CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI. 61 



We often find on a wood-pile or a fallen tree 

 some of the members of the Bird's-nest family. 

 It is fascinating to examine them in their vari- 

 ous stages of development. First we see a tiny 

 buff knot, cottony in texture and closely cov- 

 ered ; next, another rather larger, with its upper 

 covering thrown aside, displaying the tiny eggs, 

 which prompts one to look around for the min- 

 iature mother bird ; then we find a nest empty 

 with the fledglings flown. The characteristic 

 that distinguishes the Bird's-nest fungi from 

 others consists in the fact that the spores are 

 produced in small envelopes that do not split 

 open, and which are enclosed in a common 

 covering, called the peridium. One species is 

 known by the fluted inside of the covering, 

 which is quite beautiful. They are all small 

 and grow in groups. 



Order 3. LYCOPERDONS, THE PUFF-BALLS. 



The Lycoperdons contain several genera, 

 among which we select the Puff-balls proper 

 and the Earth stars. 



What child is there who lives in the country 

 and does not know the Puff-ball ? With what 

 gusto he presses it and watches what he calls 



