The Scottish Naturalist. 



21 



singularity, too, that there was nothing to indicate the means by 

 which those creatures moved. It looked like pure volition with- 

 out any physical means of carrying it into effect, and that we do 

 not see often in the animate world. 



I think T have said enough to excite the curiosity of my hearers 

 in some departments at least of cryptogamic botany. The members 

 have made a very interesting collection during the day ; and 

 many of the audience will be surprised to see the curious and 

 beautiful objects which grow around them. There is one matter 

 of great interest about these, and that is that some of them 

 are good for food. We hardly ever attempt to eat any of them 

 except the mushroom ; and yet there were dozens of others that 

 are eatable and perfectly wholesome. But there are others which 

 are deadly poison. 



I would suggest to the society as an interesting branch of 

 inquiry — what is the nature of the poisons in those cases ? Ex- 

 tremely minute quantities of these fungi would poison a man — 

 would at anyrate produce most disagreeable sympto:ns. Now 

 what is the nature of the poison? It must be extremely virulent; 

 it must fit, so to speak, into our physical constitution in some very 

 intimate way, passing to the fountains of the blood, and produc- 

 ing all the dangerous symptoms described by medical men. I 

 cannot help thinking that this question is connected with a very 

 interesting question in philosophy and medicine — the homoeo- 

 pathic theory. There may be great doubt about the assumption 

 that like cures like; but as to the effect of small doses of anything, 

 we know the extraordinary effect that mineral waters, though the 

 quantity of ingredients are infinitely small, have on the human frame, 

 and therefore I am prepared to believe that very minute quanti- 

 ties of certain substances may have a powerful effect on the 

 human system. I think it very probable that these fungi that 

 have so powerful an effect as poison may be very valuable as 

 medicines, given, of course, in infinitely minute doses. 



All these are subjects of investigation of the highest interest 

 and importance,, both practical and philosophical. This Society 

 is devoted to Cryptogamic Botany. It is the outcome of the 

 enormous multiplication and extension of the sciences which has 

 characterised our time. No one man, no dozen of men, no 

 hundred men, can overtake one-tenth part of the branches of 

 investigation that are now opened in the physical sciences. 



