Marvels of the Universe 



59: 



under that little patch, all the new growths started away from it, and at the proper season each pro- 

 duced upon itself a tiny knob. And the little knobs all grew bigger and bigger, and waited just 

 under the surface for a warm, dewy night. \\'hen it came, they sucked in all the moisture they could 

 and swelled up, so that a little stem that had formed in the middle lifted the knob up into the air, 

 where it expanded and spread out in umbrella fashion. And lo ! all these little umbrellas formed a 

 little ring. They remained for some da5's, the umbrellas or caps spreading until they had flat tops 

 an inch or so across, and you could see that underneath they had deep plates or gills set on edge 

 and radiating from the top of the stalk. From the sides of these gills they threw off hundreds of 

 thousands of spores, which floated awa}- on the air, and a few of them dropped in the rightjplaces 

 and burst their jackets as their parent did. | 



Ha\ing got rid of their spores, all the umbrellas — really little mushrooms — collapsed and decayed, 

 and their remains went to feed the grass, so that it became more vigorous and of a brighter green 

 all along that circular line. And people said, that is where the fairies took hands last night and 

 danced in a ring. But the underground threads went on working and getting farther and farther 

 away from the centre, so that each year the circle of bright green grass grew wider. 



THE 



SENSITIVE 



PLANT 



BY S. LEOX.^RD BASTIX 



Even amongst the 

 higher plants there 

 are many instances 

 which make us feel 

 that the dividing line 

 between the two great 

 living kingdoms can- 

 not be \'ery definitely 

 drawn. Most of all 

 one feels this in 

 connection with the 

 various species which 

 evidence the power of 

 movement, seen, per- 

 haps, to the most 

 striking effect in the 

 case of the Sensitive 

 Plant. A native of 

 Tropical America, this 

 singular plant is now 

 naturalized in nearly 

 all the warmer parts of 

 the world and, indeed, 

 is very commonly 

 grown under glass at 

 the botanic gardens in 

 this country. The 



Photo h\j\ 



THE FAIRY RING MUSHROOM. 



[£'. Sep, t'.L.S. 



A few of the Fairy Ring Mushrooms taken from the ring in order to show them more 

 clearly. The photo is twice the natural size. Note the spore-bearing plates or gills" radiating 

 from the stem. 



42 



