1857.] Letter from Prof. Wood. 225 



into this great Omnium gatherum — the class of the Fungi. Although 

 the Fungi are immensely various in form, structure and size, all are 

 said to possess this one common characteristic, of being " nourished 

 by mycelium.'' Now this mycelium is the real plant, consisting of 

 innumerable fibers, interlaced and matted together, and concealed 

 beneath the surface of the medium in which it grows. From this 

 ground-work of the Fungi, when mature, the conspicuous part of the 

 plant, the fructifiation arises. This latter growth is often very 

 rapid ; for example the mushroom arises in a single night. This 

 quick growth is accounted for by remembering that the mycelium, 

 whence it springs, may have been accumulating materials for its 

 nourishment, for weeks or months previous. 



Fries, the great pioneer of this department of botany, still living 

 in Sweden, states that he found 2000 species of Fungi, within the 

 space of a furlong. Our friend Dr. Curtis, bears testimony to sim- 

 ilar profusion in this country. But we must not estimate the whole 

 number of species by this rule, since a large proportion of these 

 species may be repeated in every or any other equal space examined. 



The study of the Fungi is at present exceedingly laborious, from 

 the want of the proper authorities for the known species, from the 

 fact that about every tenth species we find is yet a new and unde- 

 scribed one, and from the puzzling fact also that the same species 

 are not constantly developed in the same localites but only occasion- 

 ally. Yet all these difliculties are surmounted by the perseverance 

 and skill of Dr. Curtis, and he alone is in possession of the materials 

 and the requisite knowledge for giving to the world our American 

 Mycology in a permanent and intelligible form for the diff'usion of 

 the knowledge of this deeply interesting but neglected branch of 

 Natural Science. 



But the cost of publishing such a work would far exceed any in- 

 dividual means. Would it not be worthy the patronage of the Gen- 

 eral Grovernment through the Smithsonian Institute, to give such a 

 work to the nation? Or more especially worthy of the great State 

 bf North Carolina to foster such a noble enterprise through, or in 

 connection with, the Geological Survey ? 

 15 



