266 FOOTNOTES FROM 



tore. The cultivation of the common mushroom is too 

 well known to require comment. Though considered a 

 somewhat precarious crop, it is in the power of almost 

 everybody to grow it, and when carefully conducted it 

 yields a profitable return. This well-known species has 

 almost entirely superseded the wild variety which is now 

 very rarely to be met with in our woods ; as is the case 

 with all the animals and plants which man takes under 

 his care and protection. Mushroom spawn is sold by 

 nurserymen in cakes, and for use is broken into pieces 

 of about two ounces weight. When placed either in a 

 cellar, out-house, or shed, where the covering is effective, 

 in a bed of soil well worked into a compost by the drop- 

 pings of horses and the parings of their hoofs, and 

 allowed to heat to the temperature of new milk, it is 

 certain to produce a plentiful crop. " The common bunt 

 is propagated with certainty by simply rubbing the 

 grains of wheat with the spores ; and the rust of the 

 rose (Coleosporium pingue) may be communicated to 

 trees hitherto unaffected by watering the ground with a 

 decoction of infected leaves. Finally, the disease of the 

 silkworm and several epizoic fungi are readily propa- 

 gated by inoculation ; while many species of moulds are 

 capable of cultivation in the house, by simply sowing 

 their seed on rice paste, or any other convenient matter." 

 Fungi afford a remarkable illustration of the fact 

 almost universally observed, that agencies which are 

 generally beneficial sometimes prove destructive. While 

 performing their office as the scavengers of nature, these 

 plants sometimes carry their operations too far, and by 

 their rapid increase, and their devastating effects on the 



