of the situation. The difficulty was overcome in this way -as each lowest thread became taut in an adverse direction, it was snapped off at the end attached to the animal. This, as I think, was done by two processes; the one by softening that end of the thread by the animal's own juices, purposely applied, as the pupa in the cocoon moistens its silk envelope, when wishing to soften the fibres, so that it can break a hole through which the imago may emerge; the other by a moderate upward pulling, thus breaking the filament at its weakest point.

The next day our little engineer had accomplished the wonderful feat of climbing to the surface by ropes, fabricated during the ascent. Without delay it moored itself securely by a cluster of silken lines at the boundary where sky and water met, and was there allowed to enjoy the airing it had so deservingly won. Bravo! my little Mussel-man! No acrobat can beat thee on the ropes!

And what are we to say to all this? Blind instinet, forsooth! Who believes it? The wise men of the ages have written as the tradition of the elders-"byssus-bound," of our Mytilus. But it can make of its bonds, mooring lines of safety against the storm, and with consummate skill can build a silken stair-way into its own wished for elysium of delight. It is some three years since the writer witnessed the facts here recorded, and to this day, the sight of a mussel inspires him with profound reflection on the ways of Him who made these creeping things of the sea.

NOTE. It has seemed to the writer, that in the perfection of movement shown bṛ the Modiola plicatula, as given above, a high stage of foot development is indicated, such as would hiut at a grade out-ranking Mytilus edulis. The figure inserted is that of M. edulis ; but the process of climbing is the same. — S. L.

THE great coal measures of our continent are the grand storehouses of preserved plants from this richest realm of the vegetable kingdom; they are the entombed pioneers that have paved the way, and still light the path of higher forms of life, both vegetable and animal. However much we may to-day value these humble and lower steps on the stage of existence, we are apt to fall far below a due appreciation of their value in the economy of nature; our health, wealth, comfort, nay our very existence more or less, directly depends on the uses they subserve; and still every new dawn brings some novel use crowding the advancing ages until we look back but a few days to our early years, and wonder how we, as well as our forefathers could do without this or that necessary of life. As coal they are the familiar friends of our labors, and the cheerful companions of the domestic fireside. It is not, however, to the dead and fossilized forms alone, but mainly to the living, that we invite a moment's attention.

An idea of minuteness and insignificance too often follows any reference to the simplest plants in nature; yet many attain a great size, such as Tree Ferns and certain Sea-weeds -the former forty feet high, of the size of one's body, and the latter of prodigious length, besides myriads of intermediate forms.

The Fungi, a brief account of which follows, are cellular plants, without flowers, living in the air, often nourished through a stem by an amorphous spawn, or mycelium, instead of a root, and propagated by very minute spores, serving the same purpose as the seeds of flowering plants.

The largest species found in California, is the kind commonly known as Touchwood, or Hard Tinder (Polyporus); of a semicircular shape, between one and two feet across, (337)

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and six to eight inches thick; this large species we have only seen attached to the living trunks of the Laurel Tree (Oreodaphne Californica). Its name signifying many pores, describes itself, the lower surface being a mass of little tubes or pores, angular like honey-comb.

As tinder it makes a slow but sure fire and good coal, wind proof, so that as a slow match for blasting purposes it is perfectly safe. It burns at the rate of an inch in five minutes; this rate, of course, will vary a little with thickness. Dipped in nitre and dried it is even more sure on gunpowder than fate itself. The corky kinds of fungi to which this belongs continue to live and increase for many years, although in general mere size is no reliable index of age in this field of inquiry, for we know that under favorable circumstances the Scaly Polyporus (P. squamosus), found on the trunks of dead trees, attains, perhaps, the largest size of any known. Instances have been recorded of its measuring seven feet five inches in circumference, and weighing thirtyfour pounds avoirdupois, growing to these vast dimensions in the short space of three weeks.

The power of these plants to disintegrate the hardest wood is very remarkable, causing it to yield much more rapidly than the ordinary influences of the weather. Among the greatest agricultural obstacles in the vast timber clearings of the South and West, and indeed of most new countries, are the old stumps, which, if left simply to the action of the weather, might be something less than half a century in decaying; yet if these were simply sprinkled with water in which fungi had been washed, they would shortly crumble beneath the magician's wand, a mere shreddy mass of interlaced cottony touchwood, the tissues and cells of which would be seen to be traversed and disorganized by this amorphous mycelium. We know from actual observation that where heavily timbered land is required to be cleaned off entirely, it often costs from fifty to one hundred dollars per acre. Perhaps to estimate it in human flesh, we might adopt

the western proverb, that it wears out one generation to bring the land into tolerable tillage for the next. Only a few of these plants are known to us, nor do we know their uses except in a few instances. Many of the species we know are very destructive to the trunks of living trees, on which they grow. In the first instance they may grow on parts which are diseased, but the insidious mycelium spreads with great rapidity; the moment any growth of this kind appears the tree should be felled, or if a valuable ornamental tree, the parts affected should be carefully removed, and a strong solution of sulphate of copper or corrosive sublimate be supplied.

Sev

Most Polypori are close and tough in their texture, and rather indigestible; still some are eaten. Berkley declares that the most delicious of all fungi is the P. casareus. eral other species besides our P. igniarius are used as tinder and moxa, and some are said to make famous razor-strops. Certainly a more satiny cushion could not be devised. The common small species, with variegated concentric rings (P. versicolor), is used to lure insects from the mycologist's more valuable specimens. One is used in Russia, pounded and put in snuff, to improve its narcotic properties; another has been manufactured into coarse clothing. Only one, I believe, is worshipped, i.e., the P. sacer, a most striking object, much venerated by the negroes on the West African

coast.

Perhaps many of us have experienced the kindred pleasures of paradise on a walk in the woods after a thunderstorm in the warm days of August, and felt our lungs swell with a thrill of strength to the very fingers' ends, while breathing the balmy odors of the wood; it was not all the breath of flowers, nor foliage, nor any conspicuous form of commonly recognized vegetation. Some may remember having searched for the sweet knots to take home with them, hiding the uncouth thing in the house in order to excite the pleasing wonder and prying curiosity of the loved ones, as

to where that sweet odor came from! It was the sweet scented Polyporus, another species of the same plant. Similar fragrance is observed in one species growing on the birch which is used to scent snuff; another like the soft contents of the puff ball, is celebrated for staunching blood. This fungus has been much used as a remedy, and its virtues vaunted in this country for the cure of consumption in its early stages; so also have similar surprising effects been attributed to the use of Agaricus emeticus. The phosphorescent agarics of the olive and palm are luminous like large fire-flies, and a few suffice to light up a large room sufficient to read by.

It is often said that some allied mushrooms are unwholesome, and therefore there is danger, and upon the whole, it is best to let them alone. In reply, might we not inquire if the carrot, celery, parsnip, angelica and anise are not allied to the deadly hemlock? The potato, egg-plant and tomato are also close akin to the poisonous night-shade. The innocent arrow-root, too, is the actual product of the fearful woorai, or maratta arunamacea, with which the savage poisons his arrow-points in war. The universal practice in Russia is to salt fungi; and beside they are often subsequently washed and treated with vinegar, which would be likely to render almost any species harmless. Any one familiar with our coast and bays will not fail to hear of cases of poisoning with shell-fish, and there are also sad cases on record of death from these as well as the edible mushroom, or Agaricus campestris. Fungi vary in quality with climate, meteorological conditions, soils, etc., so that the safest way is to eat only those raised in garden beds for the purpose; always bearing in mind that much depends upon the mode of preparation and cooking.

The Grape Disease (Oidium Tuckeri), is the result of a parasitic fungus, terribly devastating to the wine crops of Europe, the losses of which are estimated by millions, and so frightful as to threaten starvation to thousands; fortu