his investigations. I would just remark, in pass- 

 ing, that that valuable article of food — the puff- 

 ball, is getting vastly into favor for other purposes 

 than stupifying bees when burnt under them. 

 The time may not bo far distant, when these 

 dry fungi may adorn the kitchen roof, as legiti- 

 mately as flitches of bacon; and for the same 

 service of savory food. But to the point, and 

 that is, to the cases of poison occurring from the 

 use of common mushrooms. Whoa mushrooms 

 are subjected to the action of fire, their juices 

 become black; and this inky envelope effectually 

 hides all shades of distinction in the mess. Now, 

 although a little of the juice runs from each 

 fruit, and more or less pervades all, still the true 

 character of each individual remains unaltered; 

 and that for the following reasons; — A fine 

 fresh mushroom is a mass of cells or bladders, 

 full almost to bursting with watery juices; and 

 such yield little else but liquid. A stale mush- 

 room may have all his beams unshorn, and look 

 a stately production ; and even when his skin is 

 peeled off, his carcase cast into the pan, and the 

 butter on his gills, it is not surmised that he is 

 not what he appears to be. Pie is frequently 

 only a whitened sepulchre! Instead of the juicy 

 cells, the whole mass is spongy and dry, and more 

 or less worm-eaten. And any one that has 

 studied the disgusting details of the decay and 

 transformation of vegetable substances (rich in 

 their feeding properties) into insect animal life, 

 will remember the inflammatory character of the 

 process. The healthy state of true mushrooms 

 is, therefore," of the highest importance. If 

 frosted cabbage be unwholesome, who can gua- 

 rantee fungi from the same fault? They are 

 equally exposed. Nothing is more common than 

 to hear of one person being a sufferer from eating 

 mushrooms, whilst all his messmates escaped 

 with impunity. I have not the least doubt that 

 a single grub-eaten mushroom would be sufficient 

 to account for this. Whilst we blame the state 

 of the stomach, as being pre-disposed to violent 

 action from eating fungi, the real cause, if we 

 may reason from similar cases, would appear to 

 be a chemical change in the character of the food. 

 That change is concealed by the high seasoning 

 and inky color of the article used. So that 

 neither the sight, nor the smell, nor the palate, 

 could detect the poison; which, although in 

 minute quantity, cannot fail to be present if any 

 of the changes I have described have taken place. 

 By the way, it is well known that, in hot 

 weather, it is quite as difficult to keep mushrooms 

 from maggots as to keep fresh meat from being 

 " fly-blown." — David Sangster. 



The Virginian Creeper. — Of all the beautiful 

 hard creeping plants which we remember, nothing 

 is comparable to the foliage of the Virginian 

 Creeper (Ampelopsis hederaceci) about the present 

 time. This elegant though common plant is not 

 half so much known and cultivated as it ought 

 to be. The following notice of it, which appears 

 in a contemporary, will be read with real in- 

 terest — " Every one knows this plant; for al- 

 though a native of North America, it is now one 

 of the commonest coverings of our walls, as well 

 as one of the prettiest we see. Its beautifully- 

 cut leaves are divided into five lobes, which when 



first developed are of a bright light-green, while 

 the whole of the young stem and shoot is red; 

 these take, by degrees, a deeper hue of green, 

 and early in the autumn assume a brilliant 

 scarlet tint, at which time they are very lovely. 

 The means by which this plant takes so firm a 

 hold of whatever supports it, is highly curious. 

 From the stem of the tree is sent out on one side 

 a leaf, and exactly opposite to it a shining thread- 

 like tendril, tinged with red, from one to one and 

 a-half inch long, dividing into five branches, and 

 each terminating in a little hook. When one of 

 these little hooks touches a wall, or comes in 

 contact with anything it is able to cling to, it 

 begins to thicken — expands into a granulated 

 mass of a bright red hue, loses the form of a 

 hook and assumes that of a club, from the edges 

 of which club a thin membrane extends, and at- 

 taches itself firmly to the wall after the manner 

 of a sucker. If all five of the extremities 

 happen to touch, they all go through the s<vme 

 process ; and when all are spread out on the wall, 

 each with its extension complete, the tendril 

 looks much like the foot of a bird ; but none of 

 the hooks change in this way unless they are so 

 situated as to be able to fix on the wall. One of 

 these strong holdfasts occur, at about every two 

 inches, on every stem and branch ; and as a very 

 large proportion of them get hold of some sub- 

 stance or other, the vine becomes more strongly 

 fixed in its place than those which have been 

 nailed or otherwise artificially fastened ; and if 

 the wall on which it climbs is at all rough, it 

 must be very boisterous weather indeed that can 

 dislodge its pretty covering. If by any means a 

 branch is forced away from the wall, you will 

 generally find either that it has brought away a 

 portion of the stucco with it, or else that the 

 stems of the tendril have broken, and leit the 

 sucker-like extremities still adhering. The ap- 

 pearance of one of these tendrils when young, is 

 beautiful; and if you place it under a microscope 

 while it is assuming its knobby form, you will 

 admire its exquisite texture and covering. This, 

 like the ivy, when it rises above the wall, becomes 

 arborescent, and ceases to throw out tendrils." — 

 Let us hope that this beautiful little creeper will 

 become more patronised when it is better 

 known ! — Louisa A., Norwood, 



The Harvest Moon.— Much ignorance pre- 

 vails, Mr. Editor, about what is called the " Har- 

 vest Moon." In northern latitudes, such as 

 England, the moon we call the harvest moon is 

 the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox. 

 The orbit of the moon is then nearly parallel to 

 the plane of the horizon ; her time of rising dif- 

 fers but little for several following nights, in con- 

 sequence of this parallelism. Now, this position 

 of the moon's orbit with the plane of the earth's 

 horizon, can only take place when the moon is in 

 Pisces, or Aries; the sun must be at that time in 

 Virgo, or Libra. When the sun is in Virgo or 

 Libra, the months will be September or October. 

 The inhabitants of northern latitudes, struck by 

 the appearance at the time of their harvest, con ■ 

 eluded the beneficence of the Creator had for 

 this purpose ordained this matter. In southern 

 latitudes, this had not been observed ; for not oc- 

 curring at the time of their harvest, it had at- 



