48 
FUNGUS FORAYS. 
naming and arranging well-known species, while the critical forms 
are neglected. Over 180 species were collected, including many 
new to the county list, and owing to the exceptional season many 
unusual species afforded material for debate during the evenings 
and early morning meetings before the day’s ramble commenced. 
The annual meeting in connection with the Hertfordshire 
Natural History Society took place at Ayot on October 14th. 
Owing to the previous heavy rain, fungi were abundant, 154 species 
being collected during the day, including many unusual and in- 
teresting forms. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
Fungus- Gardens of some South- American Ants * 
In Belt’s “ Naturalist in Nicaragua ” a graphic account is 
given of certain leaf-cutting ants, and from careful observations 
the author was led to believe that the ants were “ in reality 
mushroom growers and eaters.” This supposition has been proved 
to be correct by Herr Moller, the author of the work under con- 
sideration. The observations were made in the neighbourhood of 
Blumenau, in the Province of Santa Catharinea, Brazil. The 
commonest species of ant is Atta ( Acromyrmex ) discigei'a, Mayr. 
A. hystrix , Latr., is also common. The ants form narrow, roofed 
streets many yards in length, leading from their nest to the trees 
whose leaves are used by the ants. 
The nests of the two species of ant mentioned are below the 
surface of the ground, and are often more than a yard in diameter. 
The nest is filled with a cavernous mass, resembling a coarse 
sponge, and of a greyish colour. This is the fungus-garden, and 
is composed of leaves that are cut up into small pieces and 
carried into the nest along the street already mentioned, an ant 
carrying a load many times heavier than itself. When the ant 
arrives at the nest with its load each fragment of leaf is masticated 
until it is reduced to a pulp so thoroughly that not a single cell 
is left entire ; during this process it is formed into a rounded ball, 
and the spongy mass of the fungus-garden consists entirely of 
pellets formed in this manner. On examination these fungus- 
gardens are found to be impregnated with a dense weft of fungus 
mycelium. The hyphae on the surface of the garden, except the 
newest portion, bear numerous minute white lumps, each smaller 
than the head of a pin, consisting of numerous smaller vesicles 
borne at the tip of a hypha, and termed kohl-rabi clusters by 
Moller. These clusters form the principal food of the ants, con- 
sequently the gardens are held in high esteem. If a nest is 
* Die Pilzgarten einiger sudamerikanischer Ameisen. 
