April  21,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTTCULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
343 
Eulopuiella  Peetersiana. 
This  is  a  superb  Orchid,  and  is  far  superior  to  the  now  compara¬ 
tively  well  known  Eulophiella  Elisabethae.  It  was  shown  by  Mr. 
W.  H.  White,  Orchid  grower  to  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  Bart.,  Burford 
Lodge,  Dorking,  where  it  is  flowering  for  the  first  time  in  this 
country.  The  spike  is  of  great  length,  and  carries  upwards  of  a  score 
of  exj)anded  flowers  and  buds.  Tiie  individual  flowers  are  of  a  rich 
rose,  with  a  suffusion  of  purple  over  the  sepals  and  petals  and  the 
front  lobe  of  the  lip.  The  inner  portion  of  the  lip  and  the  throat 
are  white,  the  latter  having  veins  of  crimson-rose,  while  the  colour  of 
the  side  lobes  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  sepals.  The  Orchid  Com¬ 
mittee  awarded  a  first-class  certificate  for  this  plant,  of  which  a  flower 
is  depicted  in  the  woodcut  (fig.  66). 
EpIDENDRUM  mCORNUTHM. 
In  the  Orchid  section  of  the  last  Drill  Hall  exhibition  one  of  the 
most  interesting  exhibits  was  the  group  of  Epidendrum  (Diacrium) 
bicornutum  staged  by  Mr.  F.  J.  Thorne,  gardener  to  Major  Joicey  of 
Sunningdale.  As  every  Orchid  grower  knows,  this  is  one  of  those 
“  mifiy  ”  plants  with  which  few  people  have  any  success,  and  it  was 
therefore  a  surprise  to  many  to  see  the  healthy  plants  with  their 
rich  green  leaves  and  grand  spikes  of  lovely  flowers.  As  an  eminent 
authority  on  Orchids  said  to  me,  “  They  are  a  triumph  of  cultural 
skill.”  I,  for  one,  wish  I  could  attain  similar  results,  as  it  is  an  Orchid 
that  everyone  admires. 
Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons  in  their  “Orchid  Manual”  say,  “This 
Orchid  has  frequently  proved  disappointing,  a  circumstance  partly  due, 
we  have  no  doubt,  to  the  difficulty  of  importing  it  in  sound  condition. 
Its  hollow  stems  are  inhabited  by  small  ants,  which  find  ingress 
through  a  cleft  at  the  base,  that  invariably  occurs  in  the  new  growths 
under  cultivation,  and  probably  also  in  a  wild  state;  they  are  prone  to 
decay  from  within,  and  frequently  crack  during  transmission,  and  in 
however  small  a  degree  they  may  be  so  affected  the  plants  never  get 
well  established  in  the  glass  houses  of  this  country,  and  die  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  years  after  importation.  With  thoroughly 
sound  plants  the  case  is  more  hopeful.  Teak  baskets  are  usually 
preferred,  and  as  they  require  but  a  very  small  quantity  of  compost  a 
good  drainage  can  always  be  secured.  The  compost  should  consist  of 
the  usual  proportions  of  sphagnum  and  fibrous  peat,  with  which  macy 
cultivators  n)ix  some  pieces  of  charcoal.  The  habitat  of  the  species 
indicates  a  high  temperature  and  moist  atmosphere,  and  these  conditions 
are  therefore  necessary,  especially  while  the  plant  is  growing.”  So  far 
as  possible  I  have  followed  the  suggestions  embodied  in  this  note,  but 
have  always  failed  to  reach  success.  Perhaps  ]\Ir.  Thorne  would 
oblige  with  a  few  hints  as  to  treatment  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture, 
as  I  feel  sure  they  would  be  appreciated  by  many  besides-  myself. — 
Kentish  Man. 
[We  have  received  a  photograph  of  Mr.  Thorne’s  best  plant,  which 
shows  it  to  be  carrying  six  strong  spikes,  but  as  one  was  broken  off 
prior  to  the  picture  being  taken,  the  plant  produced  seven  spikes. 
This  is  such  an  excellent  example  of  cultural  skill  that  we  much 
regret  the  photo  being  unsuitable  for  reproduction.  We  heartily 
congratulate  Mr.  Thorne  on  his  success  with  this  and  other  Orchids, 
and  trust  that  he  will  find  time  to  render  assistance  to  our  Kentish 
correspondent.  E.  bicornutum  was  figured  in  the  Journal  of  Horti¬ 
culture  for  July  9th,  1896,  page  29.] 
THE  STRUCTURE  AND  CLASSIFICATION  OF 
MUSHROOMS. 
Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  present  popular  interest  in 
Mushrooms,  it  is  evident  not  only  to  botanists,  but  to  casual  readers  of 
the  monthly  periodicals  and  of  the  daily  press,  that  within  a  few  years 
this  interest  has  grown  largely,  and  that  it  is  spreading  widely.  Its 
manifestations  are  various  and  unmistakeable  ;  but  most  of  them  have 
taken  the  form  of  demands  for  information  and  of  the  responses  of  those 
whe  have  been  willing  to  give  it. 
Most  of  the  numerous  articles  that  have  appeared  have  been  concerned 
with  showing  the  difference  between  edible  and  poisonous  kinds  of 
Mushrooms  (or  Toadstools,  which  are  the  same  thing).  There  are,  how¬ 
ever,  many  persons  who  wish  to  know  something  about  Mushrooms  as 
plants,  and  perhaps  to  engage  in  limited  studies  concerning  them.  These 
people  generally  lack  a  knowledge  of  the  elementary  facts  concerning 
structure  and  classification  that  would  make  easy  an  attack  upon  the 
literature  of  the  subject.  To  such  would-be  students  of  a  small  part  of 
the  field  of  mycology  this  lecture  is  addressed  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be 
of  some  assistance. 
At  the  outset  it  will  be  well  to  come  to  an  understanding  as  to  the 
term  “Mushroom”  itself.  In  everyday  language  it  usually  means  the 
sort  of  fleshy  fungus  that  is  good  to  eat,  and  particularly — to  some  people 
only— the  common  pasture'  kind.  A  “  Toadstool,”  on  the  other  hand, 
means  something  poisonous,  or  at  least  to  be  avoided.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  distinction  can  be  made  between  the  two  terms,  though  the  term 
Toadstool  is  more  comprehensive,  for  it  may  be  used  to  include  the  com¬ 
mon  pasture  Mushroom  and  all  other  fungi  whose  form  is  in  general  the 
same. 
If  we  look  at  a  common  Mushroom  of  the  pasture  or  the  market,  we 
see  that  it  may  be  easily  divided  into  two  parts— an  upright  stalk,  called 
the  “stipe,”  and  a  flat,  expanded  portion,  the  “cap”  or  “pileus.” 
Attached  to  the  under  side  of  the  cap  are  membranous  plates,  the  “  gills,” 
or  ‘  laminae,  radiating  from  the  top  of  the  stipe  to  the  edge  of  the  pileus. 
I  he  upper  part  of  the  gills  is  attached  to  the  lower  surface  of  the  cap, 
and  their  lower  edges,  which  are  usually  very  thin  and  rather  sharp, 
hang  free.  In  the  Mushroom  that  we  are  examining  there  is  a  space 
between  the  crowded  inner  ends  of  the  gills  and  the  top  of  the  stem. 
In  other  kinds  of  Mushrooms  we  may  find  the  same  condition  of 
things,  or  it  may  be  that  the  gills  reach  the  stem  and  are  attached  to  it, 
or  even  run  down  upon  it  as  ridges,  which  in  some  cases  end  abruptly 
and  in  others  are  gradually  reduced  to  mere  lines.  Upon  the  gills  are 
borne  in  countless  numbers  the  spores — exceedingly  minute  bodies,  which, 
as  it  is  their  office  to  germinate  and  grow  into  new  Mushroom  plants. 
Fig.  fiC.— Eulophiella  Peetersiana. 
may  be  roughly  compared  to  seeds.  The  Mushroom,  in  fact,  as  we  see  it, 
is  nothing  but  a  contrivance  for  the  production  and  dissemination  of  the 
spores.  The  arrangement  of  the  gills  gives  an  enormous  spore-bearing 
surface,  whence  the  spores  are  carried  by  the  wind  or  by  insects,  or  drop 
to  the  ground  below.  If  the  cap  of  a  fully  grown  Mushroom  be  cut 
from  the  stem  and  laid,  gills  downward,  on  paper  under  a  tumbler  or 
other  cover  to  keep  draughts  away,  there  will  be  found  on  the  paper 
after  a  few  hours — sometimes  in  a  very  short  time — a  layer  of  spores, 
making  a  negative  print  of  the  gills.  In  the  common  Mushroom  this 
print  will  be  of  a  dark  brown — almost  a  purple  brown — the  colour,  it  will 
be  noticed,  of  the  gills  at  maturity,  for  the  gills  usually  take  the  colour  of 
the  spores. 
Stem,  cap,  and  gills  are  characteristic  parts  of  most  of  the  fungi 
commonly  called  Mushrooms  or  Toadstools.  There  are  other  structures, 
however,  peculiar  to  certain  groups.  These  are  a  “  volva,”  a  “  ring,” 
and  a  “  veil.”  The  common  Mushroom  does  not  possess  the  volva,  or 
sheath,  characteristic  of  the  poisonous  Amanita,  but  does  show  us  a  ring 
and  veil. 
If  we  look  at  a  young  specimen  that  has  not  been  long  above  ground 
and  is  still  in  its  compact,  rounded  form,  called  by  Mushroom  growers  a 
“  button,”  we  shall  see  no  gills  on  the  under  side  of  the  cap.  Indeed,  the 
Mushroom  may  sometimes  grow  to  nearly  its  full  height  before  they 
are  visible.  The  reason  is  easy  to  see,  for  stretching  unbroken  from 
the  edge  of  the  unexpanded  pileus  to  the  stem  is  a  delicate  membrane 
called  the  veil.  As  the  pileus  expands  the  veil  is  torn,  Shreds  of  it, 
perhaps,  cling  to  the  edge  of  the  cap,  but  most  of  it  remains,  encircling 
the  stem  and  thus  forming  a  ring — a  structure  the  appearance  and  size 
of  which  vary  in  the  different  sorts  of  Mushrooms  which  possess  one. 
The  structures  so  far  spoken  of  are  easily  seen,  but  there  is  much 
more  to  a  Mushroom  than  this.  You  have  been  told  that  a  Alnshroom  is 
simply  a  contrivance  for  bearing  spores.  It  is  thus  comparable  to  the 
fruit  of  a  flowering  plant,  which  develops  and  contains  the  seeds.  Where, 
then,  you  will  ask,  is  the  vegetative  part  of  the  plant,  the  part  that  absorbs 
the  nourishment  and  does  all  the  preparatory  work  of  which  the  growth 
of  the  Mushroom  itself  is  the  result  ?  In  other  words,  what  sort  of  a 
plant  develops  from  a  spore,  and  where  does  it  live  ?  If  you  could  follow, 
as  you  may  under  a  microscope,  the  germination  of  a  spore,  and  the 
stages  of  growth  which_follow,  your  eyes  would  give  you  the  answer  to 
