HABITATS OF FUNGI. 29 



truncorum, so remarkable for shooting out its long thread- 

 like sporidia under the influence of the sun^ is found on im- 

 mersed logs or sticks. A fine Sphceria, not yet observed in 

 this country, is found in Algiers on submarine pluenogams, 

 and other instances occur where the daily wash of salt-water 

 has not prevented the growth of Fungi. The ubiquitous 

 Sph(Bria herbarum flourishes even on seaweed thrown up by 

 the waves. 



I am not at liberty to reckon as Fungi the curious Moulds 

 which grow on dead fish, making them conspicuous as they 

 float on the surface of the water by the foggy halo which sur- 

 rounds them. These productions difier so essentially in their 

 mode of reproduction from Fungi in general, that at present 

 it would be rash to speak too positively about them ; but, in- 

 asmuch as their peculiar characters seem to depend entirely 

 upon the degree of moisture to which they are exposed, there 

 is some reason to hesitate and to m ait for further iuformation. 

 I have no doubt that the Mould which is so common on flies 

 in autumn, oozing out as it were between their abdominal 

 rings, is a mere condition of one of these anomalous produc- 

 tions. Nay, it was known long since that the same animal 

 which, when immersed in water, produced one of these 

 puzzling plants, when exposed to a slight degree of moisture 

 gave birth to a true Mucor, or Mould. 



A gigantic Mould, of a dark shining green when dry, ap- 

 pears frequently on casks, or on the walls in oil-mills. The 

 same species occurs sometimes in great abundance on casks 

 of grease, flourishing in the most wonderful degree, and ulti- 

 mately exhausting to a great depth the substance in which it 

 grows. As it is far larger than any of the common species 

 of Mucor which grow on fruit or decaying vegetables, it was 

 long considered as belonging to a distinct genus, under the 



