258 FUNGI. 



"Where twin nuts cluster thick, and springs 

 The thistle with ten thousand stings ; 

 The ring where last the fairies danced, 

 The place where dank Will latest glanced, 

 The stream that steals its way along 

 To glory, consecrate by song : 

 And, while we saunter, let thy speech 

 God's glory and his goodness preach." 



A great number of minute and elegant parasites belong 

 to this group. 



From the decaying wood of a turnstile in Wiltshire, a 

 group of almost stemless fungi were growing. The cap 

 was of delicate brown, kidney-shaped, flat, and much 

 curled and plaited at the edges ; the folds were broad, in 

 many instances torn, and of a pale colour. The sub- 

 stance was fleshy. This was the plaited Lentinus (L. 

 flabelliformis), a rare species, of which our collection is 

 proud in no small degree. 



The little Styptic Panus is my only specimen of the 

 Panus group ; tough in texture, pale, mealy externally, 

 its short stem swelled where it joins the head. It has 

 styptic qualities, hence its name ; and is found on dead 

 trees and stumps, growing in shelf-like clusters. Our 

 finest specimens are from Herefordshire. 



The last group of Agaricini is the Lenzites, of corky 

 texture, and folds branching and crossing one another. 

 The Birch Lenzites (L. betulina) is common on old 

 stumps and rails ; it is hairy, and zoned with ochre and 

 olive ; the original tint being buff. It becomes almost 

 woody in age, and lasts upon the tree stumps for a great 

 length of time. 



