

THE SMALLER FUNGI. 635 
by very fine lines of demarcation, into five to eight poly- 
hedric portions, each with a faintly colored vacuole in the 
centre. These portions are so many zodspores, These are 
soon expelled one by one, afterwards begin to move, the 
zoéspores themselves provided with vibratile ciliæ swim 
away, each a seeming animalcule, but in reality only a sort 
of bud endowed with motion, and such as exist in some 
other plants. The particular office of the zodspore, whether 
issuing from a conidium, or from some other process in the 
growth of the parasitical fungus, is to serve as a medium to 
the impregnation of the plant, be it weed or valuable farm 
vegetable; and curious to say it has been proved that the 
entrance into the pulp tissue of the same vegetable, is nei- 
ther through the roots nor by absorption of the leaves, but 
invariably through the seed-leaves, first leaves or cotyledons, 
as they are scientifically termed. The prodigal provision 
of Nature’ is here, as everywhere, especially in its lower 
organizations signally manifested, when we are told that 
“the immense number of zodspores capable of being pro- 
duced from a single infested plant is almost beyond calcula- 
tion. It is easy for a million of conidia to be developed 
from such a plant, each producing from five to eight z00- 
spores, besides a large number of other organs each contain- 
ing a hundred zodspores. It can scarcely be considered 
marvellous that the white rust should be so common on 
plants favorable to its development, the marvel being rather 
than that any plant should escape.” (D- 136.) 
Quite a distinct family of the smaller fungi, and far mor 
injurious in ‘many instances, is termed Hyphomycetes, 2. €., 
t delicate threads. 
and with one of these groups called the Mucedines, we have 
Something to do. The little fungi here specified are the se 
Moulds, and very naughty effects they produce, as bPa 
learn on a better acquaintance than the usually supericia 
one, which is confined to mouldy bread and cheese and other 
