and
* Secretan, 1 ‘ Mycographie Suisse” (1838); Trog, “ Yerzeichniss Schweize-
rischer Schwamme ” (1844).
i* Passerini, “ Funghi Parmensi,” in “ Griorn. Bot. Italiano ” (1872-73);
Venturi, “Miceti dell’ Agro Bresciano ” (1845); Viviani, “ Funghi d’ltalia”
(1834) ; Vittadini, “ Funghi Mangerecci d’ltalia” (1835).
X Schgeffer, “Fungorum qui in Bavaria,” &c. (1762-1774) ; Tratinnick,
“Fungi Austriaci” (1804-1806 and 1809-30); Corda, “leones Fungorum”
(Prague, 1837-1842); Krombholz, “ Abbildungen der Schwamme ” 1831-1849).
§ Reichardt, “Flora von Iglau;” Niessl, “ Cryptogamenflora Nieder-CEster-
reichs” (1857, 1859) ; Schulzer, “Schwamme Ungarns, Slavoniens,” &e.
|| Rehm, “ Ascomyceten,” fase. i.-iv.
•fl Weinmann, “ Hymeno- et Giasteromycetes, ” in “Imp. Ross” (1836); Wein-
mann, “ Enuraeratio Stirpium, in Agro Petropolitano ” (1837).
** Karsten, “ Fungi in insulis Spetsbergen collectio ” (1872); Karsten, “Mono
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
281
added considerably to the number of Discomycetes , for which
the climate seems to be favourable ; but, as a whole, it may be
concluded that Western and Northern Europe are much better
explored than the Eastern and South-Eastern, to which we might
add the South, if Italy be excepted.
We have only to add, for Europe, that different portions of
the German empire have been well worked, from the period of
Wallroth to the present.* Recently, the valley of the Rhine has
been exhaustively examined by Fuckel ;t but both Germany and
France suffered checks during the late war which made their
mark on the records of science not so speedily to be effaced.
Denmark, with its splendid Flora Danica still in progress, more
than a century after its commencement, J has a mycologic flora
very like to that of Scandinavia, which is as well known.
If we pass from Europe to North America, we find there a
mycologic flora greatly resembling that of Europe, and although
Canada and the extreme North is little known, some parts of
the United States have been investigated. Schweinitz § first
made known to any extent the riches of this country, especially
Carolina, and in this state the late Dr. Curtis and H. W. Ravenel
continued their labours. With the exception of Lea’s collections
in Cincinnati, Wright’s in Texas, and some contributions from
Ohio, Alabama, Massachusetts, and New York, a great portion
of this vast country is mycologically unknown. It is remarkably
rich in fleshy fungi, not only in Agaricini , but also in Discomy-
cetes, containing a large number of European forms, mostly
graphia Pezizarum fennicarura ” (1869); Karsten, “ Symbolse ad Mycologiam
fennicam ” (1870).
* Rabenhorst, “ Deutschlands Kryptogamen Flora” (1844); Wallroth, “Flora
Germanica” (1833) ; Sturm, “Deutschlands Flora, iii. diePilze” (1837, &c.).
f Fuckel, “ Symbolse mycologicse ” (1869).
J “Flora Danica” (1766-1873); Holmskjold, “ Beata ruris otia Fungis
Danicis impensa” (1799); Schumacher, “Enumeratio plantarum Sellandise”
(1801).
§ Schweinitz, “ Synopsis Fnngorum,” in “America Boreali,” &c. (1834).
Lea, “Catalogue of Plants of Cincinnati” (1849); Curtis, “Catalogue of the
Plants of North Carolina” (1867); Berkeley, “North American Fungi,” in
“Grevillea,” vols. i.— iii. ; Peck, in “Reports of New York Museum Nat. Hist.”
282
FUNGI.
European genera, with many species at present peculiar to itself.
Tropical forms extend upwards into the Southern States.
The islands of the West Indies have been more or less ex-
amined, but none so thoroughly as Cuba, at first by Ramon de la
Sagra, and afterwards by Wright.* The three principal genera
of Hymenomycetes represented are Agaricus , Marcismius, and
Polyporus, represented severally by 82, 51, and 120 species,
amounting to more than half the entire number. Of the 490
species, about 57 per cent, are peculiar to the island ; 18 per
cent, are widely dispersed species ; 12 per cent, are common to
the island and Central America, together with the warmer parts
of South America and Mexico ; 3 per cent, are common to it
with the United States, especially the Southern ; while 13 per
cent, are European species, including, however, 13 which may
be considered as cosmopolitan. Some common tropical species
do not occur, and, on the whole, the general character seems
sub-tropical rather than tropical. Many of the species are
decidedly those of temperate regions, or at least nearly allied.
Perhaps the most interesting species are those which occur in
the genera CraterelLus and Laschia, the latter genus, especially,
yielding several new forms. The fact that the climate is, on the
whole, more temperate than that of some other islands in the
same latitudes, would lead us to expect the presence of a com-
paratively large number of European species, or those which
are found in the more northern United States, or British North
America, and may account for the fact that so small a propor-
tion of species should be identical with those from neighbouring
islands.
In Central America only a few small collections have been
made, which indicate a sub- tropical region.
Erom the northern parts of South America, M. Leprieur
collected in French Guiana.t Southwards of this, Spruce col-
lected in the countries bordering on the River Amazon, and
* Berkeley and Curtis, “ Fungi Cubensis,” in “Journ. Linn. Soc.” (1868);
Ramon de la Sagra, “ Hist. Phys. de l’lsle de Cuba, Cryptogames, par Montagne”
(1841); Montagne, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” February, 1842.
t Montagne, “ Cryptogamia Guyanensis,” “Ann. Sci. Nat.” 4me ser. iii.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
283
Gardner in Brazil,* * * § ** Gaudichaud in Chili and Pern,t Gay in
Chili, J Blanch et in Bahia, § Weddell in Brazil, || and Angnste
de Saint Hiliare IF in the same country. Small collections have
also been made in the extreme south. All these collections
contain coriaceous species of Folyporus, Favolus , and allied
genera, with Auricularini , together with such Ascomycetes as
Xylaria , and such forms of Feziza as F. tricholoma , F. Hindsii ,
and F. macrotis. As yet we cannot form an estimate of the
extent or variety of the South American flora, which has fur-
nished the interesting genus Cyttaria , and may yet supply forms
unrecognized elsewhere.
The island of Juan Fernandez furnished to M. Bertero a good
representative collection, ## which is remarkable as containing
more than one-half its number of European species, and the rest
possessing rather the character of those of a temperate than a
sub- tropical region.
Australasia has been partly explored, and the results embodied
in the Floras of Dr. Hooker and subsequent communications.
In a note to an enumeration of 235 species in 1872, the writer
observes that “ many of them are either identical with European
species, or so nearly allied that with dried specimens only,
unaccompanied by notes or drawings, it is impossible to separate
them ; others are species which are almost universally found in
tropical or sub-tropical countries, while a few only are peculiar
to Australia, or are undescribed species, mostly of a tropical type.
The collections on the whole can scarcely be said to be of any
great interest, except so far as geographical distribution is con-
cerned, as the aberrant forms are few.” ft
* Berkeley, in “ Hooker’s Journal of Botany” for 1843, &c.
+ Montagne, in “ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 2me ser. vol. ii. p. 73 (1834).
X Gay, “ Hist, fisica y politica de Chile” (1845).
§ Berkeley and Montagne, “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” xi. (April, 1849).
|| Montagne, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 4me ser. v. No. 6.
"IT Montagne, in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.” (July, 1839).
** Montagne, “ Prodromus Florae Fernandesianae,” in “Ann. des Sci. Nat.”
(June, 1835).
ft Berkeley, “On Australian Fungi,” in “Journ. Linn. Society,” vol. xiii.
(May, 1872).
284
FUNGI.
The fungi collected by the Antarctic Expedition in Auckland
and Campbell’s Islands, and in Euegia and the Ealklands,* were
few and of but little interest, including such cosmopolitan
forms as Sphceria hebarum and Cladosporium herbarum, Hirneola
auricula-judace , JPolyp or us versicolor , Eurotium herbariorum , etc.
In New Zealand a ]arge proportion have been found, and these
may be taken to represent the general character of the fungi
of the islands, which is of the type usually found in temperate
regions. t
The fungi of Asia are so little known that no satisfactory
conclusions can be drawn from our present incomplete know-
ledge. In India, the collections made by Dr. Hooker in his
progress to the Sikkim Himalayas, J a few species obtained by
M. Perottet in Pondicherry, and small collections from the
Neilgherries,§ are almost all that have been recorded. From
these it may be concluded that elevations such as approximate
a temperate climate are the most productive, and here European
and North American genera, with closely allied species, have
the preponderance. The number of Agaricini , for instance, is
large, and amongst the twenty-eight subgenera into which the
genus Agaricus is divided, eight only are unrepresented. Casual
specimens received from other parts of India afford evidence
that here is a vast field unexplored, the forests and mountain
slopes of which would doubtless afford an immense number of
new and interesting forms.
Of the Indian Archipelago, Java has been most explored, both
by Junghuhn|| and Zollinger .^[ The former records 117 species
in 40 genera, Nees von Esenbeck and Blume 11 species in
3 genera, and Zollinger and Moritzi 31 species in 20 genera,
making a total of 159 species, of which 47 belong to Polyporus.
* Hooker’s “ Cryptogamia Antarctica,” pp. 57 and 141.
t Hooker’s “New Zealand Flora.”
t Berkeley, “Sikkim Himalayan Fungi,” in Hooker’s “Journal of Botany”
(1850), p. 42, &c.
§ Montagne, “Cryptogamae Neilgherrensis,” in “ Ann. des Sci. Nat.” 2me ser.
xviii. p. 21 (1842).
|j Junghuhn, “ Premissa in Floram Crypt. Javse.”
Zollinger, “ Fungi Archipalegi Malaijo Neerlandici novi.”
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
285
Leveille added 87 species, making a total of 246 species. The
fungi of Sumatra, Borneo, and other islands are partly the same
and partly allied, but of a similar tropical character.
The fungi of the island of Ceylon, collected by Gardner,
Thwaites, and Konig, were numerous. The Agarics comprise
802 species, closely resembling those of our own country.* It
is singular that every one of the subgenera of Fries is repre-
sented, though the number of species in one or two is greatly
predominant. Lepiota and Psalliota alone comprise one-third
of the species, while Pholiota offers only a single obscure species.
The enumeration recently published of the succeeding families
contains many species of interest.
In Africa, the best explored country is Algeria, although
unfortunately the flora was never completed.’}’ The correspon-
dence between the fungi of Algeria and European countries is
very striking, and the impression is not removed by the presence
of a few sub-tropical forms. It is probable that were the fungi
of Spain known the resemblance would be more complete.
From the Cape of Good Hope and Natal collections have been
made by Zeyher,| Drege, and others, and from these we are
enabled to form a tolerable estimate of the mycologic flora. Of
the Hymenomycetes , the greater part belong to Agaricus ; there
are but four or five Polypori in Zeyher’s collection, one of which
is protean. The G-asteromycetes are interesting, belonging to
many genera, and presenting two, Scoleciocarpus and Phellorinia ,
which were founded upon specimens in this collection. Batarrea ,
Tulostoma , and Mycenastrum are represented by European species.
There are also two species of Lycoperdon , and one of Podaxon.
Besides these, there is the curious Secotium Gueinzii. The genus
Geaster does not appear in the collection, nor Scleroderma .
Altogether the Cape flora is a peculiar one, and can scarcely be
compared with any other.
At the most, only scattered and isolated specimens have been
* Berkeley and Broome, “Fungi of Ceylon,” in “Journ. Linn. Soc.” for
May, 1871.
f “ Flore d’Algerie, Cryptogames” (1846, &c.).
J Berkeley, in Hooker’s “ Journal of Botany,” vol. ii. (1843), p. 408.
286
FUNGI.
recorded from Senegal, from Egypt, or from other parts of
Africa, so that, with the above exceptions, the continent may
be regarded as unknown.
From this imperfect summary it will be seen that no general
scheme of geographical distribution of fungi can as yet be
attempted, and the most we can hope to do is to compare
collection with collection, and what we know of one country
with what we know of another, and note differences and agree-
ments, so as to estimate the probable character of the fungi of
other countries of which we are still in ignorance. It is well
sometimes that we should attempt a task like the present, since
we then learn how much there is to be known, and how much
good work lies waiting to be done by the capable and willing
hands that may hereafter undertake it.
287
XIV.
COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION.
The multitudinous forms which fungi assume, the differences
of substance, and variability in size, render a somewhat detailed
account of the modes adopted for their collection and preserva-
tion necessary. The habitats of the various groups have already
been indicated, so that there need be no difficulty in selecting
the most suitable spots, and as to the period of the year, this will
be determined by the class of objects sought. Although it may
be said that no time, except when the ground is covered with
snow, is entirely barren of fungi, yet there are periods more
prolific than others.* Fleshy fungi, such as the Syvienomycetes ,
are most common from September until the frosts set in, whereas
many microscopic species may be found in early spring, and
increase in number until the autumn.
The collector may be provided with an ordinary collecting
box, but for the Agarics an open shallow basket is preferable. A
great number of the woody kinds may be carried in the coat-
pocket, and foliicolous species placed between the leaves of a
pocket-book. It is a good plan to be provided with a quantity
of soft bibulous paper, in which specimens can be wrapped when
collected, and this will materially assist in their preservation
when transferred to box or basket. A large clasp-knife, a small
pocket-saw, and a pocket-lens will complete the outfit for ordinary
I occasions. In order to preserve the fleshy fungi for the her-
barium, there is but one method, which has often been described.
J
* The genus Chiony'pUe occurs on granaries under snow, as well as in that
formidable disease, the Madura fungus-foot. ( See Carter’s “ Mycetoma.”
288
FUNGI.
The Agaric, or other similar fungus, is cut perpendicularly from
the pileus downwards through the stem. A second cut in the
same direction removes a thin slice, which represents a section of
the fungus ; this may be laid on blotting paper, or plant- drying
paper, and pnt under slight pressure to dry. Erom one-half of
the fungus the pileus is removed, and with a sharp knife the
gills and fleshy portion of the pileus are cut away. In the same
manner the inner flesh of the half stem is also cleared. When
dried, the half of the pileus is placed in its natural position on
the top of the half stem, and thus a portrait of the growing
fungus is secured, whilst the section shows the arrangement of
the hymenium and the character of the stem. The other half
of the pileus may be placed, gills downward, on a piece of black
paper, and allowed to rest there during the night. In the morn-
ing the spores will have been thrown down upon the paper,
which may be placed with the other portions. When dry, the
section, profile, and spore paper may be mounted together on a
piece of stiff paper, and the name, locality, and date inscribed
below, with any additional particulars. It is advisable here to
caution the collector never to omit writing down these particulars
at once when the preparations are made, and to place them
together, between the folds of the drying paper, in order to
prevent the possibility of a mistake. Some small species may
be dried whole or only cut down the centre, but the spores should
never be forgotten. When dried, either before or after mounting,
the specimens should be poisoned, in order to preserve them
from the attacks of insects. The best medium for this purpose
is carbolic acid, laid on with a small hog-hair brush. Whatever
substance is used, it must not be forgotten by the manipulator
that he is dealing with poison, and must exercise caution. If
the specimens are afterwards found to be insufficiently poisoned,
or that minute insects are present in the herbarium, fresh
poisoning will be necessary. Some think that benzine or spirits
of camphor is sufficient, but as either is volatile, it is not to be
trusted as a permanent preservative. Mr. English, of Epping,
by an ingenious method of his own, preserves a great number
of the fleshy species in their natural position, and although
COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION.
289
valueless for an herbarium, they are not only very ornamental,
but useful, if space can be devoted to them.
Leaf parasites, whether on living or dead leaves, may be dried
in the usual way for drying plants, between folds of bibulous paper
under pressure. It may be sometimes necessary with dead leaves
to throw them in water, in order that they may be flattened with-
out breaking, and then dry them in the same manner as green
leaves. All species produced on a hard matrix, as wood, bark,
etc., should have as much as possible of the matrix pared away,
so that the specimens may lie flat in the herbarium. This is
often facilitated in corticolous species by removing the bark and
drying it under pressure.
The dusty Gasteromycetes are troublesome, especially the
minute species, and if mounted openly on paper are soon spoiled.
A good plan is to provide small square or round cardboard
boxes, of not more than a quarter of an inch in depth, and
to glue the specimen to the bottom at once, allowing it to
dry in that position before replacing the cover. The same
method should be adopted for many of the moulds, such as
JPolyactis , etc., which, under any circumstances, are difficult to
preserve.
In collecting moulds, we have found it an excellent plan to
go out provided with small wooden boxes, corked at top and
bottom, such as entomologists use, and some common pins.
When a delicate mould is collected on a decayed Agaric, or any
other matrix, after clearing away with a penknife all unnecessary
portions of the matrix, the specimen may be pinned down to the
cork in one of these boxes. Another method, and one advisable
also for the Myxogastres , is to carry two or three pill-boxes, in
which, after being wrapped in tissue paper, the specimen may
be placed.
A great difficulty is often experienced with microscopic fungi,
such, for instance, as the >S 'yhceriacei, in the necessity, whenever
a new examination is required, to soak the specimen for some
hours, and then transfer the fruit to a slide, before it can be
compared with any newly- found specimen that has to be identi-
fied. To avoid this, mounted specimens ready for the microscope
u
290
FUNGI.
are an acquisition, and may be secured in the following manner.
After the fungus bas been soaked in water, where that is neces-
sary, and the hymenium extracted on the point of a penknife, let
it be transferred to the centre of a clean glass slide. A drop of
glycerine is let fall upon this nucleus, then the covering glass
placed over it. A slight pressure will flatten the object and expel
all the superfluous glycerine around the edges of the covering
glass. A spring clip holds the cover in position, whilst a camel-
hair pencil is used to remove the glycerine which may have been
expelled. This done, the edges of the cover may be fixed to the
slide by painting round with gum-dammar dissolved in benzole.
In from twelve to twenty-four hours the spring clip may be
removed, and the mount placed in the cabinet. Glycerine is,
perhaps, the best medium for mounting the majority of these
objects, and when dammar and benzole are used for fixing, there
is no difficulty experienced, as is the case with Canada balsam,
if the superfluous glycerine is not wholly washed away. Speci-
mens of Puccinia mounted in this way when fresh gathered,
and before any shrivelling had taken place, are as plump and
natural in our cabinet as they were when collected six or seven
years ago.
Moulds are always troublesome to preserve in a herbarium in
a state sufficiently perfect for reference after a few years. We
have found it an excellent method to provide some thin plates of
mica, the thinner the better, of a uniform size, say two inches
square, or even less. Between two of these plates of mica
enclose a fragment of the mould, taking care not to move one
plate over the other after the mould is placed. Fix the plates
by a clip, whilst strips of paper are gummed or pasted over the
edges of the mica plates so as to hold them together. When
dry, the clip may be removed, and the name written on the
paper. These mounts may be put each in a small envelope, and
fastened down in the herbarium. Whenever an examination is
required, the object, being already dry-mounted, may at once be
placed under the microscope. In this manner the mode of
attachment of the spores can be seen, but if mounted in fluid
they are at once detached; and if the moulds are only preserved
COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION.
291
in boxes, in the course of a short time nearly every spore will
have fallen from its support.
Two or three accessories to a good herbarium may be named.
For fleshy fungi, especially Agarics, faithfully coloured drawings,
side by side with the dried specimens, will compensate for loss
or change of colour which most species undergo in the process
of drying. For minute species, camera lucida drawings of the
spores, together with their measurements, will add greatly to
the practical value of a collection. In mounting specimens,
whether on leaves, bark, or wood, it will be of advantage to have
one specimen glued down to the paper so as to be seen at once,
and a duplicate loose in a small envelope beside it, so that the
latter may at any time be removed and examined under the
microscope.
In arranging specimens for the herbarium, a diversity of taste
and opinion exists as to the best size for the herbarium paper.
It is generally admitted that a small size is preferable to the
large one usually employed for phanerogamous plants-. Probably
the size of foolscap is the most convenient, each sheet being con-
fined to a single species. In public herbaria, the advantage of
a uniform size for all plants supersedes all other advantages,
but in a private herbarium, consisting entirely of fungi, the
smaller size is better.
The microscopic examination of minute species is an absolute
necessity to ensure accurate identification. Little special remark
is called for here, since the methods adopted for other objects
will be available. Specimens which have become dry may be
placed in water previous to examination, a process which will be
found essential in such genera as JPeziza , Sphceria, etc. For
moulds, which must be examined as opaque objects, if all their
beauties and peculiarities are to be made out, a half-inch
objective is recommended, with the nozzle bevelled as much
to a point as possible, so that no light be obstructed.*
In examining the sporidia of minute JPezizce and some others,
the aid of some reagent will be found necessary. When th
* Bubbles of air are often very tiresome in the examination of moulds. A
little alcohol will remove them.
292
FUNGI.
sporidia are very delicate and hyaline, the septa cannot readily
be seen if present ; to aid in the examination, a drop of tincture
of iodine will he of considerable advantage. In many cases
sporidia, which are very indistinct in glycerine, are much more
distinct when the fluid is water.
The following hints to travellers, as regards the collection of
fungi, drawn up some years since by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley,
have been widely circulated, and may be usefully inserted here,
though at the risk of repetition : —
“ It is frequently complained that in collections of exotic plants,
no tribe is so much neglected as that of fungi ; this arises partly
from the supposed difficulty of preserving good specimens, partly
from their being less generally studied than other vegetable pro-
ductions. As, however, in no department of botany, there is a
greater probability of meeting with new forms, and the diffi-
culties, though confessedly great in one or two genera, are far
less than is often imagined, the following hints are respectfully
submitted to such collectors as may desire to neglect no part of
the vegetable kingdom.
“ The greater proportion, especially of tropical fungi, are dried,
simply by light pressure, with as much ease as phoenogamous
plants ; indeed, a single change of the paper in which they are
placed is generally sufficient, and many, if wrapped up in soft
paper when gathered, and submitted to light pressure, require
no further attention. Such as are of a tough leathery nature,
if the paper be changed a few hours after the specimens have
been laid in, preserve all their characters admirably ; and if in
the course of a few weeks there is an opportunity of washing
them with a solution of turpentine and corrosive sublimate,
submitting them again to pressure for a few hours merely to
prevent their shrinking, there will be no fear of their suffering
from the attacks of insects.
“ Many of the mushroom tribe are so soft and watery that it
is very difficult to make good specimens without a degree of
labour which is quite out of the question with travellers. By
changing, however, the papers in which they are dried two or
three times the first day, if practicable, useful specimens may be
COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION.
293
prepared, especially if a few notes be made as to colour, etc.
The more important notes are as to tlie colour of the stem
and pileus, together with any peculiarities of the surface, e.g.,
whether it be dry, viscid, downy, scaly, etc., and whether the
flesh of the pileus be thin or otherwise ; as to the stem, whether
hollow or solid ; as to the gills, whether they are attached to the
stem or free ; and especially what is their colour and that of the
spores. It is not in general expedient to preserve specimens in
spirits, except others are dried by pressure, or copious notes be
made ; except, indeed, in some fungi of a gelatinous nature,
which can scarcely be dried at all by pressure.
“ The large woody fungi, the puff-balls, and a great number
of those which grow on wood, etc., are best preserved, after
ascertaining that they are dry and free from larvae, by simply
wrapping them in paper or placing them in chip-boxes, taking
care that they are so closely packed as not to rub. As in other
tribes of plants, it is very requisite to have specimens in different
stages of growth, and notes as to precise habitats are always
interesting.
“ The attention of the traveller can scarcely be directed to any
more interesting branch, or one more likely to produce novelty,
than the puff-ball tribe ; and he is particularly requested to col-
lect these in every stage of growth, especially in the earliest,
and, if possible, to preserve some of the younger specimens in
spirits. One or two species are produced on ant-hills, the know-
ledge of the early state of which is very desirable.
“ The fungi which grow on leaves in tropical climates are
scarcely less abundant than in our own country, though belonging
to a different type. Many of these must constantly come under
the eye of the collector of phoen ogams, and would be most
acceptable to the mycologist. But the attention of the collector
should also be directed to the lichen-like fungi, which are so
abundant in some countries on fallen sticks. Hundreds of
species of the utmost interest would reward active research, and
they are amongst the easiest to dry ; indeed, in tropical coun-
tries, the greater proportion of the species are easy to preserve?
but they will not strike the eye which is not on the watch for
294
FUNGI.
them. The number of fleshy species is but few, and far less
likely to furnish novelty.”
In conclusion, we may urge upon all those who have followed
us thus far to adopt this branch of botany as their speciality.
Hitherto it has been very much neglected, and a wide field is
open for investigation and research. The life-history of the
majority of species has still to be read, and the prospects of new
discoveries for the industrious and persevering student are great.
All who have as yet devoted themselves with assiduity have been
in this manner rewarded. The objects are easily obtainable, and
there is a constantly increasing infatuation in the study. Where
so much is unknown, not a few difficulties have to be encoun-
tered, and here the race is not to the swift so much as to the
untiring. May our efforts to supply this introduction to the
study receive their most welcome reward in an accession to the
number of the students and investigators of the nature, uses,
and influences of fungi.
INDEX
jEcidiacei, structure of, 41.
jEcidium and Puccinia, 199.
,, germination, 141.
Agaricini, habitats of, 233.
,, structure of, 17.
Agaric of the olive, 108.
Agarics, growth of, 138.
Algo-lichen hypothesis, 10.
Alveolate spores, 130.
Amadou, 103.
American floras, 281.
„ fungi, 281.
Antheridia, presumed, 171.
Appearance of new forms, 248.
Arrangement of families, 80.
Asci and sporidia, 131.
,, in Agarics (?), 23.
,, their dehiscence, 59.
Ascobolei, structure of, 56.
Ascomycetes , classification of, 75.
,, distribution of, 277.
,, habitats of, 241.
,, structure of, 55.
Aspergillus glaucus, 187.
Atmosphere, spores in, 214.
Barberry cluster-cups, 201.
Barren cysts of Lecythea , 37.
Basidiospores, 120.
Beech morels, 101.
Beefsteak fungus, 96.
Berberry and mildew, 199.
Boletus , esculent species, 95.
Books on structure, 63.
Bulgaria, its dualism, 198.
Bunt and smut, 225.
„ spores, germination of, 150.
Cceomacei, structure of, 36.
Camp measles and fever, 213.
Caudate sporidia, 134.
Champignon, fairy-ring, 94.
Change of colour, 114.
Chantarelle, the, 93.
Cholera fungi, 213.
Ciliated stylospores, 124-6.
Classification of Ascomycetes , 75.
,, ConiomyceteSj 69.
, , fungi, 64.
,, G aster omycetes, 66.
, , Eymenomycetes , 65.
,, Hyphomycetes, 73.
,, Physomycetes, 74.
,, tabular view, 80.
Collecting fungi, 287.
Colour and its variation, 117.
Conditions of growth, 269.
Conidia of Erysiphei , 62.
„ Mucor, 53.
,, Peziza, 46.
,, Sphcerice, 192.
Coniomycetes, classification of, 69.
296
INDEX.
Coniomycetes , habitats of, 38.
Conjugating cells, 165.
Conjugation in Peronospora, 171.
,, Peziza, 175.
Copulation in Discomycetes , 173.
,, fungi, 163.
Corn, mildew, and rust, 224.
Cortinarius, species of, 91.
Cotton plant diseases, 228.
Cultivation of fungi, 253.
3, Sclerotia, 261.
„ truffles, 258.
Currant twig fungus, 193.
Cystidia, 21 .
Dacrymyces, germination of, 140.
De Bary, on conditions of study, 183.
Decay rapid, 9.
Dehiscecce of asci, 58.
Dimorphism in moulds, 187.
,, of Mucor , 53.
Disappearance of species, 268.
Discomycetes , 56.
Dissemination of spores, 119.
Distribution, geographical, 266.
Dried fungi, esculent, 87, 94.
Drying of fungi, 289.
Dry rot, 223.
Dualism in Melanconis , 197.
,, Podisoma, 203.
,, Polyactes, 45.
,, Uredines, 185.
Edible fungi in America, 88.
Ergotized grass, 217.
Erysiphe , conjugation, 176.
Erysiphei, polymorphism, 191.
Esculent fungi, 82.
European floras, 279.
Examination of fungi, 289.
Exotic floras, 280-5.
False truffles, 98.
Fairy-ring champignon, 94.
Families and orders, table of, 80.
Fenestrate sporidia, 135.
Fetid fungi, 116.
Fistulina hepatica , 96.
Floras of Europe, &c., 279.
Fly Agaric, 210.
Food, fungi as, 81.
Forestry and its foes, 229.
Fungi collecting abroad, 292.
,, in disease, 215.
,, mines, 111.
,, of America, 281.
,, Asia, 284.
,, parasitic on animals, 246.
,, ,, each other, 244.
,, true plants, 5.
Garden pests, 230.
Gasteromycetes, classification of, 66.
Geographical distribution, 266.
Germinating pseudospores, 144.
Germination of fungi, 137.
,, Mucor , 157, 164.
,, Podisoma , 147.
Gonosphere, in Peronospora, 171.
Growth of Agarics, 138.
Habitats of fungi, 233.
Helicoid spores, 129.
Herbarium for fungi, 291.
Hints for travellers, 292.
Hollyhock disease, 230.
House-fly fungus, 219.
Hydnum gelatinosum, 24.
Hymenium of fungi, 18.
Hymenomycetes, classification of, 65.
Hyphomycetes , classification of, 73.
,, habitats of, 240.
,, structure of, 42.
Hypogoei , structure of, 29.
Influences of fungi, 209.
Influence on lower animals, 217.
,, man, 209.
INDEX,
297
Influence on vegetation, 222.
,, of woods, 271.
Injurious moulds, 230, 240.
Insect, parasites on, 7, 218.
,, fungi, 7, 218, 246.
Isaria and Torrubia , 205.
Ketchup, or catchup, 89.
Lactescent fungi, 115.
Lichen-gonidia question, 10.
Lichens and fungi, 9.
Little man’s bread, 102.
Luminous Agarics, 105.
„ wood, 113.
Meadow mushroom, 83.
Medicinal fungi, 102.
Melanconiei, structure of, 35.
Microscopical mounting, 290.
Mildew in corn, 199.
Milky fungi, 92.
,, juice, 115.
Morels, 99, 159.
,, germination of, 159.
Mould cultivation, 263.
Moulds, and dimorphism, 187.
,, structure of, 43.
,, to preserve, 290.
Mucedines, habitats of, 240.
,, structure of, 44.
Mucor, dualism of, 205.
,, growth of, 157.
,, structure of, 50.
Mushroom, analysis of, 19.
,, caves of Paris, 2 55.
,, cultivation, 254.
,, spawn, 256.
,, the edible, 83.
Myxogastrcs, habitats of, 237.
,, structure of, 31.
Nature of fungi, 1.
New forms, appearance of, 248.
Nidulariacei , structure of, 34.
Oak truffles, 260.
Odours of fungi, 116.
Oidium and Erysiphe, 191.
Oocysts in Erysiphe , 176.
Oogonia, 136, 169.
,, of Saprolegnice , 169.
Orders and families, table of, 80.
Oyster mushroom, 86.
Paper moulds, 248.
Paraphyses and asci, 49.
Parasites on plants, 238.
Perisporiacei , structure of, 62.
Peronospora, growth of, 152.
Pests of forest trees, 229.
,, the garden, 230.
Peziza, conidia of, 46.
,, FucJceliana , 48.
Pezizce, their habitats, 242.
Phalloidei, structure of, 28.
Phenomena of fungi, 105.
Phosphorescence, 105.
Pkysomycetes , classification of, 74.
,, habitats of, 241.
,, structure of, 50.
Podaxinei, structure of, 29.
Podisoma, and its allies, 40, 72.
,, and Roesteliaf 203.
,, germination of, 147.
Poisonous fungi, 209.
Polymorphism, 182.
Polymorphy in Erysiphe, 191.
Polyporei , structure of, 23.
Polyporus , edible species, 96.
Potato disease, 225.
,, mould, germination, 155.
Preservation of fungi, 288.
Pseudospores, 126.
Puccinia and JEcidiwn 199.
Puccinia, germination of, 145.
Puccinicei , structure of, 38.
Puff-balls, edible, 98.
X
298
INDEX.
Puff-balls, structure of, 29.
,, spores, 123.
Pycnidia, 62, 180.
,, and spermatia, 62.
Roestelia and Podisoma, 203.
Red rust and cattle food, 217.
Reproduction, sexual, 163.
Rhizomorphce , 111.
Russula, edible species of, 93.
St. George’s mushroom, 85.
Saprolegnei, conjugation of, 168.
Sclerotia, 47, 261.
,, cultivation, 261.
Scolecite in Peziza, &c., 173.
Septate stylospores, 124.
Sexual reproduction, 163.
Silkworm disease, 220.
Skin diseases and fungi, 212.
Slides for the microscope, 290.
Spawn of fungi, 256.
Special cultivation, 264.
Species determinate, 5.
Spermatia, 128, 179.
,, of Restelia, 42.
„ in *Tremella, 26.
Sperm ogonia, 178.
Splice via, sporidia of, 133.
Sphceriacei, structure of, 61.
Sphcerice, polymorph y, 192.
Sphceronemei , structure of, 35.
Spiral threads, 32.
Spontaneous generation, 3.
Sporangia, 51, 129.
,, of Mucor , 51.
Spores in chaplets, 143.
,, of Agaricini, 121.
,, G aster omycetes, 122.
,, truffles, 130.
,, stellate and crested, 36.
,, their dissemination, 119.
Sporidia, germination of, 160.
,, of Ascomycetes , 130.
Sporidiifera, structure of, 50.
Sporifera and Sporidiifera, 64.
Star-spored fungus, 125.
Structure of fungi, 17.
,, Agaricini, 17.
,, books written upon, 63.
,, of JRcidiacei, 41.
,, Ascomycetes, 55.
,, Coeomacei, 36.
,, Hypliomycetes , 42.
,, Hypogoei, 29.
,, Melanconiei, 35.
,, Mucedines, 44.
,, Mucor, 50.
,, Myxogastres, 31.
,, Nidulariacei, 34.
, , Pei'isporiacei , 62.
,, Phalloidei , 28.
, , Physomycetes, 50.
,, Podaxinei, 29.
, , Polyporei, 23.
,, Puccinicei, 38.
,, Sphceriacei, 61.
,, Sphceronemei, 35.
,, Torulacei, 36.
,, Tremellini, 25.
,, Trichogastres, 29.
,, truffles, 55.
, , Ustilaginei, 40.
Study of development, 183.
Stylospores, 123.
Subterranean puff-balls, 29.
Summer and winter spores, 37.
Supposed animal nature, 2.
Table of classification, 80.
Thecaspores, 13
Torrubia and Isaria , 205.
Torulacei, structure of, 36.
Travellers, hints for, 292.
Tremella, germination of, 139.
Tremellini, structure of, 24.
Trichogastres, habitats of, 237.
„ structure of, 29.
INDEX.
299
Trichospores, 128.
Tropical fungi, 272.
Truffle cultivation, 258.
Truffles, 55, 101, 258.
,, structure of, 55.
Tuberacei , structure of, 55.
Tubercularia and Nectrici , 194.
Uredines, germination of, 143.
,, polymorphy of, 186.
,, structure of, 37.
Uses of fungi, 82.
Ustilaginei, structure of, 40.
,, germination of, 149.
“ Vegetable wasp,” 218.
Vegetative and reproductive system, 7.
Viennese fungi, 84.
Vine and hop disease, 227.
White rust germination, 151.
Winter and summer spores, 37.
Zones of distribution, 270.
Zoospores of Cystopus , 38.
,, white rust, 151.
Zygospores of Mucor, 158, 164.
Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, Milford Lane, Strand, London, W.G.
December, 1874.
a Classified Catalogue of
Henry S. King & Co/s Publications.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
History and Biography . . . i
Voyages and Travel . . . . 4
Science . 6
Essays and Lectures . . . . 11
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India and the East . . . . 15
Books for the Young, &c. . . .16
page
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MOUNTAIN WARFARE, illustrated by the Campaign of 1799 in Switzer-
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RUSSIA’S ADVANCE EASTWARD. Based on the Official Reports of
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Military Works —continued.
THE GERMAN ARTILLERY IN THE BATTLES NEAR METZ
Based on the official reports of the German Artillery. By Captain Hoffbauer,
Instructor in the German Artillery and Engineer School. Translated by Capt. E. O.
Hollist. Demy 8vo. With Map and Plans. Price 21 s.
“Captain Hoffbauer's style is much more simple 1 able and instructive book; whilst to his brother
and agreeable than those of many of his comrades officers, who have a special professional interest in
and fellow authors, and it suffers nothing in the hands the subject, its value cannot well be overrated.” —
of Captain Hollist, whose translation is close and Academy.
faithful. He has given the general public a read- ,
THE OPERATIONS OF THE BAVARIAN ARMY CORPS.
By Captain Hugo Helvigb Translated by Captain Gr. S. Schwabe.
With 5 large Maps. In 2 vols. Demy 8vo. Price 24J.
“ It contains much material that may prove use- I and that the translator has performed his work
ful to the future historian of the war ; and it is, on I most creditably.” — Atheneenm.
the whole, written in a spirit of fairness and im- | “Captain Schwabe has done well to translate it,
partiality. . . It only remains to say that the work ' and his translation is admirably executed.” — Pall
is enriched by some excellent large scale maps, | Mall Gazette.
AUSTRIAN CAVALRY EXERCISE. From an Abridged Edition
compiled by Captain Illia Woinovits, of the General Staff, on the Tactical Regula-
tions of the Austrian Army, and prefaced by a General Sketch of the Organisation, &c.,
of the Cavalry. Translated by Captain W. S. Cooke. Crown 8vo, cloth. Price 7 j.
“Among the valuable group of works on the 1 ‘ Austrian Cavalry Exercise ’ will hold a good and
military tactics of the chief States of Europe which useful place.” — Westminster Review.
Messrs. King are publishing, a small treatise on I
History of the Organisation, Equipment, and War Services of
THE REGIMENT OF BENGAL ARTILLERY. Compiled from
Published Official and other Records, and various private sources, by Maj or Francis
W. Stubbs, Royal (late Bengal) Artillery. Vol. I. will contain War Services. The
Second Volume will be published separately, and will contain the History of the
Organisation and Equipment of the Regiment. In 2 vols. 8vo. With Maps
and Plans. [ Preparing .
VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. An Attempt to explain the Causes which
have led to them. An Officer’s Manual. By Col. 3J. P. Anderson. 8vo. 14s.
“The young officer should have it always at I "The present book proves that he is a diligent
hand to open anywhere and read a bit, and we student of military history, his illustrations ranging
warrant him that let that bit be ever so small it over a wide field, and including ancient and mo-
will give him material for an hour’s thinking.” — dern Indian and European warfare.” — Standard.
United Service Gazette. |
THE FRONTAL ATTACK OF INFANTRY. By Capt. Laymann,
Instructor of Tactics at the Military College, Neisse. Translated by Colonel
Edward Newdig'ate. Crown 8vo, limp cloth. Price is. 6d.
“ An exceedingly useful kind of book. A valu-
able acquisition to the military student's library.
It recounts, in the first place, the opinions and
tactical formations which regulated the German
army during the early battles of the late war ; ex-
plains how these were modified in the course of
the campaign by the terrible and unanticipated
effect of the fire ; and how, accordingly, troops
should be trained to attack in future wars.” — Naval
and Military Gazette.
ELEMENTARY MILITARY GEOGRAPHY, RECONNOITRING,
AND SKETCHING. Compiled for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers of all
Arms. By Capt. C. E. H. Vincent. Square cr. 8vo. 2 s. 6 d.
“ This manual takes into view the necessity of
every soldier knowing how to read a military map,
in order to know to what points in an enemy’s
country to direct his attention ; and provides for
this necessity by giving, in terse and sensible
language, definitions of varieties of ground and the
advantages they present in warfare, together with
a number of useful hints in military sketching.” —
Naval and Military Gazette.
THREE WORKS BY LIEUT. -COL. THE HON. A. ANSON,
V.C., M.P.
The Abolition of Purchase and the
Army Regulation Bill of 1871. Crown
8vo. Price One Shilling.
Army Reserves and Militia Reforms.
Crown 8vo. Sewed. Price One Shilling.
The Story of the Supersessions. Crown
8vo. Price Sixpence.
65; Cornhill ; 6° 12, Paternoster Row, Londoti.
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.,
Military Works — contimied.
THE OPERATIONS OF THE SOUTH ARMY IN JANUARY
AND FEBRUARY, 1871. Compiled from the Official War Documents of the Head-
quarters of the Southern Army. By Count Hermann von Wartensleoen,
Colonel in the Prussian General Staff. Translated by Colonel C. H. VOll WT’ig'llt.
Demy 8vo, with Maps. Uniform with the above. Price 6s.
STUDIES IN THE NEW INFANTRY TACTICS. Parts I. & II.
By Major W. von Scherff. Translated from the German by Colonel Lumley
Graham. Demy 8vo. Price js. 6d.
“ The subject of the respective advantages of
attack and defence, and of the methods in which
each form of battle should be carried out under
the fire of modern arms, is exhaustively and ad-
mirably treated ; indeed, we cannot but consider
it to be decidedly superior to any work which has
hitherto appeared in English upon this all-import-
ant subject.” — Standard.
Second Edition. Revised and Corrected.
TACTICAL DEDUCTIONS FROM THE WAR OF 1870—71. By
Captain A. von Boguslawski. Translated by Colonel Lumle3r Graham,
late 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment. Demy 8vo. Uniform with the above. Price js.
“We must, without delay, impress brain and
forethought into the British Service ; and we can-
not commence the good work too soon, or better,
than by placing the two books (‘ The Operations of
the German Armies’ and ‘Tactical Deductions’)
we have here criticised in -every military library,
and introducing them as class-books in every tac-
tical school.” — United Service Gazette.
THE ARMY OF THE NORTH-GERMAN CONFEDERATION.
A Brief Description of its Organization, of the different Branches of the Service, and
their “Role” in War, of its Mode of Fighting, &c. By a Prussian General.
Translated from the German by Col. Edward Newdigate. Demy 8vo. Price 5s.
"The work is quite essential to the full use of
the other volumes of the ‘ German Military Series,’
which Messrs. King are now producing in hand-
some uniform style. — United Service Magazine.
Every page of the book deserves attentive
study .... The information given on mobilisation,
garrison troops, keeping up establishment during
war, and on the employment of the different
branches of the service, is of great value.”—
Standard.
THE OPERATIONS OF THE GERMAN ARMIES IN FRANCE,
FROM SEDAN TO THE END OF THE WAR OF 1870-71. With large
Official Map. From the Journals of the Head-quarters Staff, by IVEajor William
Blume. Translated by E. U. Jones, Major 20th Foot, late Professor of Military
History, Sandhurst. Demy 8vo. Price gs.
“ The book is of absolute necessity to the mili-
tary student .... The work is one of high merit.”
— United Service Gazette.
“ The work of Major von Blume in its English
dress forms the most valuable addition to our stock
of works upon the war that our press has put forth.
Our space forbids our doing more than commend-
ing it earnestly as the most authentic and instruc-
tive narrative of the second section' of the war that
has yet appeared." — Saturday Review.
HASTY IN TRENCH M ENTS. By Colonel A. Brialmont. Translated
by Lieut. Charles A. Empson, It. A. With Nine Plates. Demy 8 vo. Price 6s.
“ A valuable contribution to military literature.” 1 “ It supplies that which our own text-books give
— Atheu&iCm. _ _ _ but imperfectly, viz., hints as to how a position can
“ In seven short chapters it gives plain directions I best be strengthened by means ... of such extem-
for forming shelter-trenches, with the best method j porised intrenchments and batteries as can be
of carrying the necessary tools, and it offers prac- | thrown up by infantry in the space of four or five
tical illustrations of the use of hasty intrenchments I hours . . . deserves to become a standard military
on the field of battle.” — United Service Magazine. \ work.” — Standard.
STUDIES IN LEADING TROOPS. Parts I. and II. By Colonel von
Verdy du Vernois. An authorised and accurate Translation by Lieutenant
K. J. T. Hildyard, 71st Foot. Demy8vo. Price 7s.
*,* General BEAUCHAMP WALKER, says of
this work : — “ I recommend the first two numbers
of Colonel von Verdy’s * Studies’ to the attentive
perusal of my brother officers. They supply a
want which I have often felt during my service in
this country, namely, a minuter tactical detail of
the minor operations of war than any but the most
observant and fortunately-placed staff-officer is in
a position to give. I have read and re-read them
very carefully, I hope with profit, certainly with
great interest, and believe that practice, in the
sense of these ‘ Studies,’ would be a valuable pre-
paration for manoeuvres on a more extended
scale.”— Berlin, June, 1872.
DISCIPLINE AND DRILL. Four Lectures delivered to the London
Scottish Rifle Volunteers. By Capt. S. Flood Pagre. Cheaper Edition. Cr. 8vo. is.
“The very useful and interesting work.” — I “ An admirable collection of lectures.” — Times.
Volunteer Service Gazette. \
65, Cornhill ; lb* 12, Paternoster Row, London.
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.,
15
Military Works — continued.
CAVALRY FIELD DUTY. By Major-General von Mirus. Translated
by Captain Frank S. Russell, 14th (King’s) Hussars. Cr. 8vo, cloth limp. 7s. 6d.
“We have no book on cavalry duties that at all
approaches to this, either for completeness in
details, clearness in description, or for manifest
utility. In its pages will be found plain instructions
for every portion of duty before the enemy that a
combatant horseman will be called upon to per-
form, and if a dragoon but studies it well and
intelligently, his value to the army, we are confi-
dent, must be increased one hundredfold. Skir-
mishing, scouting, patrolling, and vedettmg are
now the chief duties dragoons in peace should be
practised at, and how to perform these duties
effectively is what the book teaches.”— United
Set vice Magazine.
INDIA AND THE EAST.
THE THREATENED FAMINE IN BENGAL; How it may be
Met, and the Recurrence of Famines in India Prevented. Being No. i of
“ Occasional Notes on Indian Affairs.” By Sir K. Bartle E. Frere, G.C.B.,
G.C.S.I., &C. &C. Crown 8vo. With 3 Maps. Price 5s.
THE ORIENTAL SPORTING MAGAZINE. A Reprint of the first
5 Volumes, in 2 Volumes, demy 8vo. Price 28J.
“ Lovers of sport will find ample amusement in
the varied contents of these two volumes.” — Allen's
Indian Mail.
“ Full of interest for the sportsman and natural-
ist. Full of thrilling adventures of sportsmen who
have attacked the fiercest and most gigantic
specimens of the animal world in their native
jungle. It is seldom we get so many exciting inci-
dents in a similar amount of space . . . W ell suited
to the libraries of country gentlemen and all those
who are interested in sporting matters.” — Civil
| Service Gazette.
Second Edition, Revised and Corrected.
THE
EUROPEAN IN INDIA. A Hand-book of Practical Information
for those proceeding to, or residing in, the East Indies, relating to Outfits, Routes,
Time for Departure, Indian Climate, &c. By Edmund C. P. Hull. With a
Medical Guide for Anglo-Indians. Being a Compendium of Advice to Europeans
in India, relating to the Preservation and Regulation of their Health. To which is
added a Supplement on the Management of Children in India. By R. S. Mair,
M.D., E.R.C.S.E., late Deputy Coroner of Madras. In 1 vol. Post 8vo. Price 6s.
“ Full of all sorts of useful information to the
English settler or traveller in India.” — Standard.
“ One of the most valuable books ever published
in India — valuable for its sound information, its
careful array of pertinent facts, and its sterling
common sense. It supplies a want which few
persons may have discovered, but which everybody
will at once recognise when once the contents of
the book have been mastered. The medical part
of the work is invaluable.” — Calcutta Guardian.
MEDICAL GUIDE FOR ANGLO-INDIANS. Being a Compendium
of Advice to Europeans in India, relating to the Preservation and Regulation of their
Health. With a Supplement on the Management of Children in India. By R. S. Mair,
M.D., F.R.C.S.E., late Deputy Coroner of Madras. Post 8vo, limpcloth. Prices^. 6d.
TAS-HIL UL KALAM ; or, Hindustani Made Easy. By Captain
W. R. M. Holroyd, Bengal Staff Corps, Director of Public Instruction, Punjab.
Crown 8vo. Price 5 s.
“As clear and as instructive as possible.”— 1 mation, that is not to be found in any other work
Standard. . on the subject that has crossed our path.” — Home-
“ Contains a great- deal of most necessary i-nfor- 1 ward Mail.
EASTERN EXPERIENCES. By L. Bowring-, C.S.I., Lord Canning’s
Private Secretary, and for many years Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg.
Illustrated with Maps and Diagrams. Demy 8vo. Price 16s.
"An admirable and exhaustive geographical,
political, and industrial survey." — •. Athenceum .
“ Interesting ' even to the general reader, but
especially so to those who may have a special con-
cern in that portion of our Indian Empire." — Post.
“ This compact and methodical summary of the
most authentic information relating to countries
whose welfare is intimately connected with our
own.” — Daily News.
65, Cornhill ; &> 12, Paternoster Row , London.
r 6
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.,
India and the East — continued.
EDUCATIONAL COURSE OF SECULAR SCHOOL BOOKS
FOR INDIA. Edited by J. S. Laurie, of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law ;
formerly H. M. Inspector of Schools, England ; Assistant Royal Commissioner, Ireland ;
Special Commissioner, African Settlement ; Director of Public Instruction, Ceylon.
“These valuable little works will prove of real I who intend entering the Civil Service of India.” —
service to many of our readers, especially to those | Civil Service Gazette.
The follcnving Works
s. d.
THE FIRST HINDUSTANI
READER, stiff linen wrapper . .06
THE SECOND HINDUSTANI
READER, stiff linen wrapper . .06
are now ready : —
5. d.
GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA, with
Maps and Historical Appendix,
tracing the growth ef the British
Empire in Hindustan. 128 pp. cloth 1 6
In the Press.
ELEMENTARY GEOGRAPHY OF FACTS AND FEATURES OF INDIAN
INDIA. HISTORY, in a series of alternating
Reading Lessons and Memory Exercises.
Second Edition.
WESTERN INDIA BEFORE AND DURING THE MUTINIES.
Pictures drawn from life. By Major-Gen. Sir George Le Grand Jacola,
X.C.S.I., C.B. In 1 vol. Crown 8vo. Price 7 j. 6d.
“ The most important contribution to the history
of Western India during the Mutinies which has
yet, in a popular form, been made public.” —
Athenczwn.
“Few men more competent than himself to speak
authoritatively concerning Indian affairs.” — Stan-
dard.
EXCHANGE TABLES OF STERLING AND INDIAN RUPEE
CURRENCY, upon a new and extended system, embracing Values from One
Farthing to One Hundred Thousand Pounds, and at rates progressing, in Sixteenths of
a Penny, from is. 9 d. to 2^. 3 d. per Rupee. By Donald Fraser, Accountant to the
British Indian Steam Navigation Company, Limited. Royal 8vo. Price 10s. 6d.
“ The calculations must have entailed great [ houses which have dealings with any country where
labour on the author, but the work is one which we the rupee and the English pound are standard
fancy must become a standard one in all business * coins of currency.” — Inverness Courier.
BOOKS for the YO UNG and for LENDING LIBRARIES.
— + —
NEW WORKS BY HESBA STRETTON.
THE WONDERFUL LIFE. Fcap. 8vo. With a Map and Illuminated
Frontispiece. 2s. 6 d. [Just out.
This slight and brief sketch is merely the story of the life and death of our Lord. It has been
written for those who have not the leisure, or the books, needed for threading together the frag-
mentary and scattered incidents recorded in the four Gospels. Of late years these records have been
searched diligently for the smallest links which might serve to complete the chain of those years of a
life passed amongst us as Jesus of Nazareth, the Carpenter, the Prophet, and thG Messiah. /This little
book is intended only to present the result of these close investigations made by many learned men, in a
plain continuous narrative, suitable for unlearned readers.
CASSY. Twentieth Thousand. With Six Illustrations, is. 6d.
THE KING’S SERVANTS. Twenty-eighth Thousand. With Eight
Illustrations, is. 6d.
Parti. — Faithful in Little. Part II. — Unfaithful. Part III.— Faithful in Much.
LOST GIP. Thirty- sixth Thousand. With Six Illustrations, is. 6d.
V ALSO A HANDSOMELY- BOUND EDITION, WITH TWELVE
ILLUSTRATIONS , PRICE HALF- A -CROWN.
65, Cornhiil ; 12, Paternoster Row , London,
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.
i7
Books for the Young and for Lending Libraries— continued.
DADDY’S PET. By Mrs. Ellen Ross (Nelsie Brook). Third Thousand.
Small square, cloth, uniform with “ Lost Gip.” With Six Illustrations. Price is.
“AVe have been, more than pleased with this I “Full of deep feeling' and true and noble senti-
simple bit of writing." — Christian World. | ment.” — Brighton Gazette.
LOCKED OUT; A Tale of the Strike. By Ellen Barlee. With a
Frontispiece, is. 6d.
PRETTY LESSONS IN VERSE FOR GOOD CHILDREN,
with some Lessons in Latin, in Easy Rhyme. By Sara Coleridge. A New Edition.
With Six Illustrations. Cloth, 3s. 6d.
AUNT MARY’S BRAN PIE. By the Author of “ St. Olave’s “ When I
was a Little Girl,” &c. Small crown 8vo. With Five Illustrations. 35. 6d.
Second Edition.
SEEKING HIS FORTUNE, AND OTHER STORIES. Crown 8vo.
With Four Illustrations. Price 3s. 6d.
Contents. — Seeking his Fortune. — Oluf and Stephanoff. — What’s in a Name? —
Contrast. — Onesta.
“These are plain, straightforward stories, told
in the precise, detailed manner which we are
sure young people like.” — Spectator.
“ They are romantic, entertaining, and deci-
dedly inculcate a sound and generous moral. . . .
We can answer for it that this volume will find
favour with those for whom it is written, and that
the sisters will like it quite as well as the brothers.”
— Athenceum.
THREE WORKS BY MARTHA FARQUHARSON.
I. Elsie Dinsmore. Cr. 8vo. Price 3$. 6d. ! III. Elsie’s Holidays at Roselands.
II. Elsie’s Girlhood. Cr. 8vo. Price 3s. 6a?. | Crown 8vo. Price 3$. 6d.
Each Story is independent and complete in itself.
They are published in uniform size and price, and are elegantly bound and illustrated.
“We do not pretend to have read the history
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volumes. By the help, however, of the illustra-
tions, and by dips here and there, we can safely
give a favourable account.” — Westminster Review.
“Elsie Dinsmore is a familiar name to a world
of young readers. In the above three pretty
volumes her story is complete, and it is one full of
youthful experiences, winning a general interest.”
— Athenceimi.
THE LITTLE WONDER-HORN. By Jean Ingelow. A Second
Series of “ Stories told to a Child.” With Fifteen Illustrations. Cloth, gilt. Price 3$. 6d.
“We like all the contents of the ‘ Little Wonder- | “ Full of fresh and vigorous fancy : it is worthy
Horn ’ very much.” — Athenceum. of the author of some of the best of our modern
“We recommend it with confidence.” — Pall I verse.’’— Standard,
if all Gazette.
Second Edition.
THE AFRICAN CRUISER. A Midshipman’s Adventures on the West
Coast of Africa. A Book for Boys. By S. Whitchurch Sadler, R.N., Author
of “ Marshall Vavasour.” With Three Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 3V. 6d.
“A capital story of youthful adventure . . . .Sea- ] “Sea yarns have always been in favour with
loving boys will find few pleasanter gift books this boys, but this, written in a brisk style by a thorough
season than ‘ The African Cruiser.’ ” — Hour. 1 sailor, is crammed full of adventures.” — Times.
Third Edition.
BRAVE MEN’S FOOTSTEPS. A Book of Example and Anecdote for
Young People. By the Editor of “Men who have Risen.” With Four Illus-
trations, by C. Doyle. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d.
“A readable and instructive volume.”— Exa- 1 win the favour of those who, in choosing a gift for
miner. . < a boy, would consult his moral development as
“ The little volume is precisely of the stamp to • well as his temporary pleasure.” — Daily Tele o-ra/h.
65, Cornhill ; 12, Paternoster Row, London.
c
i8
Works Published by Henry S. King &> Co.,
Books for the Young and for Lending Libraries — continued .
Second Edition.
PLUCKY FELLOWS. A Book for Boys. By Stephen. J. Mac Kenna,
With Six Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d.
'* This is one of the very best ‘ Books for Boys ’I “A thorough book for boys . . . written through-
which have been issued this year.” — Morning out in a manly, straightforward manner that is sure
Advertiser. | to win the hearts of the children.” — London Society ,
Second Edition.
GUTTA-PERCHA WILLIE, THE WORKING GENIUS. By
George MacDonald. With 9 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Cr. 8vo. 3$. 6 d.
“ The cleverest child we know assures us she has I will, we are convinced, accept that verdict upon
read this story through five times. Mr. Macdonald | his little work as final.” — Spectator.
THE TRAVELLING MENAGERIE. By Charles Camden, Author
of “ Hoity Toity.” With Ten Illustrations by J. Mahoney. Crown 8vo. 3$. 6 d.
_ “ A capital little book .... deserves a wide [ “ A very attractive story.” — Public Opinion.
circulation among our boys and girls.” — Hour. |
THE DESERT PASTOR, JEAN JAROUSSEAU. Translated from
the French of Eugene Pelletan. By Colonel E. P. De L’Hoste. In fcap,
8vo, with an Engraved Frontispiece. New Edition. Price 3s. 6d.
“A touching record of the struggles in the cause
of religious liberty of a real man.” — Graphic.
“ There is a poetical simplicity and picturesque-
ness ; the noblest heroism ; unpretentious religion ;
pure love, and the spectacle of a household brought
up in the fear of the Lord . . . — Illustrated
London News.
THE DESERTED SHIP. A Real Story of the Atlantic. By Cupples
Howe, Master Mariner. Illustrated by Townley Green. Cr. 8vo. Price 3J. 6<A
“ Curious adventures with bears, seals, and other I the story deals, and will much interest boys who
Arctic animals, and with scarcely more human have a spice of romance in their composition.”—
Esquimaux, form the mass of material with which | Cowant.
HOITY TOITY, THE GOOD LITTLE FELLOW. By Charles
Camden. With Eleven Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 3$. 6d.
“ Relates very pleasantly the history of a charm- I them to do right. There are many shrewd lessons
ing little fellow who meddles always with a kindly | to be picked up in this clever little 'story.” — Public
disposition with other people’s affairs and helps | Opinion.
THE BOY SLAVE IN BOKHARA. A Tale of Central Asia. By
David Ker, Author of “On the Road to Khiva,” &c. Crown 8vo, with
Four Illustrations. Price 5s.
SEVEN AUTUMN LEAVES FROM FAIRY-LAND. Illustrated
with Nine Etchings. Square crown 8vo. 5J.
SLAVONIC FAIRY TALES. From Russian, Servian, Polish, and
Bohemian Sources. Translated by John T. Naak6, of the British Museum. Crown
8vo. With Four Illustrations. Price 5 j.
“ A most choice and charming selection
The tales have an original national ring in them,
and will be pleasant reading to thousands besides
children. Yet children will eagerly open the
pages, and not willingly close them, of the pretty
volume.” — Standard.
“English readers now have an opportunity of
becoming acquainted with eleven Polish and eight
Bohemian stories, as well as with eight Russian
and thirteen Servian, in Mr. Naake's modest but
serviceable collection of Slavonic Fairy Tales.
Its contents are, as a general rule, well chosen,
and they are translated with a fidelity which
deserves cordial praise . . . Before taking leave
of his prettily got up volume, we ought to mention
that its contents fully coine up to the promise held
out in its preface.” — Academy.
WAKING AND WORKING; OR, FROM GIRLHOOD TO
WOMANHOOD. By Mrs. G. S. Heaney. Cr. 8vo. With a Frontiipiece. 5s.
65, Cornhill ; &> 12, Paternoster Row , London .
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.
T9
Books for the Young and for Lending Libraries— continued.
AT SCHOOL WITH AN OLD DRAGOON. By Stephen J.
Mac Kenna. Crown 8vo. With Six Illustrations. Price s^.
“Consisting' almost entirely of startling stories of
military adventure . . . Boys will find them suffi-
ciently exciting reading.” — Times.
* ‘ These yarns give some very spirited and in-
teresting descriptions of soldiering in various parts
of the world;* — Spectator.
“Mr. Mac Kenna’s former work, ‘ Plucky Fellows,’
is already a general favourite, and those who read
the stories of the Old Dragoon will find that he has
still plenty of materials at hand for pleasant tales,
and has lost none of his power in telling them well.”
— Standard.
FANTASTIC STORIES. Translated from the German of Richard
Leander, by Paulina B. Granville. Crown 8vo. With Eight full-page Illustra-
tions, by M. E. Fraser-Tytler. Price 5s.
“Short, quaint, and, as they are fitly called, fan- | “‘Fantastic’ is certainly the right epithet to
tastic, they deal with all manner of subjects.” — apply to some of these strange tales.” — Examiner .
Guardian.
Third Edition.
STORIES IN PRECIOUS STONES. By Helen Zimmern. With
Six Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 5s.
“ A series of pretty tales which are half fantastic, I sons will appreciate, and which will rergind its
half natural, and pleasantly quaint, as befits stories readers of many a legend, and many an imaginary
intended for the young.” — Daily Telegraph. virtue attached to the gems they are so fond of
“ A pretty little book which fanciful young per- 1 wearing.” — Post.
Fourth Edition.
THE GREAT DUTCH ADMIRALS. By Jacob de Liefde. Crown
8vo. With Eleven Illustrations by Townley Green and others. Price 5s.
“ May be recommended as a wholesome present I “A really good book.” — Standard.
for boys. They will find in it numerous tales of “ A really excellent book.” — Spectator.
adventure.” — Athenczum. ]
THE TASMANIAN LILY. By Jam.es Bonwick. Crowm 8vo.
With Frontispiece. Price 5^.
“ An interesting and useful work.” — Hour. 1 ceived, and are full of those touches which give
“The characters of the story are capitally con- | them a natural appearance.” — Public Opinidn.
MIKE HOWE, THE BUSHRANGER OF VAN DIEMEN’S
LAND. By James Bonwick. Crown 8vo. With a Frontispiece. Price 5s.
“ He illustrates the career of the bushranger half 1 are, to say the least, exquisite, and his representa-
a century ago ; and this he does in a highly credit- tions of character are very marked.” — Edinburgh
able manner ; his delineations of life in the bush 1 Courant.
PHANTASMION. A Fairy Romance. By Sara Coleridge. With an
Introductory Preface by the Right Hon. Lord Coleridge of Ottery S.
Mary. A new Edition. In 1 vol. Crown 8vo. Price 7 s. 6 d.
“The readers of this fairy tale will find them- read it were it twice the length, closing the book
selves dwelling for a time in a veritable region of j with a feeling of regret that the repast was at an
romance, breathing an atmosphere of unreality, end.”— Vanity Fair.
and surrounded by supernatural beings.” — Post. “ A beautiful conception of a rarely-gifted mind.”
“ This delightful work . . . We would gladly have I — Examiner.
LAYS OF A KNIGHT-ERRANT IN MANY LANDS. By Major-
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Six Illustrations. Price js. 6 cL.
Pharaoh Land. | Home Land. | Wonder Land. ) Rhine Land.
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stanzas . . . abounding in real fun and humour.” . amusing.” — Standard.
— Literary World. *
BEATRICE AYLMER AND OTHER TALES. By Mary M. Howard,
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Court Journal.
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c 2
20
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.,
WORKS BY ALFRED TENNYSON.
THE CABINET EDITION.
Messrs. Henry S. King & Co. have the pleasure to announce that
they are issuing an Edition of the Laureate’s works, in Ten Monthly
Volumes , foolscap 8vo, at Half -a- Crown each , entitled “The Cabinet
Edition,” which will contain the whole of Mr. Tennyson’s works.
The first volume is illustrated by a beautiful Photographic Portrait ;
and the other volumes are each to contain a Frontispiece. They are
tastefully bound in Crimson Cloth, and are to be issued in the
following ordei
Vol.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
EARLY POEMS.
ENGLISH IDYLLS & OTHER POEMS.
L0CK8LEY HALL & OTHER POEMS.
LUCRETIUS & OTHER POEMS.
IDYLLS OP THE KING.
Vol.
6. IDYLLS OP THE KING.
7. IDYLLS OF THE KING.
8. THE PEINCESS.
9. MAUD AND ENOCH ARDEN.
10. IN MEMORIAM.
Volumes I. to VII. are now ready.
Subscribers’ names received by all Booksellers.
Reduction in prices of Mr. Tennyson's Works : —
PRICE.
s. d.
POEMS. Small 8vo .60
MAUD AND OTHER POEMS. Small Svo. . . . 36
THE PRINCESS. Small 8vo .36
IDYLLS OF THE KING. Small Svo. 50
„ „ Collected. Small Svo 70
THE HOLY GRAIL, AND OTHER POEMS. Small Svo 46
GARETH AND LYNETTE. Small 8vo 30
ENOCH ARDEN, &c. Small 8vo 36
IN MEMORIAM. Small 8vo 4 o
SELECTIONS FROM THE ABOVE WORKS. Square 8vo, cloth . . .36
„ ,, „ cloth, gilt edges . . . .40
SONGS FROM THE ABOVE WORKS. Square 8vo, cloth 36
LIBRARY EDITION OF MR. TENNYSON’S WORKS. 6 vols. Post Svo, each 10 6
POCKET VOLUME EDITION OF MR. TENNYSON’S WORKS. 11 vols., in
neat case 316
,, extra cloth, gilt, in case 35 o
POEMS. Illustrated Edition, 4to 25 o
* f All the above are kept in leather bindings.
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Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.
21
POETRY.
FOUR ELEGANT POETICAL GIFT BOOKS:
LYRICS OF LOVE, From Shakspeare to Tennyson. Selected and arranged
by W. Davenport Adams, Junr. Fcap. 8vo, cloth extra, gilt edges, 3^. 6 d.
“ A most excellent collection. . . . Shows taste I as a whole, is very choice.” — British Quarterly
and care.” — Westminster Gazette. \ Review.
“A charming and scholarly pocket volume of I “ The anthology is a very full and good one, and
poetry . . . The editor annotates his pieces just represents the robust school of Carew and Suckling
sufficiently for information. ... The collection, | better than any other that we know.” — Academy.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT’S POEMS. Red-line Edition. Hand
somely bound. With Illustrations and Portrait of the Author. Price ys. 6d.
A Cheaper Edition, with Frontispiece, is also published. Price 3s. 6d.
These are the only complete English Editions sanctioned by the Author.
-Academy
“ Of all the poets of the United States there is no
one who obtained the fame and position of a classic
earlier, or has kept them longer, than William
Cullen Bryant . . . A singularly simple and straight-
forward fashion of verse. Very rarely has any
writer preserved such an even level of merit
throughout his poems. Like some other American
tion.
“We are glad to possess so neat and elegant an
edition of the works of the most thoughtful, grace-
ful, and Wordsworthian of American poets.” —
British Quarterly Review.
“Some of the purest and tenderest poetry of this
generation . . . Undoubtedly the best edition of the
poets, Mr. Bryant is particularly happy in transla- I poet now in existence.” — Glasgow News.
ENGLISH SONNETS. Collected and Arranged by John Dennis.
Fcap. 8 vo. Elegantly bound. Price 3s. 6d.
“ Mr. Dennis has shown great judgment in this
selection.” — Saturday Rez'iew.
“ An exquisite selection, a selection which every
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is one for which English literature owes Mr. Dennis
the heartiest thanks.” — Spectator.
Second Edition.
HOME-SONGS FOR QUIET HOURS. Edited by the Rev. Canon
R. H. Baynes, Editor of “ Lyra Anglic ana,” &c. Fcap 8vo. Cloth extra, 35-. 6d.
“ A tasteful collection of devotional poetry of a
very high standard of excellence. The pieces are
short, mostly original, and instinct, for the most
part, with the most ardent spirit of devotion.” —
Standard.
“ A most acceptable volume of sacred poetry; a
good addition to the gift books of the season.” —
“ These are poems in which every word has a
meaning, and from which it would be unjust to
remove a stanza . . . Some of the best pieces in
the book are anonymous.” — Pall Mall Gazette.
*** The above four books may also be had handsomely bound in
Morocco with gilt edges.
THE DISCIPLES. A New Poem. By Mrs. Hamilton King-. Second
Edition, with some Notes. Crown 8vo. Price ys. 6d.
“A higher impression of the imaginative power
of the writer is given by the objective truthfulness
of the glimpses she gives us of her master, help-
ing us to understand how he could be regarded
by some as a heartless charlatan, by others as an
inspired saint.” — Academy.
“Mrs. King can write good verses. The de-
scription of the capture of the Croats at Mestre is
extremely spirited ; there is a pretty picture of the
road to Rome, from the Abruzzi, and another of
Palermo.” — Athenceum.
“In her new volume Mrs. King has far surpassed
her previous attempt. Even the most hostile critic
could scarcely deny to ‘ Ugo Bassi’ the praise of
being a work worthy in every way to live . . . The
style of her writing is pure and simple in the last
degree, and all is natural, truthful, and free from
the slightest shade of obscurity in thought or dic-
tion . . . The book altogether is one that merits
unqualified admiration and praise.” — Daily Tele-
graph.
“ Throughout it breathes restrained passion and
lofty sentiment, which flow out now and then as a
.stream widening to bless the lands into powerful
music.” — British Quarterly Review.
ASPROMONTE, AND OTHER POEMS. By the same Author. Second
Edition. Cloth, 4,?. 6d.
“The volume is anonymous, but there is no reason 1 'The Execution of Felice Orsini,’ has much poetic
for tlie author to be ashamed of it. The ‘Poems merit, the event celebrated being told with dra-
of Italy’ are evidently inspired by genuine enthu- matic force.” — Athenceum.
siasm in the cause espoused; and one of them, 1 “The verse is fluent and free.” — Spectator.
ARVAN : or, the Story of the Sword. A Poem. By Herbert Todd, M. A,,
late of Trinity College, Cambridge. Crown 8vo.
65, Cornhill ; cn 12, Paternoster Row , London .
22
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.
Poetry — continued.
THROUGH STORM AND SUNSHINE.
By Adon, Author of “ Lays of Modern
Oxford.” With Illustrations by H. Pater-
son, M. E. Edwards, A. T., and the
Author.
SONGS FOR MUSIC. By Four Friends.
Square crown 8vo. Price 5s.
CONTAINING SONGS BY
Reginald A. Gatty. Stephen H. Gatty.
Greville J. Chester. Juliana H. Ewing.
“A charming gift-book, which will be very
popular with lovers of poetry.” — Joint Bull.
“ The charm of simplicity is manifest through-
out, and the subjects are well chosen and suc-
cessfully treated.” — Rock.
ROBERT BUCHANAN’S POETICAL
WORKS. Collected Edition, in 3 Vols.,
price i8y. Vol. I. contains, — “Ballads
and Romances “ Ba.llads and Poems
of Life,” and a Portrait of the Author.
Vol. II. — “ Ballads and Poems of Life
“Allegories and Sonnets.”
Vol.III.— “Coruiskeen Sonnets “Book
of Orm “Political Mystics.”
“ Holding, as Mr. Buchanan does, such a con-
spicuous place amongst modern writers, the read-
ing public will be duly thankful for this handsome
edition of the poet’s works.’ — Civil Service
Gazette.
“ Taking the poems before us as experiments,
we hold that they are very full of promise ... In
the romantic ballad, Mr. Buchanan shows real
power.” — Hour.
THOUGHTS IN VERSE. Small crown
8vo. Price is. 6d.
This is a Collection of Verses expressive
of religious feeling, written from a Theistic
stand-point.
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should read this tiny volume.” — Academy.
ON THE NORTH WIND— THISTLE-
DOWN. A volume of Poems. By the
Hon. Mrs. Willoughby. Elegantly
bound. Small crown 8vo. js. 6d.
PENELOPE AND OTHER POEMS.
By Allison Hughes. Fcap. 8vo. 45. 6d.
“Full of promise. They possess both form
and colour, they are not wanting in suggestion,
and they reveal something not far removed from
imagination. ... If the verse moves stiffly it is
because the substance is rich and carefully
wrought. That artistic regard for the value of
words, which is characteristic of the best modern
workmanship, is apparent in every composition,
and the ornament, even when it might be pro-
nounced excessive, is tasteful in arrangement.” —
Athentzum.
COSMOS. A Poem. 8vo. 3 j. 6d.
SUBJECT.— Nature in the Past and in the Pre-
sent.— Man in the Past and in the Present. — The
Future.
POEMS. By Augustus Taylor. Fcp.8vo. 5$.
NARCISSUS AND OTHER POEMS.
By E. Carpenter. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
“In many of these poems there is a force of
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AURORA; A Volume of Verse. Fcap. 8vo. 5.?.
POEMS. By Annette F. C. Knight. Fcap.
8vo. Cloth. Price 5 s.
“ ... . Very fine also is the poem entitled ‘ Past
and Present,’ from which we take the song pic-
turing the ‘ Spirits of the Present.’ The verses here
are so simple in form as almost to veil the real
beauty and depth of the image ; yet it would not
be easy to find a more exquisite picture in poetry
or on canvas of the spirit of the age.” — Scotsman.
“ These poems are musical to read, they give
true and pleasant pictures of common things, and
they tell sweetly of the deeper moral and religious
harmonies which sustain us under the discords and
the griefs of actual life.” — Spectator.
“Full of tender and felicitous verse . . . ex-
pressed with a rare artistic perfection. . . . The
gems of the book to our mind are the poems
entitled ‘ In a T own Garden.”’ — Literary Church-
man.
A TALE OF THE SEA, SONNETS,
AND OTHER POEMS. By James
Howell. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, 5*.
“ Mr. Howell has a keen perception of the
beauties of nature, and a just appreciation of the
charities of life. . . . Mr. Howell’s book deserves,
and will probably receive, a warm reception.” —
Pall Mall Gazette.
METRICAL TRANSLATIONS FROM
THE GREEK AND LATIN POETS,
AND OTHER POEMS. By R. B.
Boswell, M.A. Oxon. Crown 8vo. 5s.
“ Most of these translations we can praise as of
very high merit. . . . For sweetness and regu-
larity, his verses are pre-eminent.” — Literary
Churchman.
“Mr. Boswell has a strong poetical vein in
his nature, and gives us every promise of success
as an original poet.” — Standard.
EASTERN LEGENDS AND STORIES
IN ENGLISH VERSE. By Lieu-
tenant Norton Powlett, Royal Artillery.
Crown 8vo. 5-r.
“ There is a rollicking sense of fun about the
stories, joined to marvellous power of rhyming,
and plenty of swing, which irresistibly reminds us
of our old favourite (Ingoldsby).” — Graphic.
Second Edition.
VIGNETTES IN RHYME AND VERS
DE SOCIETE. By Austin Dobson.
Fcap. 8vo. 5$.
“Clever, clear-cut, and careful.” — Athenceum.
“As a writer of Vers de Societe, Mr. Dobson
is almost, if not quite, unrivalled.” — Examiner.
“ Lively, innocent, elegant in expression, and
graceful in fancy.”— Morning Post.
SONGS FOR SAILORS. By Dr. W. C.
Bennett. Dedicated by Special Request
to H. R. H. the Duke of Edinburgh.
Crown 8vo. 3J. 6 d. With Steel Portrait
and Illustrations.
An Edition in Illustrated paper Covers.
Price is.
WALLED IN, AND OTHER POEMS.
By the Rev. Henry J. Bulkeley. Fcp.
8vo. 5-s\
“A remarkable book of genuine poetry.”—
Evening Standard.
“Genuine power displayed.”— Exatniner.
“Poetical feeling is manifest here, and the
diction ol the poem is unimpeachable.” — Pall
Mall Gazette.
65, Cornhill ; 6° 12, Paternoster Row , Lotidon ,
Works Published by Henry S. King 6° Co.,
2 3
Poetry-
songs OP LIFE AND DEATH. By
John Payne, Author of “ Intaglios,”
“ Sonnets,” etc. Crown Svo. 5s.
“ The art of ballad-writing has long- been lost
hi England, and Mr. Payne may claim to be its
restorer. It is a perfect delight to meet with such
a ballad as * May Margaret ’ in the present
volume.” — Westminster Review.
IMITATIONS FROM THE GERMAN
OP SPITTA AND TERSTEGEN.
By Lady Durand. Fcap. 8vo. 4.?.
“ A charming little volume. . . Will be a very
valuable assistance to peaceful, meditative souls.”
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ON VIOL AND FLUTE. A New Volume
of Poems, by Edmund W. Gosse. With
Frontispiece by W. B. Scott. Cr. 8vo. 5s-.
“ A careful perusal of his verses will show that
he is a poet. . . His song has the grateful, mur-
muring sound which reminds one of the softness
and deliciousness of summer time. . . . There is
much that is good in the volume.” — Spectator.
EDITH ; or. Love and Life in Cheshire.
By T. Ashe, Author of “ The Sorrows of
Hypsipyle,” etc. Sewed. Price 6d.
“A really fine poem, full- of tender, subtle
touches of feeling.” — Manchester News.
“ Pregnant from beginning to end with the re-
sults of careful observation and imaginative
power,” — Chester Chronicle.
THE INN OP STRANGE MEETINGS,
AND OTHER POEMS. By Mortimer
Collins. Crown 8vo. 5V.
“ Abounding in quiet humour, in bright fancy,
in sweetness and melody of expression, and, at
times, in the tenderest touches of pathos.” —
Graphic.
‘■Mr. Collins has an undercurrent of chivalry
and romance beneath the trifling vein of good-
humoured banter which is the special character-
istic of his verse.” — Athenceum.
GOETHE’S FAUST. A New Translation in
Rime. By C. Kegan Paul. Crown 8vo. 6s.
‘ ‘ His translation is the most minutely accurate
that has yet been produced. . . "—Examiner.
“Mr. Paul is a zealous and a faithful inter-
preter.^"—Saturday Review.
AN OLD LEGEND OF S. PAUL’S. By
the Rev. G. B. Howard. Fcp. 8vo. 35-. 6d.
“We admire, and deservedly admire, the gen-
uine poetry of this charming old legend as here
presented to us by the brilliant imagination and
the chastened taste of the gifted writer.”— Stan-
dard.
SONNETS, LYRICS, AND TRANSLA-
TIONS. By the Rev. Charles Turner.
Cr. 8vo. 4-y. 6d.
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sweet and pure, beautiful in expression, and often
subtle in thought.” — Pall Mall Gazette.
“The light of a devout, gentle, and kindly
spirit, a delicate and graceful fancy, a keen in-
telligence irradiates these thoughts.” — Contem-
porary Review.
THE DREAM AND THE DEED, AND
OTHER POEMS. By Patrick Scott,
Author of “ Footpaths between Two
Worlds,” etc. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, 5s.
“ A bitter and able satire on the vice and follies
of the day, literary, social, and political.” — Stan-
dard.
“Shows real poetic power coupled with evi-
dences of satirical energy.” — Edinburgh Daily
Review.
-continued.
EROS AGONISTES. By E. B.D, Fcap.
8 vo. 3J. 6d.
“It is not the least merit of these pages that
they are everywhere illumined with moral and
religious sentiment suggested, not paraded, of the
brightest, purest character. ” — Standard.
CALDERON’S DRAMAS. Translated from
the Spanish. By Denis Florence Mac-
Carthy. Post Svo. Cloth, gilt edges. 10s.
“ The lambent verse flows with an ease, spirit,
and music perfectly natural, liberal, and har-
monious. ” — Spectator.
“It is impossible to speak too highly of this
beautiful work.” — Month.
Second Edition.
SONGS OF TWO WORLDS. First
Series. By a New Writer. Fcp. 8vo. 5 s.
“ These poems will assuredly take high rank
among the class to which they belong.” — British
Quarterly Review , April 1st.
“No extracts could do justice to the exquisite
tones, the felicitous phrasing and delicately
wrought harmonies of some of these poems.” —
Ne nco nfo rmist.
“ A purity and delicacy of feeling like morning
air.” — Graphic.
Second Edition.
SONGS OF TWO WORLDS. Second
Series. By a New Writer. Fcp. 8vo. 55.
“ The most noteworthy poem is the ‘Ode on a
Spring Morning,’ which has somewhat of the
charm of ‘ L’ Allegro ’ and ‘ II Penseroso.’ It is
the nearest approach to a masterpiece in the col-
lection. We cannot find too much praise for its
noble assertion of man’s resurrection.” — Saturday
Review.
“ A real advance on its predecessor, and con-
tains at least one poem (‘The Organ Boy’) of
great originality, as well as many of much beauty
.... As exquisite a little poem as we have read
for many a day .... but not at all alone in its
power to fascinate.” — Spectator.
“ Will be gratefully welcomed.” — Examiner.
THE GALLERY OF PIGEONS, AND
OTHER POEMS. By Theo. Mar-
zials. Crown 8vo. 4V. 6d.
“ A conceit abounding in prettiness.” — Ex-
aminer.
“ The rush of fresh, sparkling fancies is too
rapid, too sustained, too abundant, not to be
spontaneous.”— ^4 cademy.
THE LEGENDS OF ST. PATRICK
AND OTHER POEMS. By Aubrey
de Vere. Crown 8vo. 5s.
“Mr. DeVere’s versification in his earlier poems
is characterised by great sweetness and sim-
plicity. He is master of his instrument, and
rarely offends the ear with false notes.” — Pall
Mall Gazette.
“We have but space to commend the varied
Structure of his verse, the carefulness of his
grammar, and his excellent English.” — Saturday
Review.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT. A
Dramatic Poem. By Aubrey de Vere,
Author of “ The Legends of St. Patrick.”
Crown Svo. 5s.
“ Undeniably well written.” — Examiner.
“ A noble play. . . . The work of a true poet,
.and of a fine artist, in whom there is nothing
♦ vulgar and nothing weak. ... We had no con-
ception, from our knowledge of Mr. De Vere’s
former poems, that so much poetic power lay in
him as this drama shows. It is terse as well as full
of beauty, nervous as well as-rich in thought.”—
Spectator.
65, Cornhill ; 6^ 12, Paternoster Row, London,
24
Works Published by Henry S. King Co .,
FICTION.
HIS QUEEN. By Alice Fisher, Author of
“Too Bright to Last.” 3 vols. Cr. 8vo.
ISRAEL MORT : OVERMAN. The Story
of the Mine. By John Saunders, Author
of “ Hirell,” &c. 3 vols. Crown 8vo.
MALCOLM : A Scottish Story. By George
MacDonald, Author of “David Elgin-
brod,” &c. 3 vols. Crown 8vo.
THE NEGLECTED QUESTION. By
B. Markewitch. Translated from the
Russian, by the Princesses Ouroussoff.
2 vols. Crown 8vo. 14s.
WOMAN’S A RIDDLE; ok, Baby
Warmstrey. By Philip Sheldon,
3 vols.
“ In the delineation of idiosyncrasy, special and
particular, and its effects on the lives of the per-
sonages of the story, the author may, without
exaggeration, be said to be masterly. Whether
in the long-drawn-out development of character,
or in the description of peculiar qualities in a
single pointed sentence, he is equally skilful,
while, where pathos is necessary, he has it at com-
mand, and subdued, sly humour is not wanting.”
— Morning Post.
LISETTE’S VENTURE. By Mrs.
Russell Gray. 2 vols.
IDOLATRY. A Romance. By Julian
awthorne, Author of ‘ ‘Bressant. ” 2 vols.
“ A more powerful book than ‘ Bressant” ....
If the figures are mostly phantoms, they are
phantoms which take a more powerful hold on the
mind than many very real figures There
are three scenes in this romance, any one of
which would prove true genius.” — Spectator.
“ The character of the Egyptian, half mad,
and all wicked, is remarkably drawn
Manetho is a really fine conception .... That
there are passages of almost exquisite beauty
here and there is only what we might expect.” —
Athenceum.
BRESSANT. A Romance. By Julian
Hawthorne. 2 vols. Crown 8vo.
“ One of the most powerful with which we are
acquainted.” — Times.
“We Shall once more have reason to rejoice
whenever we hear that a new work is coming out
written by one who bears the honoured name of
Hawthorne.” — Saturday Review.
VANESSA. By the Author of “ Thomasina,”
“ Dorothy,” &c. 2 vols. Second Edition.
THOMASINA. By the Author of “ Dorothy,
“ De Cressy,” &c. 2 vols. Crown 8vo.
“ A finished and delicate cabinet picture ; no
line is without its purpose.” — Athenceum.
AILEEN FERRERS. By Susan Morley.
In 2 vols. Crown 8vo, cloth.
“ Her novel rises to a level far above that which
cultivated women with a facile pen ordinarily at-
tain when they set themselves to write a story. It
is as a study of character, worked out in a manner
that is free from almost all the usual faults of lady
writers,- that ‘ Aileen Ferrers’ merits a place
apart from its innumerable rivals.” — Saturday
Review.
LADY MORETOUN’S DAUGHTER,
By Mrs. Eiloart. In 3 vols. Crown 8vo.
“Carefully written .... The narrative is well
sustained. A thenceum.
“An interesting story .... Above the run of
average novels.” — Vanity Fair.
“Will prove more popular than any of the
author’s former works .... Interesting and read-
able.”— Hour.
“ The story is well put together, and readable.”
— Examiner.
WAITING FOR TIDINGS. By the
Author of “ White and Black.” 3 vols.
“ An interesting novel.” — Vanity Fair.
“ A very lively tale, abounding with amusing
incidents.” — John Bull.
TY/O GIRLS. By Frederick Wedmore,
Author of “ A Snapt Gold Ring." 2 vols.
“A carefully- written novel of character, con-
trasting the two heroines of one love tale, an
English lady and a French actress. Cicely is
charming ; the introductory description of her is
a good specimen of the well-balanced sketches in
which the author shines.” — Athenceum.
CIVIL SERVICE. By J. T. Listado.
Author of “ Maurice Rhynhart.” 2 vols.
“ A very charming and amusing story . . . The
characters are all well drawn and life-like .... It
is with no ordinary skill that Mr. Listado has
drawn the character of Hugh Haughton, full as
he is of scheming and subtleties . . . The plot is
worked out with great skill and is of no ordinary
kind.” — Civil Service Gazette.
“ A story of Irish life, free from burlesque and
partisanship, yet amusingly national . . . There is
plenty of ‘ go ’ in the story.” — Athenceum.
MR. CARINGTON. A Tale of Love and
Conspiracy. By Robert Turner Cotton.
In 3 vols. Cloth, crown 8vo.
“ A novel in so many ways good, as in a fresh
and elastic diction, stout unconventionality, and
happy boldness of conception and execution.
His novels, though free spoken, will be some of
the healthiest of our day ."—Examiner.
TOO LATE. By Mrs. Newman. 2 vols.
“The plot is skilfully constructed, the charac-
ters are well conceived, and the narrative moves
to its conclusion without any waste of words . . .
The tone is healthy, in spite of its incidents,
which will please the lovers of sensational fictioa.
. . . The reader who opens the book will read it
all through.” — Pall Mall Gazette.
REGINALD BRAMBLE. A Cynic of the
19th Century. An Autobiography. 1 vol.
“There is plenty of vivacity in Mr. Bramble’s
narrative.” — A thenceum.
“ Written in a lively and readable style.” — Hour.
CRUEL AS THE GRAVE. By the
Countess Von Botlimer. 3 vols.
“ Jealousy is cruel as the Grave."
“ Interesting, though somewhat tragic.” —
A thenceum.
“ Agreeable, unaffected, and eminently read-
able.”— Daily News.
THE HIGH MILLS. By Katherine
Saunders, Author of “ Gideon’s Rock,’'
&c. 3 vols.
65, Cornhill ; 12, Paternoster Tow, London.
Works Published by Henry S. King <5^ Co.
25
F ICTION — continued.
SEPTIMIUS. A Romance. By Nathaniel
Hawthorne. Second Edition. x vol.
Crown 8vo, cloth, extra gilt. gs.
The Athenaeum says that “ the book is full of
Hawthorne’s mos characteristic writing.”
EFFIE’S GAME; How she Lost and
how she Won. By Cecil Clayton.
2 vols. Crown 8vo.
“Well written. The characters move, and act,
and, above all, talk like human beings, and we
have liked reading about them.” — Spectator.
JUDITH GWYNNE. By Lisle Carr,
In 3 vols. Cr. 8vo, cloth. Second Edition.
“ Mr. Carr’s novel is certainly amusing
There is much variety, and the dialogue and
incident never flag to the finish.” — Atheneeum.
“Displays much dramatic skill.” — Edinburgh
Courant.
CHE STERLEIGH. By Ansley Conyers.
3 vols. Crown 8vo.
“We have gained much enjoyment from the
book.” — Spectator.
HONOR BLAKE : The Story of a Plain
Woman. By Mrs. Keatinge. 2 vols.
“ One of the best novels we have met with for
some time.” — Morning Post.
“ A story which must do good to all, young and
old, who read it.” — Daily Mews.
HEATHERGATE. A Story of Scottish
Life and Character. By a new Author.
2 vols.
“ Its merit lies in the marked antithesis of
strongly developed characters, in different ranks
of life, and resembling each other in nothing but
their marked nationality.” — A thenceum.
THE QUEEN’S SHILLING. By Captain
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Works Published by Henry S. King &> Co.,
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WORKS BY THE REV. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A.
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WORKS BY THE REV.
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