Szo 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



genus has passed away, because founded upon a single condition which 

 any species may assume for self-preservation. The fine threads of 

 various toadstools frequently become joined in long, hard masses, and 

 may be found at the base of almost any decaying stump. It is not 

 unreasonable to suppose that a fungus, otherwise short-lived, may sur- 

 vive the trying circumstances of heat and cold for a score or more of 

 years in this hibernating state. 



Fig. 12.— Ekgoted Grains producing Spores. 



The spawn of the common mushroom is a familiar example, to many, 

 of the apparently lifeless condition which the threads of a fungus may 

 assume. This spawn, consisting of the dried filaments of the mush- 

 room, is sold in bricks, and afterward placed in beds which supply the 

 proper heat, moisture, and nourishment for the growth of the edible 

 mushrooms. Yeast, representing the smaller kinds of fungi, can also 

 be kept in dried cakes, ready at an hour's notice to spring into activity 

 and make our bread light and wholesome. It would be interesting to 

 descend lower in the scale of plant organization (if it is lower), and see 

 even among the bacteria, now brought so prominently before the world 

 by the labors of Pasteur and Koch, that these minute organisms, after 

 exhausting the nourishment from a liquid, form a precipitate, which 

 may be regarded as a resting state. Enough, however, has been given 

 to show that fungi, though a humble group of plants, do not lack 

 for methods of rapid increase when favorable conditions prevail, and 

 have abundant means for sustaining life during periods when growth 

 is impossible.* 



* The cuts used in this article are re-engraved from Smith's " Diseases of Plants," 

 Besscy's " Botany for High Schools and Colleges," and the Bussey " Bulletin." 



