THE FUNGI. 9] 
plants, of which we have before made casual men- 
tion, the Fungi, or Mushroom tribe. Strange it 
is, that these plants, instead of loving the pure day- 
light, and eagerly pressing up into its presence, 
both hate it and fly from it; and equally strange, 
that instead of helping to purify the air, they 
only help to pollute and poison it. Mr. Hunt, 
in his researches on light, found out a very curi- 
ous thing about these plants. It is well known 
that the country people say the mushroom loves 
to grow in the light of the moon; and Lord 
Bacon tells us “‘that they come up hastily, as 
in a night.” Now it is very probable this pro- 
verb is founded in fact, and that the mushroom 
tribe, if it loves any light at all, prefers that of 
the pale, cold, silent moon “that walketh in 
brightness.” Mr. Hunt found accordingly, that 
mushrooms would grow luxuriantly under a yel- 
low light, which approaches nearest to the colour 
of the moonbeams. Perhaps some of our readers 
may not know, that in the large underground 
excavations, called catacombs, under the City of 
Paris, there are regular nurseries for fungi, kept 
by some of the poor inhabitants to supply the 
tables of the rich with these delicacies. Here 
