M U S II 
the twig ofa ci'imfon-fruited mountain-afli tree, appeared 
as if celebrating the birth of this elegant produ&ion of 
the night; whilft Puck and his friends might have been 
fancied dancing around the new-born thing, and revolv¬ 
ing, in their fantaftically magic circles, like the planets 
around the golden fhield of the fun. The fcene was worth 
the pencil of a Fufeli, a Stothard, or a Smirke, and of the 
highly defcriptive pen of the author of “ A Midlummer 
Night’s Dream.” 
Fig. 6. a. has been fufficiently explained above, as well 
as the fedtion at fig. 6. b. to be eafily known ; and we have 
nothing to add, except that this mulhroom is one of the 
laft that difappear from the meadow, a fort of loiterer after 
the autumnal feafon is clofed. When old, the bright yel¬ 
low of the fhield turns firft to a dark brown, and then 
nearly black, mixing its dud with the maternal ground 
upon which it rofe to the fleeting fpan of a fhort life. 
Fig. 7. This is a very elegant little production, of 
nature; a final] cap, bell-fliaped, of a drab colour de- 
creafing into white; the gills brownifh, but fine, and the 
ftaik (lender and comparatively long. The engraving re- 
prefents it of its natural iize. It is not before October 
that it makes its appearance, when it raifes its head, co¬ 
vered with a Phrygian fort of fmall mitre, above the fur¬ 
rounding blades of grafs, as did Paris of old, amidlt the 
briltling fpears of the Trojan phalanx. The lhape of this 
cap is not unlike that of the Lepas, or Chinel'e cap, a curi¬ 
ous univalve marine production often found upon rocks. 
The fubjeCt at fig. 8, though coetaneous and neighbour 
to the preceding one, is not of the fame family. The 
form of the head differs confiderably in fliape, and the 
ftaik is much fliorter proportionally; but the infide is alfo 
laciniated, and the colour of the whole approximates 
much that at fig. 7. 
Having expatiated at fome length upon the means of 
reproduction conceded by Providence to the fungus in 
general, we have added here a fmall fpecimen of the puff; 
fee fig. 9. The whole is a purfe ; but the bottom, that is, 
the part adhering to the ground, has the appearance of the 
mouth of the bag, as if purfed up with invifible firings. 
This fungus is at firft of a wliitifh colour, and foon turns 
to a dingy brown; when ripe, it burfts ; and the duft, im¬ 
palpable as it is, flies into, and mixes with, the air. This 
undoubtedly is not an impregnating pollen, but real feed ; 
and, if every elemental particle of this cloud of powder 
has the property of producing, we may fuppofe that, were 
all fpots of ground fuitable to the fubjeCf, the earth would 
foon be covered with this fort of fungus. But, difperfed 
in the atmofphere, as we have explained before, it is al¬ 
ways a great chance, if the place, upon which the life¬ 
carrying particle alights, contains the requifites for its 
nutrition. This Angular powder is l'o fine, that, when 
difengaging itfelf from its curious prifon, it appears more 
like fmoke than a colledted duft. No peculiar fmell at¬ 
taches to this myfterious cloud, which fometimes catches 
at a flame, and emits a fort of gentle detonation, molt pro¬ 
bably produced by the fixed air contained in every feed ; 
for fixed air produces a moft eflential part in the admira¬ 
ble mecbanifim, in virtue of which all vegetables as well as 
animal feed frees itfelf from the place where Nature had 
wifely confined it till the period of complete maturity. 
The genial heat contained in the atmofphere or in the 
foil, dilating the air concentrated in the fruit or kernel, 
forces it out of its cell, and brings it to individual life. 
Thus we may trace the fteady and conftant march of Na¬ 
ture through the whole creation. 
The names given to this plant in all languages are ex- 
prefiive of the gentle report it makes when emitting its 
propagating duft; aipoyyo; in Greek, p’ff, Sec. in Englifh; 
but to its figure and lquatted fi.tuation in the turf, the 
ignominious name of load-Jlool is owing; Spenfer has the 
two following curious lines : 
The grifty toad-ftool grown there mought I fee. 
And loathing paddocks lording on the fame. 
The infide of the bag, which contains the evaijefcent duft. 
ROOM. 288 
is lined with a fort of fine bur or nap, compofed of an in¬ 
finite number of almoft-iinperceptible filaments, in which 
the brown elements of the fruit or feed were lodged before 
the difruption of the bag. If the experiment were tried 
upon different fpots of turf, and chiefly where the puffs 
feem to thrive fponlaneoufly, we might find that fhaking 
the purfe upon the ground would, by caufing reproduc¬ 
tion, confirm thehypothefis w'e have endeavoured to main¬ 
tain in this article. Several little knobs, which have been 
carefully defigned and preferved in the engraving, appear 
to us to be the organs of fructification, though they are fo 
infinitely fmall that their conftrudtion baffles the prying 
curiofity of the eye, even when helped by the moft power¬ 
ful microfcope. But, as this hypothefis feems to be con- 
fentaneous with our obfervations upon fig. 2. a; we feel 
inclined to adopt it, in order to elucidate as much as pof- 
fible the myftery of mufhroom-reprodudtion. One Angle 
ftep in advance towards the fecrets of nature, leads always 
to an important acquifition in unravelling the obfeurity 
in which they ftill are enveloped. 
So far has the mufhroom been confidered in an abftradti ve 
point of view, and deferibed without recurring to the pom¬ 
pous etalnge of fcientific denominations. The intention 
of the author of this curfory fketch concerning fo curious 
a plant, has been to raife our minds towards the Creator 
of all things, by the difplay of his power in fo apparently- 
defpicable a produdtion as the fungus ; and to deprefs as 
much as poflible the pedantic pride of man, by convincing 
him that the fimpleft objedts of Nature are beyond the fup- 
pofed extenfive limits of his intelligence. 
The Laplanders have a way of ufing fungufes, or com¬ 
mon toad-ftools, as we call them, as the Chinel'e and Ja- 
panefe do the moxa, to cure pains. They colledt the large 
fungufes which they find on the bark of beech and other 
large trees, and dry them for ufe. Whenever they have 
pains in theirlimbs, they bruife fome of this dried matter, 
and, pulling it to pieces with their fingers, they lay a fmall 
heap of it on the part neareft to where the pain is fituated, 
and fet it on fire. In burning away, it blifters up the 
part; and the water difeharged by this means generally 
carries off the pain. It is a coarfe and rough method, 
but generally a very fuccefsful one ; efpecially when the 
patient has prudence enough to apply it in time, and re- 
folution enough to bear the burning to a neceffary degree. 
Matthiolus mentions mufhrooms which weighed thirty 
pounds each, and were as yellow as gold; Fer. Imperatus 
tells us, he faw fome which weighed above a hundred 
pounds a-piece ; and, to add no more, the Journal des 
Sgavans furnifhes us with an account of fome growing on 
the frontiers of Hungary, which made a full cart-load. 
Some very wonderful, almolt incredible, accounts have 
been lately given of the extraordinary ftrength of growth 
in the mufhroom. The following was communicated to 
the Monthly Magazine, and figned Jofeph Jefftrjon, Ba- 
fingjiohe : “ A few weeks ago, one of the large flag- 
ftones, in the new pavement of the town of Bafingftoke, 
was obferved to have rifen about an inch and a half above 
its proper fituation : on taking up the ftone, a large mufh¬ 
room, of fix or feven inches diameter, was found growing 
beneath it; which fome perfons, ftrangely enough, ima¬ 
gined mult have been the caufe of railing up the ftone in 
that manner. The ftone-mafon, who has the contradt of 
the work, rather vexed that any fliould think a feeble 
mufhroom had difplaced his ftrong pavement, had the 
ftone replaced in a fecure manner; obferving, that it 
fhould be fafe enough for the future. About a month af¬ 
terwards, (a few days ago,) the adjoining ftone was ob¬ 
ferved to be difplaced in the fame manner as the former : 
on taking up the fecond ftone, "to the furprile of many 
witnefl'es of the fadt, two mufhrooms, not quite fo large as 
the former, were found growing beneath it. The (tones 
are nearly of the fame fize, each about 24 inches by u, 
two inches in thicknefs ; the latter, having been weighed, 
is 83 pounds. However furprifing and incredible this ac¬ 
count may appear, the matter of fadt is moft certain : the 
ftone-mafon, his workmen, and many others, can atteft 
its 
