FUNGI AND LICHENS. 103 



with a certain amount of warmth, is indispensable. 

 In seasons wholly favourable their profusion is 

 astonishing, and the artist will find ample work in 

 portraying the diversities of form, and delicate grada- 

 tions of colour which these organisms assume. In 

 the majority of cases, indeed in all, with a few rare 

 exceptions, the species which are found in woods 

 may be sought in vain elsewhere. It is also a note- 

 worthy fact that some kinds are found growing only 

 in proximity to certain species of trees. Fir woods 

 have fungi belonging to certain particular species ; 

 beech woods will produce other and distinct species, 

 and oak woods others again different, whilst a few 

 species will probably be common to all. It has been 

 a popular notion that all fungi have the form of the 

 common mushroom slightly modified, or rather that 

 those only are fungi which have an upright stem 

 surmounted by a cap, as in the Parasol Mush- 

 room, of which our figure illustrates a young 

 specimen. This is a very great mistake, as great 

 as that of a country gentleman who gravely in- 

 formed us on one occasion that there might pro- 

 bably be six kinds of fungi, but he did not believe 

 there were more ; there were the mushroom, the cham- 

 pillion (for champignon), the toadstool, the puff-ball, 

 and the hard things which grow upon trees ; he knew 

 no more. Although they do not confess it so plainly, 

 there are many persons whose knowledge of fungi is 

 very little in advance of this. To them it would seem 

 incredulous that three thousand different species of 

 fungi had been found in the British Isles, and that 

 not less than twenty-five thousand species are scattered 

 over the face of the globe. ^ (J ^ ~&* s ^ 



