142 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY |May 



rather than zoological investigation, and who may be in 

 doubt as to what group to take up, I would submit the 

 claims of the smaller Fungi — those which in general re- 

 quire the microscope for their determination, as contrast- 

 ed with the larger forms which are readily recognized by 

 the naked eye or hand lens, and which only need the 

 higher powers for the elucidation of their minute anato- 

 my, as in the phanerogams and higher cryptogams. 

 The microscopic fungi present many points of advantage 

 over their larger brethren. They are extremely varied 

 in structure, but some of them are to be found almost 

 everywhere where organic substances exist : on living 

 leaves ; on dead branches, twigs, leaves and stumps ; on 

 jam and paste ; on old shoes ; on chemical solutions ; 

 some even on living, but unhealthy fish (salmon disease) 

 and on insects. In general, they are easily preserved as 

 herbarium specimens, and in mounting for the microscope 

 need but little exceptional apparatus or skill in manipu- 

 lation. Many are exceedingly beautiful, beiug surpass- 

 ed in this respect by few, if any, other microscopic ob- 

 jects. Again, although England and Scotland have been 

 fairly explored by hunters of both macro- and micro- 

 fungi, I think few will assert that these countries are by 

 any means exhausted ; while, with the exception of two 

 or three small districts, Ireland is a terra incognita, 

 and a good deal still remains to be done in America. 

 Hence there exists among these lowly plants a far better 

 chance of coming across forms new to the World's Flora, 

 or even to science, than is the case with other divisions 

 of the vegetable kingdom, such as mosses, algse, liver- 

 worts, etc.; and only those who have experienced it know 

 the pleasure of discovering even a humble mould which 

 has not been hitherto recorded. 



Given a fairly good microscope with 1 inch and J inch 

 objectives or their equivalents, the remaining necessaries 

 are the usual glass slips and covers, a scalpel, a razor, a 



