CHAPTER VI 

 THE HIGHER FUNGI 



THE Mushrooms, Toadstools, Moulds, Rusts, Mildews, Yeasts, 

 and Bacteria (" germs ") all belong to the large group of plants 

 known as Fungi. In this chapter we shall study some of the 

 higher Fungi, including the Mushrooms and Toadstools and 

 other conspicuous kinds. 



Fungi have none of the green colouring matter found in 

 ferns, mosses, liverworts, and most of the flowering plants, so 

 that they cannot make food for themselves from the air and 

 the soil water. They require ready-made food, and this they 

 obtain either from decaying matter previously formed by other 

 plants or by animals e.g., leaf-mould and dung or from the 

 actual living bodies of other plants or animals. A fungus 

 cannot live when supplied only with mineral matter, e.g., the 

 inorganic salts used in making a " culture solution/' in which 

 a green plant thrives quite well. 



The conspicuous part of a mushroom or a toadstool is simply 

 the spore-producing body or fruit. The rest of the plant is 

 buried in the leaf-mould, and consists of a fluffy mass of branching 

 threads which run in all directions, resembling a mass of cotton 

 wool. This part of the fungus is readily seen in the moulds 

 which grow on stale bread, jam, damaged fruit or vegetables, old 

 boots, and all sorts of dead vegetable and animal substances. 



Get some mushroom " spawn " from a dealer in bulbs and 

 seeds. The " spawn," which is sold in cakes or blocks, is a 

 brittle fibrous mass consisting of richly manured soil permeated 

 with the fungus threads. Break bits off and plant them in soil, 

 or set them in dishes and put in a warm damp place. After 

 a time you will see the little " buttons," or young mushrooms, 



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