Am.  Jour.  Pharm  ) 
July,  1909.  J 
Charles  Darwin. 
345 
that  little  known  country,  which  showed  the  keenness  with  which 
every  natural  object  was  scrutinized  by  him.  A  peculiar  family  of 
sac  fungi  ( Ascomycetes)  contains  only  one  genus  Cyttaria  having 
the  appearance  of  the  morel  (Morchella),  but  without  a  stem.  All 
known  species  are  parasitic  on  the  evergreen  beech,  Xothofagus. 
The  fruit  bodies  of  this  fungous  parasite  often  grow  in  dense 
clusters,  springing  from  swollen  portions  of  the  host  which  it  par- 
tially deforms.  The  different  species  which  are  found  in  Chile, 
Patagonia,  Tasmania,  and  Xew  Zealand  are  edible  and  at  one  time 
formed  a  staple  food  of  the  natives.  Specimens  were  collected  by 
Prof.  Thaxter  on  his  recent  visit  and  in  connection  with  this  recent 
reminder  of  Darwin's  observations  on  this  fungus  the  following 
may  be  mentioned  appropriately.  The  forest  commences  at  the  line 
of  high-water  mark,  and  was  so  thick  that  it  was  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  the  compass  to  find  one's  way.  "  In  the  deep  ravines, 
the  death-like  scene  of  desolation  exceeded  all  description;  outside 
it  was  blowing  a  gale,  but  in  these  hollows  not  even  a  breath  of 
wind  stirred  the  leaves  of  the  tallest  trees  and  it  was  gloomy,  cold, 
and  wet.  In  the  valleys  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  crawl  along,  they 
were  so  completely  barricaded  by  great  mouldering  trunks,  in  the 
case  of  the  Winter's  Bark  (Drimys  Winteri)  four  to  six  feet  in 
girth  and  the  beech  seven  feet  in  diameter,  which  had  fallen  down 
in  every  direction.  In  this  forest  grows  one  vegetable  production 
deserving  of  notice  as  an  article  of  food  to  the  Fuegians.  It  is  a 
globular,  bright  yellow  fungus,  which  grows  in  vast  numbers  on 
the  beech  trees.  When  young  it  is  elastic  and  turgid,  with  a  smooth 
surface;  but  when  mature  it  shrinks,  becomes  tougher,  and  has 
its  entire  surface  deeply  pitted  or  honey-combed.  In  Tierra  del 
Fuego  the  fungus  in  its  tough  and  mature  state  is  collected  in  large 
quantities  by  the  women  and  children,  and  it  is  eaten  uncooked.  It 
has  a  mucilaginous,  slightly  sweet  taste,  with  a  faint  smell  like 
that  of  a  mushroom."  So  much  for  the  botanic  observations  of 
Darwin  as  recorded  in  the  "  Journal  of  Researches  into  the  Natural 
History  and  Geology  of  the  Countries  Visited  during  the  Voyage  of 
the  H.  M.  S.  Beagle  round  the  World." 
Darwin's  work  as  a  botanist  was  many-sided.  In  the  published 
list  of  116  separate  titles  of  books  and  papers  contributed  directly 
to  science,  37  books  and  papers  are  strictly  botanic,  the  rest  are 
zoologic,  geologic,  and  devoted  to  the  subject  of  general  evo- 
lution.   One-third  then  of  all  the  scientific  contributions  of  Darwin 
