128 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



after a spell of wet weather, and they are easily killed both by 

 drought and by frost, owing to the large amount of water they 

 contain. In growing, fungi exert considerable force, as is easily 

 seen from the ease with which they can push up the paving- 

 stones in a yard or stable. Some years ago the main streets of 

 Basingstoke were paved with large stones, and a few months 

 later the pavement showed an unevenness which could not easily 

 be accounted for at first. The mystery was soon explained, for 

 some of the heaviest stones, one weighing over eighty pounds, 

 were completely lifted out of their bed of cement by the growth 

 of large toadstools below them, and it became necessary to re-pave 

 the town. 



There are many small gill toadstools besides the " ink-caps/ 1 

 One of these (Marasmius) forms very distinct " fairy rings," 

 and has a small cap with thick gills and a stiff tough stalk. 

 Other small kinds, called Mycena, are found in woods towards 

 the end of autumn, after rain; they are elegant and fragile 

 plants with thin gills. 



Of the larger gill toadstools, two of the most conspicuous 

 are the " Fly Agaric " and its relative the " Poisoner." They 

 differ from most other toadstools in having a sheath which at 

 first covers the cap and stalk, but later is burst and mostly left 

 behind as a cup at the swollen base of the stalk, part of this 

 sheath being carried up in pieces on top of the cap. The fly 

 agaric has a scarlet cap dotted with the scaly whitish remains 

 of the sheath, of which consequently little is left at the swollen 

 lower end of the stalk. The poisoner, which is responsible for 

 nearly all the fatalities caused by eating fungi incautiously, 

 shows the swollen base and sheath the danger signals very 

 plainly, in addition to the ring or collar just below the cap ; the 

 cap is yellowish or greenish, the stalk and gills pure white. 



The Hedgehog Toadstools have spiny projections, bearing 

 the spores, on the under side of the cap. The common kind grows 

 in woods and has a pink or brown cap, bearing long brittle spines 

 below. 



The Pore Toadstools have, instead of gills, closely packed 

 tubes covering the lower side of the cap. The Edible Boletus, 

 which grows chiefly in oak and pine woods, is easily recognised. 



