Bp C. E. Broome, Esq. ^'^^ 



them, but their favourite haunts are damp woods, where there is a 

 luxuriant growth of vegetation, and where timber is suffered to rot 

 away, and wild open heaths, and commons, among oaks, &c., where 

 Agarics and Boleti abound. The appearance of Fungi in localities 

 where they have not been observed before, has given rise, especially 

 among the Germans, to the notion that they can be developed from 

 decaying organic matter, by what they term spontaneous genera- 

 tion, but it is unnecessary to have recourse to so unphilosophical a 

 notion, if we consider the extreme minuteness of their fruit, which 

 has been discovered among the dust carried by the trade winds, 

 perhaps over thousands of miles. 



Not only however do Fungi show themselves in new and unex- 

 pected localities, but they even make their appearance in places, 

 where it is very difficult to understand their means of access, as 

 Tricothecium in ripe nuts, and the Botrytis of the potatoe in ripe 



tomatoes. 



The history of bunt in wheat shows, that the mycelium has the 

 power of penetrating through the cellular tissues, and there retaining 

 its vitality for long periods. Mr. Berkeley mentions a curious 

 instance of this power, in the occurrence of a mould in the cerebral 

 cavity of Golden Pheasants, which proved fatal to them. And the 

 mycelia of several species may be found in thin sections of wood, 

 where the threads may be seen occupying both interceUular passages, 

 and even the interior of the wood cells. 



An interesting paper on the "Geographical distribution of 

 Fungi " by Mr. E. P. Fries, has been republished lately in the 

 " Annales des Sciences" a translation of which may be found in the 

 " Annals of Natural History " for April, 1862. And there is a digest 

 of a paper by Mr. E. Fries, on the " Seasons of Appearance of 

 various Fungi" in the "Natural History Review" for July, 1861. 

 Both are very valuable contributions to the subject, but I can only 

 allude to them here. A curious fact remains to be noticed in 

 regard to the plants under consideration, viz., that of luminosity. 

 Agaricus olearius, a South of Europe species, is one exhibiting- 

 this quality. Dr. Hooker alludes to luminous mycelia in the Hima- 

 layas, and Humboldt describes the light emitted by Rhizomorphss 



