470 FUNGI. [part h. 



ORDER CCXIX— FUNGI. 



The Fungi are divided into several distinct 

 sections ; the most important of which may be 

 called the Mushroom tribe. The largest genus 

 in this division is Agaricus, and the plants be- 

 longing to it consist of a stipe, or stalk (c in 

 jig. 149), surmounted by the pileus or cap (^). 

 When the mushroom first appears, the stalk is 

 covered by a thin membrane, called the veil (e), 

 which unites the cap to the lower part ; but as 

 the mushroom grows, this veil is rent asunder, 

 and it either entirely disappears, or only a small 

 part of it remains round the stalk, which is 

 called the annulus or ring. Under the cap are 

 the gills or lamellae, which are of a dark reddish 

 brown ; and attached to these are the thecse, 

 containing the sporules or seed. In the com- 

 mon Mushroom (^^f^rzcws campestre)., and all the 

 eatable kinds, the gills are pink w4ien the veil 

 breaks, which it does very soon, and they be- 

 come afterwards nearly black ; but in all the 

 poisonous kinds, the veil is longer before it 

 breaks, and when it does so, the gills are pale, 

 and frequently nearly white, without becoming 

 darker ; the smell is also quite different. The 

 Mushroom tribe, which includes all the Fungi 

 that carry their sporules in the part above 

 the stem, is divided into two sections, viz., 



