THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 97 



timber, fruit trees— aye, even ourselves, in the shape of fungus 

 growths in the throat, &c, &c. ; and it is the experience which we 

 have obtained of the fatal qualities of these plants that renders the 

 knowledge of fungs so important. 



The vegetation of Australia differs greatly from that of all other 

 countries, consequently the first botanists who landed on our 

 shores reaped, indeed, a noble harvest. The names of Brown, 

 Mueller, &c, will always be associated with the eucalypts, gre- 

 villeas, and the multitude of species, genera, and even orders 

 hitherto unknown to science. 



Fungs, however, seem to be cosmopolites, for out of the numbers 

 I have sent during the past fifteen years to Europe for identification 

 comparatively very few have been returned as new to science. 

 And here I should like to bear testimony to the unflagging energy, 

 zeal, and kindness of our government botanist, Baron von Mueller. 

 In spite of the important works on which he has been engaged, he 

 has always managed to find time to name plants for me, advise 

 me how to proceed next, and, above all, to get my fungs properly 

 identified by the greatest European specialists. 



As I just now mentioned, I have hitherto been very unsuccess- 

 ful in finding new plants, but in the list for last year just sent to 

 me by Baron von Mueller I find that I have been successful in 

 obtaining sixteen species new to Victoria, seven of which are 

 new to science. 



As our Club is composed of members, some of whom study 

 geology, some entomology, and others various sections of natural 

 history, and may not all, therefore, be acquainted with fungs, I 

 propose to give a rough sketch of the order which embraces the 

 plants I have discovered. They all belong to the order of fungi 

 called Agaricini. 



If a common toadstool be gathered, the stem cut off close to the 

 cap or pileus, and it be placed in the natural position over a piece 

 of paper for an hour or so, when it is removed a number of small 

 objects will be found on the paper ; these are spores or seed- 

 vessels, shaped somewhat like an egg. These spores fall from a 

 membrane termed a hymenium. On close examination, the 

 hymenium will be found to be closely covered with three kinds 

 of cells. The most numerous are club-shaped, and are borne on 

 slender stalks — these are sterile cells. The second are somewhat 

 larger, are club-shaped, and are also supported on slender stalks, 

 but from the top of each basidium, as it is called, spring four 

 slender stalks, and each stalk (termed a spicule) bears a spore. 

 The third cell is of the same shape but very much larger ; it is 

 called a cystidium ; its structure and use are still undecided. 



In the order Agaricini, the hymenium is spread over the sur- 

 face of distinct gill-like processes, which are easily divisible into 

 two plates; these gills are always borne on the. under side of the 

 cap or pileus. 



