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shown. _ In its early stages the Stinkhorn resembles a turtle's egg, is 
white in colour, soft to the touch, and is fixed to the ground by 
thread-like roots. In this condition it has no smell, and may 
frequently be found among dead leaves in late summer and early 
autumn. _ The_ people of Kent call them “ghosts’ eggs," a not 
inappropriate title. If the Fungus in this stage be cut open, the 
“ egg shell ” consisting of two membranes with gelatinous material 
between will be seen enclosing a white spongy-looking mass of tissue, 
surrounded by a blackish layer. After remaining for a variable time 
in this dormant condition, the “ghost” is hatched in the following 
way. Most often, perhaps, in the early morning, or at any time, the 
Shell is ruptured on top, and the spongy stalk then elongates, bearing 
above a sort of helmet covered by a dark green slimy mass contain- 
ing spores. So rapidly do these changes take place, that in the 
course of two or three hours the stalk has increased in length from 
an inch and a half to five or six inches. When elongation is almost 
complete, the whole plant and especially the slimy material above, 
which previously had only a faint and honey-like smell, begins to 
exhale a most fetid and disgusting odour, more like rotting cheese 
than anything else, but much too horrible to describe. Flies of all 
sorts, blue-bottles especially, are attracted by the smell, and eagerly 
devour the greenish slime, with its contained spores (Page 53), and 
as the latter pass unchanged through the insects’ bodies, dissemin- 
ation of the Fungus is thus effected. So greedy are the flies that it 
is unusual to find a fully expanded “ Stinkhorn” with a single drop 
of mucus left on it. 
The Dog Stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus, Page 54) closely resembles 
Phallus, but is smaller in size. Its smell, too, is quite different, being 
faint and not unpleasant, and there is no helmet, for the spore-con- 
taining mucus simply covers the upper extremity of the spongy 
stalk. Like the Stinkhorn, it grows in woods, but the flies, which 
visit are much smaller, and the bluebottle seldom condescends to 
favour it with a call. When mucous and dark spores are removed, 
the bright red extremity of the stalk becomes visible. 
The Puff-balls are well known to everybody. A pretty group 
of a small variety (Lycoperdon perlatum), which grows in woods, is 
seen on Page 55. In its early stages the puff-ball is white and solid 
all through, but, as it becomes ripe, the central portion changes to a 
mass of brown spores. Lastly, the outer covering gives wav above, 
as a pore, and the spores may be driven out through this, when the 
puff-ball is squeezed, a favourite amusement with children. The 
commoner varieties of puff-ball are small, rarely exceeding an 
orange in size, and though occasionally eaten in their young state, 
are not to be recommended. 
The common Earth-ball (Scleroderma vulgare, Page 56) closely 
resembles the puff-balls, but differs from them in that no spore is 
formed, and it is only by the decay of the outer coat that the spores 
get disseminated. This Fungus is often seen in woods and hedge- 
rows in summer and autumn. In the early stages of growth the 
central portion is hard and blue-grey in colour, but towards autumn 
a mass of powdery spores becomes developed from it. The earth- 
ball is rarely eaten, for it is tough and has a rank and disagreeable 
smell. 
The Earth-star (Geaster seriscus, Page 57) is another ally of the 
puff-balls. It has two coats, the outer of which splits radially into 
seven or eight segments, which turn outwards, producing a beautiful 
