112 



of Botany"' (the August number) a very careful analysis of Lycoperdon 



giganteum, from which it appears that the ash of that fungus yields the 

 following ingredients : — 



In 100 parts. 



Phosphorous pentoscide 46.19 



Potash 35.48 



Soda 6.95 



Lime 2.47 



Ferric oxide - 1. 8 



Silica 0.66 



Other substances and loss .. . ... ... ... ... ... 7.71 



100.000 

 Now these very substances are all present in great abundance in charcoal 

 beds, and wherever wood, straw and other vegetable matter have been consumed 

 by fire. If we take Lycoperdon giganteum as being a fair representative of 

 the chemical composition of fleshy fungi, we need not be surprised to find 

 burnt ground productive. Should it be urged that the ash does not represent 

 more than one per cent, of the whole plant in its living state, the rejjly is 

 that it may easily obtain its 90 i^er cent of water elsewhere, but not so readily 

 its mineral constituents, and they are indispensible. Thus it is seen that 

 these beds supply a table in the forest spread richly with all those delicacies 

 that fungi love to feed upon. The following is the list of species observed to 

 grow on these places as far as I have been able to ascertain them, but 

 doiibtless it can be largely supj)lemented by those who have made fungi their 

 study : — Agaricus fumosus (Fr.). polius (Fr.), laccatus, atratus, umbelKferus, 

 fibula, scaber, carbonarius, decipiens, sapineus, canobrunneus (Batsch.); Lac- 

 tarius quietus (Fr.) ; Kussula nigricans (Fr.), Adusta (Fr.), ochroleuca (Fr.), 

 fragilis (Fr.) ; Cantherellus umbonatus (P.), radicosus (B. and Br.) ; Polyporus 

 perennis (Fr.) ; Thelephora laciniata ; T3'phula ; Lycoperdon saccatum 

 (Vahe), gemmatum (Fr.); Pieticularia applanata (B. and B.) ; Khizina 

 undulata (Fr.); Helvella crispa, lacunosa; Peziza cochleata (Hud.), trachy- 

 carpa (Curr), leiocarpa (Curr), carbonaria (A. and S.), pustulata (Pers.), 

 melaloma (A. and S.), rutilans (Fr.), subhirsuta rar. macrocystus (Cooke), 

 schizospora (Phillips), omphalodes, violacea ; Ascobolus crouani (Cooke), atro- 

 fuscus (N.S.); Hynotria Tulasnei (B. and Br.) ; Sphreria (N.S. ?). Amongst 

 the white spored in this list, Agraicus atratus deserves notice because of its in- 

 consi^icuous character, having a pileus much the colour of the ground on which 

 it grows, therefore easily overlooked, and its close resemblance to Cantherellus 

 radicosus. On closer examination its thin broadish gills wiU at once enable 

 us to distinguish it from the last named, which has narrow raised ribs rather 

 than gilLs. This is not very common in Shropshire. Among the brown spored 

 the two commonest are Agaricus scaber and A. Carbonarius. They abound 

 in the Wrekin woods and the Whitcliffe woods. Neither is difficult to recog- 



