MUSHKOOMS. 193 



the gills beneath ; d^ part 



of the volva remaining 



upon the stipe in a circii- F's- ^^t 



lar form, and called an an 



nnlvs^ or ring. " If the 



mushroom," says Nuttall, 



" be left for a time on a 



plate of glass, a powder 



will be found deposited; 



this is the seed, or organic 



germ {sporules). That 



these are capable of germination is evident to cultivators, who 



now form mushroom-beds by strewing the decayed plants on 



prepared beds of manure." A species of the genus xlgaricus 



is much valued for food. It is of a fine red or orange color ; 



the ancient Romans esteemed it as a great luxury. The genus 



Boletus contains the touch-ioood^ or spiinJc^ which is sometimes 



used as tinder. The Lycoperdon contains the puff-ball. 



291. The Cryptogamous plants are less understood than most 

 of the visible works of natm-e. Philosophers have asserted 

 that some of this race do not belong to the vegetable but to 

 the animal kingdom ; having discovered insects in mushrooms, 

 they say, like the sponge and the corals, these should be classed 

 among animal productions. Few, however, at present enter- 

 tain this belief; and the lact of their having been raised from 

 seed (or bodies analogous to seeds) sprinlded on the earth 

 proves them to be of vegetable groAvth. A curious field of in- 

 quiry presents itself in the consideration of the difference be 

 tween animal and vegetable life. 



292. From the obscurity in the structure of these phints the youug pupil must 

 expect to meet with difficulties iii attempting to study them. It is Y/ell for man- 

 kind tliat there are philosophers whom the entliusiasm of scientific pursuits will 

 lead to spend years, even a whole life, in searcliing into the fructification of a moss, 

 or mushroom, or in examining into the natural history of a gnat or spider.* 

 Discoveries are thus continually brought forward which add to the general stock of 

 knowledge. It is a kind of martyrdom in the cause of science, to which a few seem 

 to be called by the powerful imjDulses of their own minds. 



293. We have completed our view of the vegetable world 

 according to the order of the Linmean classification ; in the 

 course of which we have remarked upon the most conspicuous 

 genera, and traced their natural relations. In many cases, de- 

 parting from the plan of general remarks, we have examined 

 the natural history of some one genus. In reading history we 

 are often less interested in the fate of a whole peoj)le than in 



• The late Professor Eaton once assured the Author that the study of spiders {Arachnology) was 

 #ne of the most elegant and delightful of all pursuits. 



M II -jh rooms capable of frermination.— 291. Cryptogamous plants little understood. — 292. Enthusiasn* 

 of Mini • naturalists.— 293. View of cla.ssification completed — Remarks. 







