192 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XI, No. 5 
as a good omen to build a house on land showing these circles. In 
German mythology it was said tracks were traced in the dew the next 
morning after the fairies had danced. The circular spots where the 
grass had dried up were places where a glowing dragon had rested after 
his nightly wanderings. 
The earlier natural causes assigned to these rings were almost as fan¬ 
tastic as the supernatural. Thunder, lightning, whirlwinds, ants, moles, 
haystacks, urine of animals, etc., were at different times supposed to be 
the cause of these rings. The following are some of the more common 
names applied to these circles; and usually indicate the supposed cause 
of the ring: 
ENGUSH 
Fairy rings. 
Fairy circles. 
Fairy green. 
DUTCH 
Heksenkringe. 
Kolringe. 
Tooverkringe. 
Duivels Kampad. 
Dui velstjeinpad. 
Tjenmolenpad. 
FRENCH 
Anneaux magiques. 
Cercles magiques. 
Cercles du sabbath. 
Cercles des fees. 
Cercles myc£liens. 
Cercles mycog&nes. 
Cercles de sore feres, 
Danses de fees. 
Ronds de fees. 
Ronds de sorcfere. 
GERMAN 
Elfenringe. 
Hexenringe. 
Hexenplatz. 
Hexentanzplatz. 
Hexenkreise. 
Hexentanze. 
Zauberringe. 
Pilzringe. 
SWEDISH 
Elf dans. 
CAUSE OF FAIRY RINGS 
As indicated in the introduction, the cause of the fairy rings was 
obscure for a long time. At first these rings were ascribed entirely to 
supernatural influence. Later they were attributed to various natural 
causes. 
Bradley (1717, pt. 3, p. 122-123) gave two probable causes for fairy 
rings: 
(1) Just under the turf where the mushrooms were growing, was a tract or path 
made by pismires, which was not only hollow in many places at that time, but the 
very covering of that passage was made of earth extremely fine which those creatures 
had flung up: The fineness of the earth wrought by those laborious animals might 
very reasonably contribute to the extraordinary vegetation of the grass growing upon 
it, and the hollowness of the ground underneath might produce that moldiness within 
it which afterwards might be formed into mushrooms. 
(2) Garden-snails . . ., when they couple, always make choice of short grass to 
creep upon . . . leaving upon the grass where they crept, a viscous shining matter. 
So that it may be, that slime when it putrifies may produce the mushrooms we find 
growing in circles upon Commons. 
It is interesting to note in connection with Bradley's observations that 
ants have often been found working in the marasmius fairy rings at 
Washington, D. C. They are probably attracted by the presence of the 
fungus. 
Hutton (1790, p. 8), who published the results of observations on fairy 
rings extending over the period from 1776 to 1778, summarized the 
knowledge of the cause of these rings as follows: 
