LESSONS IN' IJOTANT. 



1 . KSSONS 1 N T." i A N V. X I . V I II. 



SECTi uda). 



DR. BAI-HAM, tho author from whom we have so frequently 



pi. .i-l, MIVS : "For tho single muMhroom that wo eat, how 



in-ro !n< Unit retaliate and prey upon us in 



To enumerate but a fow, and those of tho microscopic 



theMucor 



uat spawns upon 



our dried preserves ; 



the .4ri)/i/iorif M 



that makes our bread 



mouldy ; the 



that burns 

 Ceres out of her own 

 corn-fields ; the Uredo 

 >, whose rust is 

 still more destructive ; 

 mul th'- I'licciniaGra- 

 minis, whose voracity 

 sets corn-laws and far- 

 mers at defiance, are 

 all funguses." The 

 main body of those 

 fungi which make war 

 on man are microsco- 

 pic ; yet so strong and 

 indefeasible are they 

 in their multitudes 

 and their pertinacity, 

 that man has, in most 

 instances, no power to 

 withstand their forces. 



To the list given 

 above, we must add 

 many more. There is 

 the ergot (Claviceps 

 purpuren), a species 

 which infests grasses 

 and corn. When de- 

 veloped in the latter, 

 it produces the most 

 dreadful disease in 

 those who unfortu- 

 nately partake of the 

 infected grain. It is 

 chiefly found in rye, 

 but happily not very 

 frequently met with 

 in this country. This 

 little fungus, though 

 so dangerous in its 

 effects when eaten, is 

 nevertheless valua- 

 ble for its medicinal 

 uses. It is a little, 

 cylindrical, horn- 

 shaped body ; purple- 

 black without, and 

 white or purplish in 

 side. 



Whether the injury 

 to human life of which 

 have spoken 



311. THE BUNT (UREDO CARIES). 312. WHEAT STRAW, NATURAL SIZE, INFECTED WITH PUC- 

 CINIA GRAMINIS; a, THE FUNGI MAGNIFIED IN CLUSTER. 313. SEPARATE FUNGI OF 

 PUCCINIA GRAMINIS, HIGHLY MAGNIFIED. 314. SECTION OF INFECTED STRAW, HIGHLY 

 MAGNIFIED. 315. PUCCINIA ROS.E ; a, NATURAL SIZE ON LEAF ; b, SAME, MAGNIFIED ; 

 C, SEPARATF. FUNGI, HIGHLY MAGNIFIED. 316.. PUCCINIA RUBI ; a, NATURAL SIZE; 

 I), TUFTS, MAGNIFIED ; C, SEPARATE FUNGI, MAGNIFIED. 317. ASPERGILLUS PENICIL- 

 LATUS. 318. MUCOE MUCEDO. 319. MUCOR STERCOREA. 320. XYLOMA CONCAVTM. 

 321. NEXASPORA CARPINI. 322. PHACIDIUM CORONATUM ; a, FUNGUS, MAGNIFIED. 

 323. DOTKIDEA TYPHINA. 324. SPH.EBIA REPTANS. 325. SPE.ERIA TUBERCULOSA. 

 326. SPHvERIA ROSELLA. 



we ave spoen s 

 caused by the fungus 

 itself, or by the de- 

 composed and cor- 

 rupted state of the 

 corn to which it be- 

 longs, is still a matter 



of question amongst the learned, and one on which we can 

 form no judgment. 



The fnncri which chiefly affect the cereal produce of our land 

 are the Uredines and Puccinice. The former genus takes its 

 name from wro, a Latin word, signifying " I burn," or " scorch," 

 the discolorations and spots on the plants infested by those 

 fungi having been formerly attributed to blasts or injuries 

 caused by the atmosphere or tho heavenly bodies. There are 



133-N.E. 



two species of this genus that are almost equally dreaded by 

 the farmer; one called the Binut (Uredo Keyetum), the other, 

 the Bant ( Uredo or Urtilago Carie*). 



The former of these takes its rUe within the glumes of the 

 flowers, and grows with such rapidity ae speedily to fill the 

 interior space and burnt through the epidermis, when it ap- 

 pears like a profuse black dust, which, if microscopically 



examined, is found to 

 consist of minute, per- 

 fectly spherical spo- 

 rulcs. Withering says 

 of this species : " It con- 

 sists of very minute, 

 egg-shaped, stemless 

 capsules, at first white, 

 but the thin white 

 soon bursting, it pours 

 oat a quantity of 

 brown-black powder, 

 mixed with wool-like 

 fibres." 



The other species, 

 Uredo Oortes(Fig. 311), 

 is very common in 

 wheat, and exceed- 

 ingly injurious, as it 

 not only destroys the 

 ear on which it grows, 

 but every grain with 

 which the infected in- 

 dividuals come in con- 

 tact. It is included 

 within the germ of the 

 wheat, and the spores, 

 which are exactly sphe- 

 rical, are longer than 

 those of the above- 

 named species (Uredo 

 Segetum), and quite 

 black. When crushed 

 they emit a most fetid 

 odour, which is com- 

 municated to the whole 

 sample of wheat with 

 which the bunty grains 

 are associated. Mr. 

 B2rkelv says of all the 

 corn-infecting fungi : 

 " The growth of these 

 parasites depends so 

 much on accidental 

 circumstances, that it 

 is impossible for the 

 most experienced cul- 

 tivators to guard 

 against it entirely ; 

 but the evil is greatly 

 lessened by careful 

 choice of seed, and by 

 steeping it . in solu- 

 tions of different sub- 

 stances, which destroy 

 the vegetative power 

 of the sporidia of these 

 parasites," etc. 



The other genus, 

 Fuccinia, is of as evil 

 a nature as the Urtv 

 dines. The disease 

 termed the mildew in 



wheat is produced by one of these (Puceinia Graminis, Figs. 

 312 314), a fungus so diminutive that a single stoma (or pore 

 in a stem or leaf), invisible to the eye, will permit the extru- 

 sion of from twenty to forty ; and each of these exquisitely 

 minute plants will bring forth at least a hundred spores of 

 seeds. The seeds are not much heavier than air ; and it may 

 easily be conceived that even a single stem of wheat or grass, 

 when beset with these mischievous parasites, will not bo long 



316 



