SPECIES OF FUNGI. 27 



Microscopic Vegetables. 



SOME of the class of fungi and mosses we have noticed elsewhere ; 

 but such as are invisible without the aid of the microscope, present 

 the most remarkable peculiarities in vegetation. Without this mag- 

 nifying power, we never should have understood the singular character 

 and economy of these plants. When collected in masses they are 

 called canker, mould, etc., and are found on decayed vegetable and 

 animal substances, or covering damp walls of cellars and caves. They 

 are all parasitic plants and are often found on grains, grasses, etc., 

 occasioning the diseases to which they are subject. The number 

 of species already discovered is immense, and their various modes of 

 propagation render them one of the most interesting subjects in vege- 

 table nature. 



The most common species is the common dscobolus. It is found 

 during the whole year, of a greenish color and of different forms, 

 according to its age. At first it is of a globular form, of the size of a 

 pin's head ; it gradually opens and forms a cap and then becomes flat. 

 The seed vessels are small black specks which slowly rise from the 

 surface of the fungus until the seeds are ripe, when they suddenly 

 burst and distribute the seeds over the ground. Another of a star- 

 like form is commonly found on rotton wood. The seed vessel is in 

 the form of a minute ball within the body of the plant. When the 

 seed is mature the vessel splits into five or six equal parts ; the inside 

 lining then suddenly, with a jerk, turns inside-out, throwing the seed 

 to a considerable distance. The lining then forms a dome over the 

 top. The whole process is otherwise highly curious. Another kind 

 is found at all seasons on the dead leaves of the holly. It is like so 

 many black spots of the size of a pin's head. Its structure is very 

 curious ; it has three or five seed vessels. The seeds, when ripe, are 

 discharged in a stream from one or both ends of these vessels. Another 

 minute fungus has been found as a parasite on a parasite ; i. e., at- 

 tached to and deriving its nourishment from another fungus, growing 

 on rotton wood. The seeds are dispersed from the head of the plant. 

 Another very minute fungus, also a parasite on one of its own order, 

 is found in damp places in spring. The seeds and the physiology of 

 the plant are likewise very curious. Another is found on the leaf- 

 stalk of the sycamore. It appears like minute black spots in dry 

 weather ; but in moist weather it appears gradually distending a small 

 slit in the surface. Another singular fungus appears on the surface 

 of old leather. That appearing on an old shoe in the form of mould 

 we here give a magnified view of. 



These curious vegetables will be seen to possess 

 much interest as regards their forms and habits. A 

 single plant is invisible to the naked eye ; and it is 





