MUSHROOMS AND OTHER FUNGI 



substances when exposed in a warm, damp place ; the 

 Penicilium Glaucum that forms the blue mould on 

 bread, cheese, etc., is ubiquitous ; its presence and that 

 of allied forms among yeast plants often cause serious 

 loss in the wine and brewing industries by promoting 

 their own growth and thereby inducing other fer- 

 mentations to the detriment of the formation of 

 Alcohol. 



The true vegetative portion of the fungi is the 

 "Mycelium," which in the microscopic forms thus 

 far noticed constitutes the only apparent organism; 

 the spores, if seen at all, being excessively minute. 

 Among the larger fungi the mycelium consists of a 

 congeries of Hypha3, the latter being the individual 

 threads or stems that in the yeast plant or similar 

 growths form the plant itself as visible to us. They 

 are formed of cells of dense protoplasm placed end 

 to end, containing protoplasm not distinguishable 

 from other forms thereof. In many instances the 

 hyphse form closely interwoven or adhering masses 

 of threads, which spread in all directions; they pene- 

 trate the substance of the organism upon which they 

 are parasitic and which they cause to decay. In the 

 larger fungi, known as Mushrooms, Toadstools, etc., 

 the mycelium exists only beneath the surface* of the 

 ground, where it may persist for years unknown. It 

 is vulgarly called the Spawn of the Mushroom. The 



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