1901} MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 295 
The Fungi. 
GEO. F MASSEY, F. L. S. 
Next to the Phanerogams, or the flowering plants, the 
Fungi constitute the most extensive group of plants 
known. Just over 50,000 species are already described, 
and every year this number is being augmented. In _ 
Great Britain are 5,000 species of Fungi, which far ex- 
ceeds in number that of all other groups of native plants 
—Phanerogams, Filices, Muscinae, Algae, Lichens—add- 
ed together. | 
As in every division of the animal and vegetable king- 
doms, the primary groups are indicated by one or two 
prominent morphological features, which are supposed to 
indicate a common origin, whereas other and unimport- 
ant or secondary characters presented by the group are 
often very varied. In the Agaricineae, a family includ- 
ing some thousands of species, the common bond of union 
is the presence of gills or thin plates bearing the spores 
or reproductive bodies on their sides. The members. of 
this group are popularly known as toadstools, with the 
exception of the edible species of our pastures, which are 
dignified by the nameof mushroom. The mushroom-eat- 
‘ing public flatter themselves that the only fungus they 
eat is the true mushroom (Agaricus campestris). This, 
however, is far from being the case. A. campestris pure 
and simple israrelyif ever grown bycultivators, but in its 
place avariety of this species with a brownish more or 
less scaly cap, known scientifically as the variety horten- 
sis. The horse mushroom (A. arvensis) is often sold in 
the London markets as the true musbroom. However, all 
these are edible, even if lacking in taste and aroma. In 
this instance “ignorance is bliss.” 
The uses of Fungi are various. As food products, ow- 
ing to fear of poisoning, with the exception of the kinds 
mentioned above, the numerous edible varieties are most- 
ly ignored, except by mycologists, The fungus popu- 
