82 MICEOSCOPIC FUNGI. 



exceedingly common. In a field or wood the my- 

 cologist reaps his richest harvest of mycological 

 specimens in the lowest and dampest spots^ in 

 swamps^ ditches^ and ill-drained nooks. This is a 

 fact worth knowing as much by the farmer as the 

 amateur botanist in search of specimens for his 

 herbarium. 



One of the most unmistakable species of ^^ smut ^^ 

 is that which infests the goatsbeard^ on which we 

 have already described an JEcidium. Generally 

 about the same time as the cluster-cups make their 

 appearance on the leaves^ some of the unopened 

 flower-heads of this plant will be found considerably 

 altered in appearance by the shortening of the seg- 

 ments of the involucre,, and at length by the whole 

 inflorescence being invested with a copious purplish- 

 black dust. If, by any means^ the lobes of the invo- 

 lucre are any of them separated^ the enclosed dust 

 escapes^ blackening the fingers and clothing of the 

 collector^ as if it were soot (plate V. fig. 92) . A little 

 of this dust submitted to the microscope will be found 

 to consist of myriads of small globose spores^ nearly 

 uniform in size and shape ; and if a higher power 

 be employed^ each of these will appear to have a 

 papillose or minutely granulated surface. The 

 florets^ dwarfed in size and contorted^ or the remains 

 of them^ are embedded in the mass of spores (fig. 93), 

 and if one or two of these are removed and placed 

 under a good one-inch objective, every part will be 

 found covered with adhering spores, to the apparent 



