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hitherto overlooked, that Fairy rings either may or may not be occupied by 

 fungi, and hence then the theory that the rings are caused by them, to say the 

 least, is not always true. 



That fungi are the usual accompaniments of Fairy-rings is certain, but as 

 we shall ultimately determine these are the results of the circumstances by which 

 such rings are formed, and not the real cause of all the phenomena which we 

 have observed. 



Still, that such conspicuous objects as the Agarics we have named are 

 common to these rings is certain, and there is no wonder then that different 

 writers in explaining the facts should always refer to the fungi, as the true cause 

 of the ring is not to be wondered at, though at the same time this wrong assump- 

 tion has, as we think, been the cause of gross errors in the conclusions arrived 

 at. Thus Professor "Way, in a paper on the " Fairy-rings of Pastures," in vol. 7 

 of the journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, offers the following remarks : — 



" Omitting the consideration of the many theories which have been offered 

 in explanation of these curious rings, I shall only remark that by far the most 

 scientific and intelligible solution of the question is that which was based upon 

 Decandolles theory of excretion of plants. It was supposed that from o^e cause 

 or another the germ of a fungus or agaric became deposited on some point of 

 a piece of pasture land ; that the fungus formed from it, after passing through 

 the various stages of its growth, sheds its seeds or sporules necessarily in a 

 circle exterior to its point of connection with the ground, and that in the 

 following season a series of these plants was produced in the form of a small 

 circle. This new crop would, in its turn, come to maturity, shedding seeds both 

 towards the centre and the outside of the ring. "Were circumstances favourable 

 to the development of the seeds deposited on the inside of the ring, the diameter 

 of it might increase, indeed, but it would have the form, not of a ring with 

 an open centre, but of a flat disc. This, however, does not take place ; the fungi 

 of one year are replaced in the next by a crop of luxuriant grass, to whose 

 superior height and dark colour is due the appearance of the ring itself. Now, 

 it was argued upon the Decandollian theory that the excretions of the fungus 

 were in the highest degree injurious to its subsequent development on the 

 same spot ; but that, on the other hand, they were particularly favourable to the 

 growth of the grass which followed them. It may easily be seen that this 

 explanation is abundantly sufficient for every circumstance of the case, if the 

 theory of Decandolle as to the excretions of plants were generally tenable. It 

 is needless for me to remark, however, that this theory has been abandoned by 

 most vegetable physiologists, and has lately met distinct confutation from the 

 laboiious investigations undertaken by Dr. Daubeny, on the rationale of the 

 rotation of crops. It becomes then necessary to seek some other explanation 

 for the formation of the Fairy rings. In the spring of this year (1846) it occurred 

 to me to make a chemical examination of these fungi with the hope of 



