404 



THE MICROSCOPE. 



if not left open for a night before they are tied dcfwn : it is therefore 

 probable that the germs of the mould sow themselves before the jar is 

 covered. Some particular kinds of cheese derive their flavour from 

 the quantity of a fungous growth which spreads through the mass 

 whilst it is yet soft. 



The power of reproduction of the vegetable mould-plant, or mucor, 

 is so great, that extensive tracts of snow are sudderdy reddened by the 

 Gory-dew, Protococcus nivalis (red-snow) of the northern regions. That 

 the Eed-snow plant consists of a cellular or filamentous tissue, may be 

 easily ascertained by means of a microscope of even moderate powers ; 

 and one of a higher power demonstrates that the filaments are nothing 

 more than cells dra/um out. Sometimes, as in the genus JJredo, the 

 cells are spheroidal, having little connection with each other ; each cell 

 containing propagating matter, and all separating from each other in 

 the form of a fine powder when ripe. In plants of a more advanced 

 organisation, as the genus Monilia, the constituent cells are connected 

 in series which preserve their spherical, and also contain their own re- 

 productive matter ; while in such 

 plants as Aspergillas (No. 2), the 

 cells partly combine into threads 

 forming a stem, and partly preserve 

 their spheroidal form for fructifica- 

 tion. It is probable, however, that 

 in all fungi, and certain that in 

 most of them, the first development 

 of the plant consists in what we 

 here call a filamentous matter, which 

 radiates from the centre formed by 

 the space or seeds ; and that all 

 the cellular spheroidal appearances 

 are subsequently developed, more 

 especially with a view to the dis- 

 persion of the species. 



That very curious fungus, known 

 in Scotland as Siller-cups {Nidida- 

 ria campanulata), fig. 190, consists 



fig. 190. 

 Siller-cups (Nidularia campanulata). 



of a curious leathery cup, in which are a number of small thecse, which 

 contain the sporules ; and each plant looks like a bird's nest with 

 several eggs in it. It generally grows on a twig, or a bit of rotten 

 wood, and one has been found growing on a wooden tally, fixed in a 

 pot containing a green-house plant. Several kinds of AgaricMS have 



