MUSHROOMS. 



[ 527 ] 



MYRIANGIUM. 



To obtain the separate fibrillae of striated 

 muscle, the tissue should "be macerated for 

 about two hours in alcohol. This removes 

 fatty matter, and renders the fibrillae more 

 easily separable by dissection with mounted 

 needles. The fibrillae are very minute; 

 hence a very small portion of the tissue only 

 should be taken for examination. That of 

 fishes, the cod or the skate, or of reptiles, 

 the frog, is the best for the purpose. Or, 

 the bottom of a glass vessel is covered with 

 chlorate of potash, slightly moistened with 

 water, and four parts of nitric acid added. 

 The whole is shaken, and a portion of muscle 

 buried beneath the crystals with a glass rod. 

 In half an hour, the inuscle is removed and 

 placed in water, and strongly shaken, when 

 it separates into the fibrillae (Kiihne). 



The unstriated muscular fibres are best 

 seen in muscle which has been treated with 

 dilute nitric or muriatic acid (1 part acid to 

 4 water). This renders them more opaque, 

 and often curiously tortuous or spiral(fig.498). 



BIBL. Bowman, Todd's Cycl. art. Muscle, 

 and Phil.Tr. 1840-41 ; Lebert, Ann. So. Nat. 

 3 se*r. xiii. ; Krause, Arch. An. u. Phys. h. v. 

 646, 1868; Moxon, Qu. Mic. Jn. 1866, 235; 

 Doyere, Ann. Sci. Nat. s6r. 2. 1840 ; Kuhne, 

 Brucke, Arnold, and Strieker, Strieker's Hist. 

 vol. i. 1870; Quain's^tw. ; Brucke, Bau d. 

 Muskel, Wiener Denkschr. xv. 79; Heppner, 

 Schultze's Archiv.v. 1869; Schafer,PM Tr. 

 v. 163, 429, 1873 ; Beale, How $c. 1880 j 

 Nasse, Quergesfr Musk. 1882 ; Frej,Hist. 301. 



MUSHROOMS. See AGABICUS. 



MUSSEL. The species of Mollusca 

 commonly known as mussels are of interest 

 to the microscopist, on account of their ali- 

 mentary canal containing Diatomaceae ; the 

 same applies also to other marine and fresh- 

 water Mollusca, as well as other animals 

 living upon these minute Algse. 



If it be required to obtain the valves only, 

 the entire animal may be dissolved in hot 

 nitric acid, and the residue washed as usual 

 in preparing the Diatomaceee. 



The gills of the common marine mussel, 

 Mytihis edulis, are well adapted for the 

 examination of the cilia and ciliary motion. 



Mussels also frequently contain the nurses 

 and larvae ( Cercarue) of Distoma and other 

 Trematoda. 



One of the Acarina, Hydrachnaconcharum, 

 is found in the pallia! cavity or beneath the 

 outer lamella of the branchial plates of the 

 Naiadeae ( Unio, &c.). 



BIBL. Dickie, Ann. N. H. 1848, i. 322 ; 

 Vogt, Ann. Sc. Nat. 3 ser. xii. 



MUSTARD. The best mustard consists 

 of the ground seeds of Sinapis nigra (Cruci- 

 ferse) ; but those of S. alba are largely em- 

 ployed. The structure of these grains is very 

 different from those of the substances most 

 commonly employed for adulteration, for 

 example, wheat-Hour, which is known by 

 its starch-granules. Inferior samples con- 

 tain variable quantities of the husk of the 

 seed, which may be detected by the micro- 

 scope. Mustard is generally coloured arti- 

 ficially, especially when adulterated with 

 white meals, by means of TUBMEBIC, the 

 peculiar colour-cells of which are readily 

 recognizable. See PI. 2. fig. 11 ; and Hassall, 

 Food and Adulteration, 123. 



MYCE'LIUM. The vegetative part of 

 the Fungi as distinguished from the fruit. 

 Many fungi in a barren state have been 

 described as genera, Himantia, Ozonium, 

 Xylostroma. Mushroom-spawn is simply 

 the mycelioid state of Agaricus campestris. 

 The mycelium sometimes penetrates deeply 

 into wood, rendering it of various colours, 

 as green by Peziza ceruginosa, red by Corti- 

 cium sanguineum, yellow by Hypoxylon 

 luteum. 



BIBL. Berk. Outl 39 ; Crypt. Bot. 262. 



MYCETOZO'A. See MIXOMYCETES. 



MYCOIDEA. A genus of doubtful affi- 

 nity, allied to Chroolepus', propagated by 

 zoospores, also by sexual union, like Pythium 

 and some other Saprolegnise. 1 sp. ; on the 

 leaves of Camellia, in India (Linn. Tr. 2nd s. 

 i. 301, figs.). 



MYCOP'ORUM, Hot. A genus of 

 Lichenaceous Lichens. 3 sp., rare (Leighton, 

 Lich. Flo. 437). 



MYELOPLAX'ES. See BONE, p. 111. 



MYLITTA, Fr. A genus apparently of 

 Tuberacei (Ascomycetous Fungi). 



Mylitta australis, the native bread of the 

 Australians, has not been found with perfect 

 fruit ; but the structure is apparently that 

 of Tuberacei. The other species are doubtful, 

 and perhaps mere root-tubercules. 



BIBL. Cd. Ic. ; Berk. Ann. N. H. 1839, 326. 



MYOBIA, Heyd. See ACABUS, p. 5. 

 > MYOCOP'TES, Clap. A genus of Aca- 

 rina. M. musculimis, on the body of the 

 mouse (Olaparede, Zeit. iviss. Zool. 18 ; 

 Murray, EC. Ent. 325; Megnin, 156). 



MYO'MATA and MYXO'MATA. See 



TUMOBS. 



MYRIAN'GIUM, Mont, and Berk. A 

 genus of Myriangiacei (Lichens). M. Du- 

 riai on ash and elm, rare. (Leighton, 

 Lich. Fl. 37). 



