116 



THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



find the land and the waters are everywhere full of vegetable 

 life ; the air itself moreover is so filled with the germs of 

 vegetable and animal creations, that it is quite impossible 

 to exclude a portion so small that it shall not contain any ; 

 in proof of which, any organic substance set by for a few 

 days in a vessel ever so carefully closed, is shortly covered 

 with a growth of mould consisting of fungi, which under 

 the microscope present most beautiful forms and colours 

 (fig. 3). The cause of this is a deposit from the air of the 



PIG. 3. a a, MOULD FEOM AN OLD BONE b, MOULD FROM JAM. 



spores or germs of these creatures, and the nature of the 

 decomposing substance into which they fall often determines 

 the race or tribe which shall come to life and inhabit it, 

 showing plainly that but a few of these only among many 

 come to maturity, just as when a variety of seeds are thrown 

 on any particular kind of soil, only those to which the soil 

 may be suitable come to perfection. 



Dr. Carpenter in his work on the microscope says: 

 " There are scarcely any microscopic objects more beautiful 

 than some of those forms of mould or mildew which are so 

 commonly found growing upon the surface of jams and 



