KNOWLEDGE. 



[January, 1904. 



is eoncerued, it is very small compared to the permanent 

 vegetative jx>rtion of the tree. 



Now, as a rule, in fungi the above proportions of the 

 vegetative and reproductive portions of the plant are 

 reversed as compared with the oak tree ; in other words, 

 the reproductive portion of a fungus is much larger, and 

 also more conspicuous than the vegetative portion. 



fihlM^. 



Fia. 2. — A second type of Basidiomyeetes {Clavaria aliefina). 

 The entire branched portion ia covered with basidia bearing spores. 

 Common in our pine woods. Natural size. 



If we take as an illustration the common mushroom, the 

 aspect of which is familiar to most people, tlieu what is 

 presumably considered to represent the whole plant — 

 namely, the stem, cap, and gills— only in reality represents 

 the reproductive portion of the fungus, being, in fact, the 

 exact equivalent in function of the flowers in the oak ; 

 the equivalents of seeds, called spores in the fungi, being 

 produced on the surface of the gills. On the other hand, 

 the vegetative portion of the mushroom consists of the 

 comparatively small portion of white thread-Uke spawn or 

 mycelium ramifying in the manure or other substance on 

 which the fungus is growing. 



The same arrangement of parts is practically true for 

 all other fungi ; the portion visible to the naked"eye, how- 

 ever varied its form or colour, represents only the repro- 

 ductive portion ; whereas the vegetative part is buried in 

 the substance from which the fungus obtains its food. 



The popular belief that the mushroom and other fungi 

 grow in a single night is not correct; it is quite true that 

 when the mushroom has reached a certain stage of develop- 

 ment, one or two days suffices for it to attain its full size 

 afttr it appears above ground. Before this final spurt 

 is reached, however, the baby mushroom has been growing 

 for some weeks, and undergone various changes of struc° 

 ture and development before it emerges above-ground. A 

 little thought will recall to mind the fact that mushrooms 



do not spring up \vithin two or three days after the forma- 

 tion of a mushroom bed, but several weeks elapse before 

 the mushrooms are ready for the table. 



As to the origin of the fungi, the opinion held at the 

 present day is that they originated or evolved from the 

 algae or seaweeds, or their freshwater representatives. 



The most primitive groups of fungi are aquatic in 

 haltitat, and closely resemble in structure certain algse ; 

 in fact, at the beginning of the fungal group a fungus was 

 an alga devoid of chlorophyll, the parasitic habit adopted 

 by the pioneers of the fungi enabling them to dispense 

 with this green substance. The sequence of evolution 

 from these primitive types of fungi to the most modern 

 members of the group — the agarics or gill-bearing fungi, 

 and the puffballs — is fairly complete, and in evidence at the 

 present day. 



Fio. 3. — A third type of the Basidiomyeetes (Dictyophora 

 phalloidea). The entire upper portion is enclosed in the hollow 

 covering or volva, until the spores are mature, when the stem 

 elongates and bursts through the volva, and the crinoline-like network 

 expands to form a landing-stage for insects, who devour the slime 

 containing the spores, which is produced on the dark upper portion 

 of the stem. Natural size. Not uncommon in Brazilian and other 

 tropical forests. 



On the other hand, had the agarics and puffballs only 

 been met with at present, the true origin of the group 

 would never have btea suspected, so completely have all 

 ti-aces of primordial structure and afinuity been effaced, 



