September 155 



gills out and lay it on a sheet of white paper, we 

 shall find after a few hours a quantity of dark 

 brown grains, which are called spores. From these 

 arises the mycelium, from which the mushroom 

 springs. These spores vary in colour in different 

 species ; some are pure white, some are purple, 

 some have different shades of brown. They also 

 vary in size, but are usually so exceedingly minute 



BOLETUS EDULIS. 



that one writer declares a single fungus can produce 

 as many as ten million spores. 



Thus far my description has applied to the 

 agaricini or gill-bearing fungi, but we will now 

 turn to the second order, the polyporei or spore- 

 bearing fungi. 



Under a large tree on my lawn I find this autumn 

 a great abundance of toadstools about the size, 

 shape, and colour of penny buns. If I cared to 



