JRUNGL 
eek er a short interval, it again began to vomit, 
and emitted a thick viscous matter. ‘This continued un- 
til:the death of the animal, which happened soon after. 
Upon opening up the stomach and intestines of the dog, 
no appearances. of corrosion presented themselves, the 
i symptoms were merely those which might 
have arisen from violent vomiting. . 
_ The fungi often appear as the formidable enemies of 
man, in his fields, his gardens, and his houses. The dis- 
eases called the blight and the smut are, as already noti- 
ced, both caused by itical fungi, whose history de- 
- serves to be attentively studied by every . These 
little plants destroy the leaves, the stem, and the ear, and 
the most.dismal hayocin the fields. Noremedy 
been discovered to impede'or remove the disorder 
after it has once made its appearance, The pickling of 
the seed before sowing it, with salt, quicklime, or urine, 
and the frequent change of seed from different places, 
are the only known, though not always efficacious, pre- 
ventives. abe 
_. The parasitical, axy sometimes, attack fruit. trees. 
One species is figured by Mr Sowerby, tab. 379, as.in- 
futing te apple-tree leaves, covering them with a very 
fine white powder, with dark brown particles, scarcely 
visible to the naked eye. The form of these particles 
- is somewhat ovate, but irregular. Mr Knight observes, 
that on shaking a leaf over a plate of glass, he detected 
little oval bodies, which shrivelled a little in drying. 
Some of these were transferred to other trees, and the 
disorder along with each, every one producing its own 
_. The dry rot is another of those evils which have been 
Supposed to be occasioned by a parasitical fungus of the 
genus Boletus, It-is not our intention in this place to 
endeavour to ascertain the point, whether the fungus is 
the cause or the consequence of the. disease,. although 
we are rather inclined te suspect.that decomposition has 
commenced before .the, fungus . begins to grow. That 
the fungus may aid the process of destruction, we can 
easily suppose ; but we also believe that. wood ina 
fresh sound state would offer but a bad soil for the ger- 
mination of such parasites.’ . : 
The fungi serve several important purposes in the 
economy of nature: _ They accelerate the process of 
dissolution, by converting the. woody fibre of dead trees 
and branches into a softer. and more deliquescent sub- 
stance. They supply with a. grateful food many in- 
sects which feed upon them, and even hatch their young 
inthem. And lastly, they furnish, by their uncommon 
forms, an agreeable variety to-the eye of. the botanist, 
when contemplating the scenery of the vegetable, king- 
dom,,and lead him to adore. that Being who is exhi- 
ited in all his works as powerful, kind, and wise. 
*» In Plate LXXV.. the..reader, will find figures of the 
four following species: | 
» Agaricus campestris;,or common mushroom, 
fs Phallus esculentus, or morel,, 
. Tuber cibarium, or truffle., 
APPENDIX, 
HYPOXYLA, 
__», Tris order of the class Cry 
ployed by Lamarck and Decandol 
5 
mia was first-em- 
_in.their arrange- 
‘59 
ment of the native plants of Francé. It seems to con- Hypoxyla. 
nect the Fungi with the Lichenes, and consists of plants “7 
which have many of the characters of both these or. 
ders. The Hypoxyla are either of a coriaceous or cor- 
neous texture, or resemble cork in consistence. The- 
receptacles, which are almost. always of a black colour, 
sometimes comprehend the whole plant; in other in- 
stances they are inserted upon a stem, which is straight, 
solid, filamentous, or pulverulent. . Whatever be their 
position, these receptacles are rounded or oblong, 
at the summit by having a pore or slit, and filled with 
a mucilaginous pulp. which is more or less evident in 
some shape, until the period of maturity. This pulp 
encloses the seeds. Some species present here and 
there parcels of white fugaceous powder, which many 
naturalists consider as the male organs of the plant. 
The plants of this order are chiefly ona on the 
trunks of trees; some of them grow upon decaying 
leaves ; and a.small number have been observed on 
rocks, and on the ground. Unlike the more perfect 
plants, many species of this order give out no oxygen 
when. exposed to, the rays of the sun under water. In 
‘such circumstances, however, there are a few which 
yield hydrogen gas. 
This order is naturally divided into, two. tribes, ac- 
cording as the mucilaginous pulp. issues from the re- 
ceptacle in an obvious or insensible manner. - The first 
of these approaches the fungi in appearance and con- 
sistence ; the. second intimates its relation to the lichens, 
by the pulverulent base which surrounds the recepta- 
cle, 
with an account of this order, to. describe all the spe- 
cies, which it embraces, but merely to enumerate the 
characters of the genera. Under each genus there will 
be found the description of one species at least, for the 
purpose of illustrating the, characters upon which it is 
founded. 
TRIBE lL. In this tribe the seed-bearing pulp obvi- 
ously issues from the receptacle when the plant has arri- 
ved at maturity. 
Genus I. Ruizomorpna, This genus, which was 
instituted by Rothes, consists of plants having a recepta- 
cle nearly globular and persistent, opening at the sum- 
mit by an.indistinct orifice, attached in the form of tu- 
bercles, toa stem which is simple or branched, and - 
spongy within. 
Rhizomorpha fragilis. _Clavaria phosphorea of Sow- 
erby’s British Fungi, tab. 100. The bark of this spe- 
cies is black, brittle, glabrous, and shini 
white and spongy. The. stem is cylindrical, when it 
‘ows exposed to the air; but compemene when it creeps 
in the crevices of wood. It pushes forth a number of 
It is not our intention, in presenting our readers . 
; the inside is - 
branches, which frequently anastamose. The fructifica- 
tion, which is but rarely seen, consists of tubercles scat- 
tered or in groups, spherical, black, a little shagreened, 
ending in an orifice which can scarcely be perceived. 
These tubercles are filled with a black pulp containing 
the seeds. This plant grows in subterraneous places, 
in the hollows of trees, in the chinks of wood,. and be- 
tween the wood and the bark. In some instances it 
has been observed to emit a phosphoric light, when 
fresh, at the ends of the shoots. 
Genus Il. Spnxeia. This genus consists of plants 
which present one or more osseous rounded receptacles, 
opening at the top by an orifice usually of a lengthen- 
ed shape, solitary, clustered, or inserted upon a cork- 
like stalk, filled with a mucilaginous substance, con- 
taining the seeds, and. which issues by. the orifice of 
