1820.] Physical Science during the Year 1819. 125 



cedines and byssoides, 3. gasteromyci, including the lycoperdaceoe, 

 mucoi-es, &c. The vegetabilia fungoca are subdivided into 4 

 kingdoms: 1. The fungi aerei and hypogei, as the tremellfe, 

 and the truffle ; 'I. fungi clavati and f. pileati, or mushrooms, 

 pi'operly so called. 3. f. utrini, containing the pezizae and 

 phalloides. 4. f. myelomyci, containing the sphaerise and hys- 

 tericE. Finishing the whole with the anomalous genus aphyteia 

 of Linnaeus, which he looks upon as forming the transition from 

 fungi to phenogamous plants. 



M. Otto has published in German an essay towards the arrange- 

 ment of the agarics, according to the disposition of their gills. 

 It is not that agarics are, in themselves, more difficult to deter- 

 mine than other species of plants, but, as their number is consi- 

 derable, their duration very short, and the greatest part of them 

 cannot be preserved for future reference, a student is, of necessity, 

 pressed for time in endeavouring to discriminate their species. 



The division adopted by Mr. Otto is singular, and has no re- 

 spect to the natural sections. It is well known that some are en- 

 veloped in a volva, others have only an annulus on their pedicell; 

 some want this part, some are milky, others dissolve entirely into 

 a clear water : and these striking differences should undoubtedly 

 be regarded in their arrangement. But Mr. Otto first divides 

 them into mesopodii, with a central pedicell, of which he enume- 

 rates 225 species, and pleuropodii, in which the pedicell is ex- 

 centric or lateral, containing only five species. Each of these 

 grand divisions are subdivided, 1. into amicti, or agarics with a 

 volva, annulus or curtain; 2. gymnopodii, or those having a 

 naked pedicell; which are subdivided into those whose pedicell is 

 cylindrical or bulbous. The length of the gills are then used, 

 by which all the agarics are divided into five sections: 1. gills 

 equal in length; 2. gills in pairs; .^. gills three in a set; 4. gills 

 four in a set; and 5. gills many in a set, regularly placed. 

 Here we cannot but recognize part of the ari'angement of Wi- 

 thering. 



D. Liboschitz has published an enumeration of the Russian 

 fungi, amounting to 101 species, of which he has figured four 

 which are new. Mem. Mosq. 



Desvaux has constituted a new genus of these plants, sphsero- 

 theca, of which secidium Thesii, Desv. Journ. Bot. 2, 311, is 

 the type. He has also improved the specific differences of three 

 species of sclerotium, and described a new one, S. moschatum, 

 found in autumn in the woods, upon the heaps of putrid leaves, 

 which is very like the S. subterranea of Todc, but differs in co- 

 lour and odour. This author has also sliown that the merulius 

 lycoperdoides of De CandoUe, FI. Franc. 340, or agaricus lyco- 

 pcrdoidcs of BuUiard, is in facta new genus, to which lie has 

 given the name of mycoconium ; and that the lycoperdon corium 

 of De Candolle is a true scleroderma. Mem. Mo.s(/. 



Mr. Macbride has also made some observations on the Ivco- 



