228 FOOTNOTES FROM 



in his smith's trough, a quantity of this fungus, of a 

 soft gelatinous consistency. He immediately sent for 

 Schweinitz without moving anything from its place, 

 who was equally astonished to find a distinct species of 

 JLthalium. (This plant forms a yellow mass like curdled 

 egg in tan-pits and hot-houses, cucumber and melon 

 frames, where it is very common and injurious.) The 

 mass of fungi was two feet in length, consisting of a 

 series of many confluent individuals. It had crept from 

 the iron to some adjacent wood; and not, as might be 

 objected, from the wood to the iron. The immense 

 mass had grown in the space of twelve hours." All 

 these curious instances show that fungi do not always 

 derive nutriment from their matrix, and that many of 

 them are essentially meteoric, depending on matter con- 

 veyed to them by the surrounding air or moisture. A 

 species of Phycomyces, which bears a strong resemblance 

 to an alga, from its green colour and shining aspect 

 when dry, grows rapidly and in prodigious quantities in 

 soap and candle manufactories, covering walls that are 

 saturated with oil or grease in immense flakes. It is 

 supposed to be a transformation of the common green 

 mould. Some species, such as the truffle, are subter- 

 ranean, vegetating in the absence of all the external 

 stimulants upon which other plants depend, being ap- 

 parently attached to the roots of trees, often at a con- 

 siderable distance underground. Some species are found, 

 as already mentioned, in the coal mines of Dresden. 

 A peculiar fungus (Racodium cellare), like a bacchana- 

 lian gnome, is found on casks and bottles, and hanging 

 down from the roof in close cellars. It grows in great 



