PROPAGATION l)V FUNGI. 53 



yeast Fungus, which may be reproduced for centuries without 

 ever throwiug up the true fructifying threads, exactly as among 

 Mosses, a species may exist age after age, tliough never bear- 

 ing fruit. 



In some instances undoubtedly when a plant is once tho- 

 roughly traversed by the spawn, even though it dies or is cut 

 down by cold every year, a Fungus may be propagated for a cer- 

 tain time by that portion which remains in the perennial root. 

 Plants for instance of Achillea Ptarmica, which I brought 

 from Lille strongly infested with Labrella Ptarmica, yielded 

 for a year or two scanty crops of the Fungus, till it ceased to 

 appear altogether, and the same circumstance took place in 

 my garden with Viola odorata, which was distorted with Poly- 

 cystis Violce. Similar instances have been observed at Paris. 

 It is curious that so few of these parasites appear in our 

 stoves. Grajjhiola Phoenicis, on one or two kinds of Palm, is 

 almost the only one which has been observed, but whether 

 imported or not it is difficult to say. 



If those Moulds which infest fish or aquatic vegetables, as 

 Leptomiius, Saproleffnia, etc., when immersed in water, be 

 truly Fungi, we should have a more perfect type of impregna- 

 tion than is presented by the supposed antheridia — at least 

 one more nearly resembling that in animals ; but we are not 

 at liberty to assume their affinity to Fungi, and for the pre- 

 sent they must be left amongst the Alga, to which they ap- 

 proximate closely as regards their reproductive organs. For 

 a history of these I must again refer to the ' Introduction to 

 Ci'yptogamic Botany.' 



