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Kings may be brown, forming a band of up-turned soil, or of a greener 

 hue than the imsture in which they appear, or they may present a hairy or 

 rough aspect like the tails of some animals, from a dense mass of tall grass 

 growing in them, and the latter I call comct-riwjs. It is only in the spring and 

 autumn under meteorological cu-cumstanccs that the rings become coaspicuoua 

 from Agarics either scattered about or in a dense mass spreading around theif 

 circumference. 



Now let us attend to the exact formation of the Fairy Ring, for on this 



depends the interpretation of a passage in Shakspere that is weU known and 



often quoted : — , 



" You demy-puppets, 

 That do by moonshine green sour ringlets make, 

 Wlicreof the ewe bites not." 



Here our great bard alludes to the cuiTent belief of the times in which ho 

 lived, and also mentions a rural fact that we may suppose came under his par- 

 ticular observation. Ewes, he states will not bite the grass of a fairy ring. 

 Now this is not true with regard to the area of the circle, but it is correct when 

 the expression is limited to its circumference, which is truly the ring that the ewe 

 will not lite. This I once satisfactorily proved by observation in the vicinity 

 of Stratf ord-on-Avon, and probably in a field that Shakspeare had himself trod. 

 In this pasture, through which was a footpath, there was a flock of sheep 

 grazing, and several rings of Agaricus gambosus. The exterior circle of each 

 ring was occupied by a tall growth of the coarse grass called Brachypodium pin- 

 natum, among which lay nestled and concealed the savoury agaric. The 

 sheep had close grazed most of the herbage of the iield, but the grass occupying 

 the circumference of the rings was entirely untouched. It was then, doubtless, 

 the vernal fairy rings to which the immortal bard alluded. 



The ring itself, which bounds the area, is often divisible into three bands, 

 of which the outer one is the most distinctly marked, and the ring spreads 

 and dilates in this direction, while its inner margin joins with and is scarcely 

 distinguishable in places from the area. But though the term "ring " is generally 

 applied to these appearances, it must be borne in mind that a perfect circle is 

 rarely formed, and mostly only arcs, portions of circles, or long waving lines 

 are presented to the view. Some of these rings or arcs remain with little 

 alteration for years, while others slowly increase till if uninterrupted they 

 assume vast dimensions, for my friend Professor Buckman has mentioned some 

 on Salisbury Plain that were more than fifty feet in diameter. Finally they 

 die out after a longer or shorter continuance. 



Various fungi occasionally dot or fill up the circumference of the rings, and 

 these are either vernal or autumnal, but chiefly the latter. The first rains of 

 May bring up the common Fairy King Agaric {A. Oreadcs), and also the less 

 common but larger Agaricus gambosus, which has been called St. George's' 

 Agaric, as appearing about the time of the feast of St. George. Few other fungi 

 appear so early in the year, the majority preferring the misty season of autumn,- 

 and then, besides Agarics, Puffballs and other funguses adorn the rings, Thesef 



