353 SHOKT NOTES. 



well to g-ive as good a diagnosis of its characters as can be drawn up 

 from the dried specimens. 



Agaricus (Pleurotus) subocreatus, Cooke, — Pileus rather 

 fleshy, smooth, convex, then expanded and plane ; margin at first 

 slightly incurved, at length open and splitting into lobes ; stem excen- 

 tric, short, nearly equal, with remains of a volva at the base ; gills 

 ventrioose, rather crowded, reaching the stem, but not decurrent. On 

 trunks of trees ; China, etc. 



Pileus 1-3 inches broad, dark greyish-brown when dried, quite 

 smooth ; gills tawny. 



The other sample of dried Pungi came recently from North-Western 

 India, said to have been collected on the Cabul Hills. It belongs to 

 the same subgenus as the foregoing, but is larger, more robust and 

 fleshy, dries Avell, retaining a pleasant mushroom odour, and is I'eported 

 to be employed as food. It is sold at from forty to fifty rupees for 

 one hundred pounds, or from tenpence to one shilling per pound. 

 The following description has been drawn up solely from the dried 

 specimens. 



Agaricus (Pleurotus) fossulatus, Cooke. —Pileus fleshy, com- 

 pact, oblique, deeply cracked and fissured in a tessellate manner, with 

 the flesh and fissures white, the scales and prominences brown ; mar- 

 gin more or less lobed ; excentric, thick, fleshy, attenuated down- 

 wards ; gills rather narrow, decurrent, slightly forked behind, 

 running down the stem and ending in lines upon it ; rather distant ; 

 spores white, -00015 X -00025 to -0003 in. On trees ; Cabul Hills. 



Pileus 2-4 in. broad ; stem 2-3 in. long. The pileus, usually broken 

 up into large, thick, brown scales. 



SHORT NOTES. 



Spontaneous Generation. — Two papers in the current number 

 (October, 1870) of the ' Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science' 

 seem of special importance amid the numerous articles which the 

 publication in ' Nature ' of Dr. Bastian's experiments have called 

 forth, and both argue against the reception of Dr. Bastian's inferences. 

 One is a report of an address delivered viva voce by Prof. Huxley, 

 in the biological section of the British Association, on the relations of 

 PenlclUium, Torula and Bacterium. From direct observation the 



