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DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



only be regarded as botanical curiosities, more especially as 

 they beautifully illustrate the circulation of the sap, such being 

 readily seen under a microscope in the joints of their stems. 

 Nitella translucens is best suited for that purpose, but as 

 Chara vulgaris is the most common, it may be substituted 

 after the lime with which it is coated is removed. By shut- 

 ting up a portion of this species in a phial containing a little 

 water, it will grow, adhering to the sides of the glass, and be 

 perfectly free from the lime. There are six species natives 

 of this country. 



The Fungus Family. 



(Fungi.) 



This family is represented by mushrooms, toadstools, 

 moulds, mildews, dry-rot and such like plants, which are 

 found on living, or more abundantly on decayed animal or 

 vegetable matter. The number of so-called species is beyond 

 calculation ; indeed it seems as though new forms spring 

 into existence according to the nature of the substances upon 

 which they grow. They almost appear to be organisms of 

 chance, many coming to perfection in a single night, flu 

 such a vast assemblage of species great diversity of size and 

 form is to be found, from microscopic globules to the 

 gigantic Boletus which, by the rapidity and power of its 

 growth, is capable of raising heavy weights. A number of 

 species of Eryciphe appear in the form of spots or blotches on 

 trees and shrubs, and are very conspicuous in the autumn on 

 the leaves of the maple, while a number of species of Scle- 

 rotium grow upon leaves and dead branches after they have 

 fallen. Mildew and mould have the power of destroying 

 organized bodies, living or dead, thus becoming a great pest to 

 the human race. Their spores float in the air and are supposed 

 to transmit, and to be the actual cause of, contagious diseases. 

 Their minute proportions may be imagined Avhen it is stated 

 that a square inch will contain millions. Although so very 

 minute they vary considerably in form and size, being globose, 



