MUSHROOMS 



PUFFBALLS 



CHILDREN like puff balls. It is such fun to squeeze 

 them between the fingers and watch the "smoke" come 

 out. This cannot be done until the puffball is old and 

 dry. When young this fungus is grayish or brownish 

 on the outside and white within. A few varieties are 

 dark inside. The firm, soft flesh of the inside is covered 

 with a skin or rind consisting of two layers. The outer 

 one is generally somewhat rough. The inner coat is 

 thin and papery. 



Let us see how these puffballs grow. The myce- 

 lium forms a network of white threads. Then little 

 buttons are seen coming out on these white threads. 

 Like other mushrooms they grow larger and larger, but 

 there is no stem. Neither do they spread open and 

 show gills or tubes. They remain wrapped in their 

 light-colored coats. 



Where do you think that the spores grow? If you 

 were to look at the inside of a puffball with a micro- 

 scope or magnifying glass, you would find it full of little 

 cells. Within these are dustlike spores. Often there 

 are elastic threads among the spores. These help to 

 push out the spores when they are fully ripe. 



When a puffball begins to grow larger, the inside 

 becomes so filled with moisture that water may be 

 squeezed out of it. The color changes from white to 



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