FUNGI. 287 



temperance society cannot withhold a fair meed of praise 

 on account of its effect upon our bread, will go far to 

 redeem the Dust class from disgrace. German yeast is 

 the cells of the Yeast plant in a dried state. 



If it lies with the Yeast plant to substantiate a claim 

 for utility in its class, the iEeidiums may well establish 

 one for beauty. Mr. Perry of Warwick first introduced 

 me to the beautiful circles of iEeidium plants adorning 

 the leaves of the primrose (JE. primula). The fungus 

 abounds in the neighbourhood of Warwick, but is not 

 frequently found in other districts. Each little plant in 

 this group is enveloped in a thin covering, which opens in 

 regular segments like the Earth Star. Thus, while the 

 naked eye only discovers a dot on the surface of the leaf, 

 the lens reveals a bright cluster, each pleiad of perfect 

 form, shading from an orange centre to the transparent- 

 white which tips the rays. In Yorkshire we found the 

 Wood anemone leaves spangled with iEcidia, some curled 

 back as if the weight behind contracted them. Mr. Perry 

 gave me leaves of the Garden anemone similarly peopled. 

 Woods in Yorkshire afforded abundant specimens of the 

 very pretty Barberry iEeidium infecting the leaves of 

 the shrub of that name with its bright orange blotches. 

 In former days the presence of this epiphyte brought the 

 Barberry into evil repute, for the farmers associated the 

 yellow blotches with the orange lines on the leaves of 

 cereals which ended in the Blight, They used therefore 

 to exterminate the Barberry from the hedgerows, lest its 

 parasites should infect the corn. Gooseberry bushes 

 often bear a large crop of iEeidium speckled all over their 

 leaves. Here the individual plants are crowded together 



