178 THE ESSEX NATURALIST. 
At each autumn foray the destructive character of the white 
slimy agaric, Avmillaria mucida, is apparent among the beeches, 
trees, formerly magnificent, in the grip of the fungus, affording 
striking examples of the destructive work that is always in pro- 
gress. This fungus, as it appears in its sporophore stage, is 
always attractive on account of its pure white colour, and 
it excites more than a passing interest when it is realised 
as being the cause of the destruction of much valuable timber 
and as rendering less attractive the sylvan beauty of the 
beech wood by leaving the slain giants of the forest strewn 
upon the ground. 
Another widely known tree-destroying agaric is the honey 
fungus, Avmillaria mellea, which attacks, in the first place, the 
roots of trees and does great damage to both root and trunk 
before the true nature of the attack is suspected. The spore- 
bearing toad-stools of this parasite appear at the base of the 
infected tree. It has been stated that more trees die in Europe 
from attack by this fungus than by any other parasitic agent. 
The whole progress from infection to the resulting death is an 
interesting story. The result of the attachment of this fungus 
to the tuber of an orchid Gastroidea, widely distributed in 
Japan, is perhaps of greater interest as a case of romance in 
plant life: indeed it is not until the hyphae of the fungus 
pierce the cells of the tuber that the orchid is stimulated into 
flowering. 
Other fungi, that are among those most frequently exhibited 
after a foray, are the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, Boletus scaber, 
and the common earth-ball, Scleroderma vulgare. Mycelial 
threads of these fungi attach themselves to the smallest of the 
root-branches of forest trees, but the attachment is by means 
of a thread so fine that the actual connecting point between 
the spore-bearing portion, which is formed above ground and 
the slender root, is not often easy to demonstrate. The Sporo- 
phore may be several inches from the rootlet ; mycelial threads 
can be very easily broken, and lost sight of entirely, in removing 
the decaying leaves and soil through which they pass. When 
the mycelial threads reach the rootlets they completely sur- 
round them and by growth and much branching cover them 
with a mantle, so closely woven in certain forms, that threads 
lose their individuality and resemble in section a parenchymatous 
