10 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



The view expressed by Tournefort in 1707 that all fungi spring 

 from seed was by no means generally accepted at that time, for shortly 

 afterwards, in 1714, Marsigli^ and Lancisi^ expressed the opinion that 

 fungi on tree-trunks are merely the diseased parts of the trees resulting 

 from a derangement of the fibres, and that ground-fungi are the pro- 

 duct of the oily sap left by decaying vegetation. In 1738, Jussieu joined 

 in the controversy and opposed himself to Marsigli and Lancisi. 

 Jussieu held that tree-fungi are independent plants quite different 

 from the trees on which they grow, and are produced from seeds. 

 Unlike previous writers, with the exception of Porta whose observa- 

 tions on the reproductive bodies of fungi in 1591 had long been for- 

 gotten, he pointed out exactly where the seeds are to be found in several 

 different kinds of fleshy fungi. He says: "But this supposition of 

 seeds is by no means imaginary; for they make themselves felt to the 

 touch in Mushrooms, where the cap has leaves underneath, like meal, 

 especially when they begin to decay; one perceives them easily with 

 the help of a iens in those whose leaves are black at the margin; one 

 finds them in the form of a dust in those that are called lycoperdon; 

 they appear in fairly large grains on the Champignon de Malte, they 

 are placed in chambers made to contain them in hypoxylon." He then 

 describes the Fungus minor allii odore and mentions the powder on the 

 gills.^ These observations leave no doubt that Jussieu did actually 

 observe spores on the gills of certain of the Agaricineae, in Puffballs, 

 and in the sporocarps of one of the Ascomycetes. However, Jussieu 

 did not bring forward any experimental proof that the spores have a 

 reproductive function. 



We now come to the Florentine botanist Micheli whose discoveries 

 in connection with the reproduction of fungi mark an epoch in mycol- 

 ogy. This gifted observer was born in 1679. His parents were poor 

 and took but little care with his education. It is said that they intended 

 to make him a bookseller. However, his strong desire for natural 

 knowledge was not to be denied. He devoted himself to Botany^ 

 taught himself Latin in which language botanical books were then 

 written, and gradually gained a wide and intimate acquaintance with 

 plants. The Court recognised his ability by making him botanist 

 to Cosmo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the care of the public 



1 Marsiglius, Dissertatio de generatione Fungorum, Romae, 1714. 



2 Lancisus, De ortu et textura Fungorum, Romae, 1714. 



^Antoine de Jussieu, De la nécessité d'établir dans la méthode nouvelle des 

 plantes, une classe particulière pour les Fungus, à laquelle doivent se reporter 

 non-seulement les champignons, les agarics, mais encore les Lichen, Mém. de 

 l'Acad. Roy. des Sci., 1728, pp. 377-382. The Fungus minor allii odore was 

 probably either Marasmius alliaceus, M. scorodonius, or M. porreus ail of which smell 

 of garlic. 



