48 MICEOSCOPIC FUNGI. 



is barely possible for him ever to have heard the 

 ergot of grain called by the name of mildew. 



How long this disease has been known^ is an 

 unsolved problem. About the middle of the last 

 century a tract was published on this subject in 

 Italy _, but this was probably not even the first inti- 

 mation of its fungoid character. Before such con- 

 clusion had been arrived at^ men may have struggled 

 in the dark^ through many generations^, to account 

 for a phenomenon with which they were doubtless 

 familiar in its effects. In 1805^ Sir Joseph Banks 

 published his ^^ Short Account/^ illustrated by en- 

 gravings from the inimitable drawings of Bauer^, 

 whereby many in this country learnt^ for the first 

 time^ the true nature of mldew. 



With a view to the clearer understanding of these 

 parasites in the phases of their development^ let us 

 select one^ audwe cannot do better than adhere to 

 that of the wheat and other graminaceous plants. 

 A fine day in May or June dawns upon our prepara- 

 tions for a stroll^, far enough into the country to find 

 a wheat-field. Even now^ with the area of the 

 metropolis constantly widening^ and banishing 

 farmers and wheat fields farther and farther from 

 the sound of Bow-bells^ a corn field may be reached 

 by a good stiff walk from Charing-Cross^ or a six- 

 penny ride at the most^ in nearly any direction. 

 Having reached the fields it may be premised that a 

 walk into it of less than twenty yards will be sure 

 to reward you with the fungus we are in quest of. 



