NOVEMBER. 513 



them, they seem to symbolize that golden fruit de- 

 scribed by MILTON as presented before the longing 

 metamorphosed fiends of Pandemonium, which glit- 

 tered before their eyes, but became nauseous bitter 

 ashes when they attempted to partake of it. 



When the atmosphere is favourable for the produc- 

 tion of some of the fungoid tribes, the celerity of their 

 growth, and the strength they put forth in their 

 emergence, is most astonishing in plants of such 

 tender construction. A good-sized Mushroom, if ac- 

 cidentally located beneath a flag pavement, has power 

 to force up a paving stone of the usual size, an inch or 

 more above its level ; and this was actually remarked 

 in one of the most crowded thoroughfares of Chelten- 

 ham, in the autumn of 1840. Professor BTJBNET 

 records a similar fact as having occurred in 1830, in 

 the town of Basingstoke, where two Mushrooms ele- 

 vated a large paving-stone, weighing eighty-three 

 pounds, an inch and a half out of its bed ; and other 

 stones getting deranged in a similar way, much alarm 

 was given to the pavement contractor, who had but 

 recently finished his work " for it seemed doubtful 

 whether the whole town of Basingstoke might not 

 want re-paving during the term of his contract." * 

 This energetic evolution is shewn still more remark- 

 ably in other fungi, as the Phallus, which bursts its 

 volva, and rears its singular stipiform columella six or 

 eight inches in two or three hours ; while the large 

 Bovista or Puff-ball has been stated to distend itself 

 at the rate of a million of cells per second ! 



The rapid growth of the Mushroom has often sug- 

 gested the satirical application of the term to 



* BURNETT'S Botany, p. 239. 

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