Notes on Fungi. 183 



alive, their action proved that they certainly existed, and further 

 research in the dead subject became, therefore, necessary. 

 With much care the iris of the eye of a toper was removed from 

 its adhesion to the choroid, and placed smoothly on a piece of 

 glass ; when the radiating fibres could be as readily distin- 

 guished as usually in the human eye. It was then placed in 

 water, where it was allowed to macerate for a few hours, and 

 then the aqueous membrane was easily peeled off, and the pig- 

 mentum nigrum removed by agitating the fluid. Thus cleansed 

 from their covering these radiating fibres were rendered far 

 more distinct, and there was perceived also the very faint re- 

 semblance of a ccerulean band at the margin of the pupil. 

 When the preparation thus formed had become dry the radiat- 

 ing fibres became much more distinct, and at this time also 

 the circular band was rendered as clearly marked as the radiat- 

 ing fibres themselves, although no fibres could be discerned 

 within it. 



It is proper to add, as a melancholy tribute to his memory, 

 that a large portion of these observations were made by my 

 late son Eichard Quiller Couch, of Penzance, at the time when 

 he had not yet left his home at Polperro. 



NOTES ON FUNGI.— No. IV. 



BY THE EEV. H. J. BERKELEY, M.A., F.L.S. 



ROSE-SPOKED MUSHEOOMS. 



{Witli a Coloured Flate.) 



I have already pointed out that a single species with decidedly 

 rose-coloured spores, Agaricus euosmos, occurs in the white- 

 spored series, but its affinities with the common Oyster 

 Mushroom, A. ostreatus, are so intimate, that it would be in 

 direct opposition to nature to separate them. The series 

 respecting which I am now about to make some observations 

 is extremely natural, and the species are not likely to be con- 

 founded with any in the remaining divisions. One species 

 alone, A. cretaceus, a near ally of the common mushroom, 

 might be sought for amongst the rose-spored Agarics 

 (Hyporhodii), as its spores are very pale; indeed, so pale that 

 there is occasional danger of its being referred on a superficial 

 glance to Lepiota, especially as its gills are at length remote, 

 as in several species of that subgenus. The spores of Hypo- 

 rhodii assume two distinct forms : in one they are perfectly 



