see non elves mo,” another explanation has become necessary, and the only good one which has been offered is that which attributes them to the peculiar manner of growth which this and one or two other agarics affect. They spring up in circles. Each circle seems to exhaust the soil of some peculiar nourishment necessary for the growth of the fungi, and is rendered incapable of produ cing a second crop. Hence the circle must necessarily enlarge, for "the defect of nutriment on one side, would necessarily cause the new roots to extend themselves solely in the opposite direction, and would occasion the circles of fungi continually to proceed by annual enlargements from the centre outwards. An appearance of luxuriance of the grass would follow as a natural consequence, as the soil of an interior circle would always be enriched by the decayed roots of the fungi of the preceding year's growth." Dr WITHERING was the first to offer this explanation of a very curious phenomenon, and it seems satisfactorily established by the subsequent observations of Dr WOLLASTON.

28. A. peronatus, stalk cylindrical, woolly, wood-brown, tough; pileus convex or campanulate, obtuse, wood-brown, very thin ; gills wood-brown, rather distant, 4 or 8 in a set, ventricose.-Sow. Fung. t. 37. GREV. Fl. Edin. 379.

Hab. In woods, firmly attached by its woolly root to decayed leaves and straws. Blackadder plantations. Sept. Stalk as thick as a goose quill, 3 inches long. Distinguished by its uniform brownish colour, the woolliness of the stem, the thinness of its flesh, and its obtuse campanulate leatherlike pileus, which is 2 inches in diameter.

**Stalk central and hollow.

+ Gills fixed.

29. A. laccatus, gregarious, dry, coriaceous; stalk cylindrical, twisted, roughish; pileus irregular, convex, dimpled in the centre, roughish; gills distant, thick, broad, somewhat decurrent.

Var. 1. of a uniform reddish flesh colour.-GREV. Fl. Edin. 377; Crypt. Fl. t. 249. Ag. farinaceus, WITH. iv. 272. Sow. Fung. t. 208. Hook, Scot. ii. 22.

Var. 2. stalk thickened upwards; gills purple.

Var. 3. of a uniform purple-violet colour. Ag. amethystinus, Sow. Fung. t. 187 Hook. Scot. ii. 20. GREV. Fl. Edin. 378. Hab. In woods and at hedge bottoms, not uncommon. Aut. Grows in small tufts or singly. It has a tough somewhat leather-like appearance, but, with the exception of the stalk, is rather brittle. The pileus is generally somewhat more than an inch across, sometimes it is fully 3 inches, and is more or less depressed in the centre. The gills are remarkable for their breadth and thickness, and discharge a meaty powder from their whole surface.

30. A. velutipes, clustered; “gills pale yellow, 8 in a set; pileus brown orange, nearly flat; stem yellow above, velvety and dark brown below."—WITH. iv. 326. Sow. Fung. t. 384. f. 3. GREV. Fl. Edin 378.

Hab. On decaying stumps of trees, not uncommon. Wint. Stalk 2-4 inches, generally curved, cylindrical, dark brown, paler upwards, velvety, hollow, matted together at the base. Pileus plane and circular, glutinous when moist, 2 inches across, or less; flesh brown. We have never seen any thing like SOWERBY's figure, tab. 263 but the figure above quoted is a good representation of a single and rather small plant.

31. A. fascicularis, clustered; stalk cylindrical, yellow, with a slight evanescent collar; pileus plane, umbonate, yellowish orange; gills close, numerous, greenish-WITH. iv. 303. BOLT. Fung. t. 29. Sow. Fung, t. 285.. GREV. Fl. Edin. 392; Crypt. Fl. t. 329.

Hab. On the stumps of decaying trees in woods, common.
Aut.

32. A. lateritius, clustered; stems unequal, cylindrical, pithy, curved; pileus obtusely conical, irregular, brown or reddishorange, paler towards the margin; gills grey-green, numerous.— GREV. Fl. Edin. 392. Ag. fascicularis, var. 3. WITH. iv. 304. BOLT. Fung. t. 29. (tab. nost. 6. fig. med.)

Hab. On the roots of old hawthorn in hedges. Aut.

This and the preceding are so nearly related, that they were considered varieties of the same species by Dr WITHER

ING.

The Ag. lateritius is drier and more corky, the stalk thicker in proportion to the length, the pileus less expanded, smaller and darker coloured; but the principal distinction lies, as I think, in their mode of growth. The various individuals composing a tuft of Ag. fascicularis rise to nearly an equal height, and, from the flatness of the pileus, it appears to be almost level-topped; but in Ag. lateritius the plants are more closely clustered, and they rise in tiers one above another, as is well expressed in our figure, the higher sitting upon and overshadowing those beneath them.

33. A. semiglobatus, stalk cylindrical, slender, rather tough, yellowish; pileus semiglobular, yellow or reddish-orange, varnished; gills grey, mottled, very broad, and rather distant.—WITH. iv. 306. Sow. Fung. t. 248. HOOK. Scot. ii. 23. GREV. Fl. Edin. 391; Crypt. Fl. t. 344. Ag. virosus, Sow. Fung. t. 407.

Hab. In old pastures near dung, common.

Stalk in general about 3 inches long, thicker than a crowquill, tough, hollow, more or less waved near the base, slightly stained with black near the top-the remains of the collar. The gills" form an horizontal line from the stem to the edge of the pileus," which measures about an inch in diameter, sometimes more, commonly not so much. It is smooth, thin, viscid and gummy in moist weather, retains its semiglobular shape during its course, and remains a long time. Mr SOWERBY mentions that a family at Mitcham, in Essex, were poisoned by eating some of this mushroom; but Dr GREVILLE doubts whether this was really the species. It is very certain that many of SOWERBY'S figures, in his tab. 407 and 408, represent fungi distinct from Ag semiglobatus, which is remarkable for constancy to its characters. "Accidents arising from the deadly fungi being mistaken for eatable mushrooms, are common on the Continent, and especially in France. They are by no means unfrequent, too, in Britain; but they are much less frequent than abroad, because the epicure's catalogue of mushrooms in this country contains only three species, whose characters are too distinct to be mistaken by a person of ordinary skill; while abroad a great variety of them have found their way to the table, many of which are not only liable to be confounded with poisonous species, but are even also themselves of doubtful quality."-Dr CHRISTISON.