FUNFKIRCHEN FURIES. 



manuscripts, aiul adds greatly to our stock of infor- 

 mation upon the subject of which it treats. 



FUNFKIRCHKN, or FIVE CHURCHES, or 

 I'ETS ; a royal free town and bishop's see in Hun- 

 gary, capital of Baranya, between the Drave and 

 the Danube; 100 miles S. by VV. Pest, 140 VV. N. 

 W. Belgrade, 175 S. S. E. Vienna; Ion. 18 45' 

 E.; lat. 46 5' N.; population, 8487. It is situated 

 on the ascent of a limestone ridge, in a district fertile, 

 especially in wine, is moderately well built, and has 

 an imposing aspect. It contains a fine cathedral, 

 seven churches, several monasteries, a public library 

 of upwards of 20,000 vols., a military and a civil 

 academy, and two hospitals. Each of the churches 

 and monasteries has two or more steeples. It is the 

 most considerable trading town in this part of Hun- 

 gary, and is noted for its tobacco, and for the swine 

 and cattle sold at its markets. A university was 

 founded here in 1364, by Louis I., atone period con- 

 taining upwards of 2000 students, but was destroyed 

 after the battle of Mohacs, in 1526, and not after- 

 wards re-established. The Jesuits founded a college 

 here in 1694, which grew into much repute. 



FUNGI ; an extensive femily of plants, belonging 

 to the Linnaum class cryptogamia. Many ot the 

 species are commonly called mushrooms. These 

 plants vary greatly in size, form, colour, and consis- 

 tence. They frequently have the form of a parasol, 

 or are filamentous, membranaceous, tuberous, froth- 

 like, &c. They are found of all coloius, except 

 green, but their prevailing hue is grayish-white, or 

 yellowish. Their consistence is coriaceous, fleshy, 

 spongy, gelatinous, corky or ligneous, but never 

 herbaceous. They are destitute of leaves or flowers, 

 and differ much in their appearance from other 

 plants. Their anatomical structure, when examined 

 with the microscope, is found to consist entirely of 

 cells, some rounded, and others more or less elongated. 

 When arrived at maturity, they all present certain 

 minute coloured globules, which are considered re- 

 productive, and analogous to the seeds of other 

 vegetables. The situation of these globules is differ- 

 ent in the different genera ; sometimes internal, as 

 in the truffle and puff-ball, or covering the entire sur- 

 face, in laminae on the inferior surface, at the open- 

 ing of tubes, in furrows, capsules, or upon particular 

 appendages, either attached on one side, or floating 

 in mucilaginous matter. The abundance of these 

 globules in some fungi is incalculable ; 2400 species 

 of fungi are now known, which are distributed in 

 about eighty genera. No other vegetables grow and 

 develope themselves so quickly as fungi. It is not 

 unusual to see hundreds of them, which have sprung 

 up in the course of a single night. It is well known 

 how rapidly mould, which is a fungus, covers cer- 

 tain substances ; some species in a few minutes pass 

 tlirough the whole course of their existence ; others 

 live only a few hours, but their duration is generally 

 several days, and even a season, and some continue 

 for many years, but these are composed of several 

 successive generations. They delight in moist, 

 shady places, and grow on all animal and vegetable 

 substances in the state of decomposition, on dead 

 and living trees, on the leaves of all plants ; and 

 some species are confined to particular plants, under 

 the surface of the earth ; but none are truly aquatic, 

 though some float on the surface of fermented liquors. 

 Some fungi grow even in the interior of vegetables, 

 and in this respect are analogous to intestinal worms. 

 All possess a peculiar odour, by which their presence 

 may be recognised. Their taste is insipid, or some- 

 times nauseous, acrid, styptic, or caustic, and in 

 some of the edible species very agreeable. Many 

 species of mushrooms have been used for food from 

 lime immemorial in China, India, and Africa, and 



more recently in Europe, where they are now con- 

 sumed in vast quantities. In some parts of Italy, the 

 inhabitants have been at times reduced entirely to 

 this aliment. They are cultivated in layers through 

 out all Europe, by which means a continual supply is 

 furnished during the season ; and various methods 

 have been devised for preserving them through the 

 remainder of the year. Many species are exceed- 

 ingly poisonous, producing nausea, vomiting, con- 

 vulsions, and speedy death. It has been observed, 

 that acids diminish considerably the deleterious ef- 

 fects of mushrooms, as also sometimes boiling. In 

 cases of poisoning, an emetic should be immediately 

 administered. In gathering mushrooms for the 

 table, great care should be taken to exclude all 

 poisonous species ,- those that possess a milky juice 

 are generally acrid, and should be rejected, as also 

 those which have a sombre hue, and whose substance 

 is heavy, tough, or fibrous, and those which grow in 

 dark places, or upon old trunks of trees. Some 

 species require the parts of fructification only to be 

 removed ; but, besides the poisonous species, all are 

 liable to become pernicious, unless certain precautions 

 are taken. If, for instance, they have lost their 

 freshness, or are in a state of decomposition, and 

 even at the best of times, they should be eaten with 

 moderation. As the poisonous species can be dis- 

 tinguished by no common character, it is better to 

 use those only whose innocence is well established. 

 Some species are employed in dyeing yellow. Other 

 fungi are the bane of the husbandman, destroying in 

 a short time the fruits of his labour ; as blight, mil- 

 dew, SEC. 



FUNK, GODFREY BENEDICT ; a popular German 

 teacher, was born at Hartenstein, in the county of 

 Schonbnrg, in 1734. His education, till his thirteenth 

 year, was conducted in his father's house. He was 

 destined to theology, but the responsibilities of the 

 profession appeared to him too great, and, in 1755, 

 he began the study of the law, at Leipsic, by the 

 advice of Cramer ; but, in the following year, Cra- 

 mer, then court minister at Copenhagen, invited him 

 into his house as a tutor to his children. Funk re- 

 mained with him thirteen years, studying theology, 

 and became intimately acquainted with some dis- 

 tinguished men, among whom was Klopstock. In 

 1769, he was appointea teacher at the royal school 

 in Magdeburg, of which he became rector in 1772, 

 and retained this office forty years. Funk was one 

 of the best of teachers, taking the word in its widest 

 extent. He devoted himself so entirely to his pupils, 

 that he declined the honour of the counsellorship of 

 the consistory, offered him by Frederic the Great, 

 from fear that it would interfere with his duties. 

 Funk died June 18, 1814. His pupils erected a 

 monument to his memory, and his bust was placed 

 in the cathedral, with the inscription Scholee, ecclesice, 

 patriee decus. His works have been published in two 

 volumes, with a biography. Funk published several 

 school books, very popular in a great part of Ger- 

 many. 



FURCA, or FORK MOUNTAIN ; a mountain 

 13,171 feet high, in the Valois, so called because the 

 country, viewed from the mountain, looks like a fork, 

 or, according to some, because the mountain has two 

 points. It lies on the north-eastern side of the 

 Valois, and forms the chief central point of the high 

 Alps. 



FURIES, EUMENIDES, ERINNYES (among the 

 Romans, Furiee, and Dir<e) ; deities in the Greek 

 mythology, who were the avengers of murder, pet 

 jury, and filial ingratitude. They sprung from the 

 drops of blood which fell from Uranus, when he waa 

 mutilated by his son Kronos or Saturn. Others make 

 them the daughters of Acheron and Night. Latei 



