MUSHROOMS AND MOULDS 191 



it ofi very slowly. Thus the rivers and streams are kept sup- 

 plied with water throughout the j^ear, and the valleys through 

 which they How are rendered fertile. Mosses generally live to- 

 gether with trees and are abundantly found in forests, the shade 

 and dampness of w^hich are advantageous to their growth. In- 

 versely they lielp to keep the ground from dryiny up too soon, and 

 thus are useful to the trees which shelter them. 



These facts help us to understand w^hy the keeping up of 

 forests is so beneficial to a country. They represent a reservoir 

 of water, which is tilled when it rains, and gives the water slowly 

 off to the rivulets and streams, thus watering cultivated lands 

 when there is no rain. 



43. Mushrooms and Moulds (Fungi). 



The Mushroom (Ayariciis). 



{Kan. Alimbe, Nayikode.) 



1. The Mushroom forming the Fructification of a Fungus. — 

 The Mushroom is a pale, soft substance, reminding one of a 

 diminutive umbrella, with a short, stout stem and a large, hori- 

 zontal head, at the under-side of which numerous vertical plates, 

 radiating from the stem, can be distinguished. If the head of a 

 mature Mushroom is laid on a sheet of white paper for a few 

 hours, the paper will be covered with the dark powder of 

 minute spores, produced between the laminated parts of the head. 

 As long as the spores are not mature, those delicate parts are 

 covered and protected from the effects of bad weather by a veil, 

 which later on breaks away from the stem and leaves a ring-like 

 scar on it (lig. 176). 



2. The Mycelium. — The Mushroom grows from a dense net- 

 work of white hlaments, called the mycelium. The latter lives 

 under the soil and grows continually, whereas the Mushrooms 

 produced by it here and there are short-lived and perish as soon 

 as they have strewn out their spores. The whole may, therefore, 

 be compared, e. y., to a Mango tree bearing numerous fruits 

 which are dropped when they are ripe. The mycelium is the 



