FUNGUS 



3375 



FUNGUS 



in Ireland in 1845, due to the 

 prevalence of potato disease, which 

 had much to do with the repeal of 

 the Corn Laws in 1846. 



In combating fungoid pests, 

 much can be done by sound pre- 

 ventive measures, of which by far 

 the most effective is what may be 

 called good farming, that aims at 

 producing healthy, vigorous crops, 

 since weakly plants are most liable 

 to be attacked. It is particularly 

 desirable, by judicious manuring, 

 to carry a crop as quickly as pos- 

 sible through its critical early 

 stage, since tender seedlings are ill 

 adapted to withstand these pests. 

 Weeds often harbour destructive 

 fungi and insects, and should, 

 therefore, be kept down as far as 

 possible, special attention being 

 devoted to headlands, hedges, and 

 ditches. The danger of infection 

 is much increased by growing a 

 crop continuously on the same 

 piece of land, and this is one reason 

 why proper rotation of crops is a 

 sound policy. The remains of a 

 diseased crop should be burnt, as 

 these harbour spores in the resting 

 stage, and serious losses have often 

 resulted from the presence of in- 

 fected straw in dung used as a 

 manurial dressing. 



If fungoid pests .should appear 

 in spite of all precautions, they 

 can be dealt with more or less 

 successfully by the application of 

 fungicides, i.e. substances or mix- 

 tures that either kill or check the 

 action of fungi. A cereal crop may 

 become diseased by the use of in- 

 fected seed corn, e.g. the spores of 

 barley smut adhere to the husk 

 and attack the .seedlings when the 

 grains sprout. In such a case the 

 clinging spores may be destroyed 

 by treatment with hot water (130 

 to 135 F.) for 5 minutes, the grain 

 having been previously soaked in 

 water for 4 hrs. Pickling in forma- 

 lin (1 pint to 36 galls, water per 

 40 to 50 bushels) for 2 hrs., or in a 

 solution of copper sulphate or 

 bluestone (1 Ib. to 1 gall, water per 

 4 bushels) for 8 to 12 hrs., has also 

 been found effective, the pickled 

 grain being dried before sowing. 



When the crop itself is diseased 

 it is usual to apply various fungi- 

 cide solutions in the form of a spray. 

 This method is largely resorted 

 to in fruit culture. One of the 

 most esteemed spray fluids is 

 Bordeaux mixture. Fungicide 

 powders have also found success- 

 ful employment. See Black Scab ; 

 Bunt , Ergot ; Mildew ; Potato ; 

 Rust ; Smut ; Spraying. 



Fungus. Enormous class of 

 cellular cryptogams or flowerless 

 plants. They are characterised 

 by a total absence of chlorophyll 

 and starch. They have no real 



Fungus. 1. Inky mushroom, Coprinus atramentarius. 2. Jew's ear fungus, 

 Hirneola auricula-judae. 3. Lawyer's wig mushroom, Coprinus comatus. 

 4. Puff ball, Lycoperdon perlatum. 5. Ivory cap, Hygrophorus virgineus. 

 6. Oyster mushroom, Pleurotus euosmus. 7. Orange Elf cap, Otidea aurantia. 

 8. Amethyst mushroom, Laccaria laccatus 



roots, but the creeping threads 

 (mycele) which constitute the fun- 

 gus proper serve the same purpose. 

 For lack of chlorophyll they are 

 unable to decompose the carbonic 

 acid of the atmosphere, and there- 

 fore have to obtain organized 

 carbon from decaying or living 

 vegetable or animal matter. 

 Those that attack living matter 

 are known as parasitic fungi ; 

 those that are content with decay- 

 ing material are saprophytes. 



The forms of fungi are multi- 

 tudinous, varying from the hard 

 or corky brackets that advertise 

 their attacks on trees, through the 

 mushrooms, toadstools, and puff- 

 balls of the woods and fields, to 

 the minute leaf-moulds, rusts, 

 smuts, and mildews, and to the bac- 

 teria. They are all produced by 

 spores, but in some families there 

 is a sexual process before spore 

 production. 



POISONING BY FUNGI. The 

 common mushroom, Agaricus cam- 

 pestris, sometimes causes symp- 

 toms of poisoning if eaten when 



not fresh. The tissues contain a 

 certain amount of fat and albu- 

 men, decomposition of which 

 probably gives rise to the forma- 

 tion of ptomaines. The more im- 

 portant poisonous toadstools are 

 the following : 



Amanita phalloides bears a con- 

 siderable resemblance to the mush- 

 room, for which it has frequently 

 been mistaken. It may be distin- 

 guished by the hollow stem in- 

 serted into a bulb at the base, and 

 the white gills or fine laminae on 

 the under surface of the top, those 

 of the mushroom being pink or 

 purplish-black. It contains a 

 poisonous principle termed phal- 

 h'n. Amanita muscaria, the fly 

 fungus, has a bright red top 

 studded with white raised spots, 

 and contains a poisonous alkaloid, 

 muscarine. Eussula Integra has a 

 smooth red top and thick fragile 

 trills, and contains muscarine. 

 The suspected Bolettis luridus has 

 a thick fleshy cap on whose lower 

 surface a series of tubes with 

 red openings are exposed. The 



