XI. 



HABITATS. 



It commonly happens that one of the first inquiries which the 

 student seeks to have answered, after an interest is excited in 

 " fungi, is — Where, and under what circumstances, are they to be 

 found ? The inexperienced, indeed, require some guide, or much 

 labour will be expended and patience lost in seeking microscopic 

 forms in just such places as they are least likely to inhabit. Nor 

 is it wholly unprofitable or uninteresting for others, who do not 

 claim to be students, to summarize the habitats of these organ- 

 isms, and learn how much the circutnstances'of their immediate 

 surrounding elements influence production. For reasons which 

 will at once be recognized by the mycologist, the most satis- 

 factory method of study will be somewhat that of the natural 

 groups into which fungi are divided. 



Agarictni. — There is such a close affinity between all the 

 genera of this group that it will be a manifest advantage to take 

 together all those fleshy pileate fungi, the fruit of which is 

 borne on folded plates or gills. It must be premised of this 

 group that, for the majority, shade, a moderate amount of mois- 

 ture, and steady warmth, but not too great heat, are required. 

 A stroll through a wood in autumn will afford good evidence of 

 the predilection of Agaricini, as well as some smaller groups, for 

 such spots. A larger proportion will be found in woods, where 

 shade is afforded, than on open heaths or pastures. These 

 wood-loving forms will consist, again, of those which appear 

 on the soil, and those which are found on rotten stumps and 

 decaying trees. Many of those which grow on trees have a 



