204 



either by moles or electricity, and that these rings are sub-eque n tly occupied 

 by fungi results from these lower plants called by Linneasus the "Scavengers 

 of Nature " living upon the decaying elements of higher kinds of vegetation. 



We conclude then that we can make fairy rings at pleasure, and as we 

 are now carrying out some experiments on the subject it will be well just to indi- 

 cate their nature.. 



We sow a disc of Bait thickly strewn on turf — it kills the greater part of 

 the grass from the rings so formed we expect the whole phenomena, before 

 described whether fungi will succeed we cannot say, but they may. One thing 

 is quite certain that where salt has been employed on pastures mushrooms are 

 usually abundant, but this upon the same principle that summers of drought 

 if followed by warm moist autumns are sure to be productive of good crops 

 of Agarics. This season the rains of September promised a fine supply of 

 mushrooms in October but the latter month having been unusually dry we fear 

 the f ungologist will meet with but a scanty supply during the present foray. Still 

 whether they are, or are not abundant, the facts of the case can be observed 

 and noted, and as all observations are useful I may be excused for those I have 

 now offered (applause). 



Mrs. Key, of Stretton, had also sent a short paper on Fairy-rings, taking 

 a similar view to that of Professor Buckman, viz., that the Funguses seized 

 upon the rings for the provender they found there, instead of forming the rings 

 themselves. 



A warm discussion followed the able paper read, in which Mr. Edwin 

 Lees, Mr. Harrison, Dr. Bull, and some other gentlemen took part. Whilst 

 combatting the views brought forward it certainly tended to show that the 

 true solution of the problem was by no means easy. One practical observation 

 was generally agreed to, and that was that after the present hot and dry 

 summer, Fairy-rings had been very abundant, and the ordinary field mushroom, 

 Ag. campeslris, which usually grows in scattered clusters, had been observed 

 growing very commonly in crowded rings. 



C*3« 



