Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-05-01

| at that school there was Str1ct rule
against taking anything INTO the bed
rooms at nign< to eat. Sometime
during the middle Of the night they
fell asleep, and awoke next morning
feeling perfectly we'll. They felt
rather frightened or awed for several
days, but that feeling finally wore off
and they forgot the occurance, except
for the fact that it taught them never
to eat raw mushrooms again.
In the early part of this article it
was remarked that fungi performed
an important part in tie economy Of
nature; as, in fact, do all other things
pertaining to this world Of ours. But,
some will say, we can see use and
beauty in the herbs and flowers and
trees. The herbs many of them are
good for medicine. the flowers delight
our senses by their sweet scent and
harmonious colors ;the trees add pic
turesqueness, beauty and freshness to
the landscape, afford1ng us cool and
shady retreats from the hot glare Of
the summer sun; but Of what use can
toaastool be? Its uses are various.
Each fungus group has its distinctive
habits; some kinds grow on the pra
irie, some in the woods on old logs
trees, and dead leaves; so we find them
also growing and fourishing at the ex-
pense of organic structure The fun
gi attack weak and sickly plants, and
for the matter Of that, healthy ones
too; slowly but surely sapping their
very life. The plant dies, and in some
cases its parasite dies and decays with
it; but that very decay is not lost, for
other kinds Of fungi grow, as if by
magic, from the disintegrating mass.
Some fungi love dead trees and dead
leaves in shady, damp situations.
Most people have seen white film or
fiber Just beneath the bark, OF else
prevailing every portion of old dead
and decayed timber. Such substances
are the spawn or mycelium, from
whence arises, under favorable circum-
stances, the fructifying portions Of
the fungus. This spawn may, how
ever, exist for years without maturing
| if the conditions Of life arc z,as,1ii table.
What is known as ''dry rot" (Merulius
| lacrymans) in timber, is caused by a
minute fungus, which eats away, as it
were, the fbres of the wood, causing
it to crumble away Even the com
mon house fly is infested with fun
gus (Empusina) The mycelium is
developed within the fly and kills it,
after which the hymenium or fruit
bearing part arises from the dead
body. Caterpillers are subject to fun
gus growths. Prof J. c. Arthur has
discovered recently a new species of
larval fungus (Entomophthora Ply
tonomi growing in the cloyer-leaf
weevil (Phytonomus punctatus, Fabr.)
The Larvae of this insect feed at night.
remainlngin concealment in the day
time but when attacked by this fungus
they crawl as high as possible on some
stem or stalk. before daylight, and coil
themselves around it staying there
till they die. Prof Arthur says in
his interesting article upon the sub
iect, in the Botanical Gazette for Jan
uary Of this year, that the larvae are
able to crawl about at 10 o'clock in
the morning, when disturbed, but by
noon they die and the rizoids fasten
them to the support. Some hours af-:
terwards the normal color (yellowish
or pea-green) is changed to dull grey
by the advent of the hymemium. The
spores (fruit) are produced late in the
afternoon. During the night they are
discharged and by morning only q
small. shrivelled, blackened mass is
left to tell the tale. Thus. our read
ers will see how quickly q fungus can
kill. Fishes often fall victim to fun
gi. Only the other day the writer
picked up along the river, three spe-
cies of fish that had been killed by
these plants. In two of the specimens,
one silverside, the other a bull
pout" the hymenium fruit bearing
portion) covered the whole body like
thick brush of dull grey hair, each
fibre being terminated by little knob
containing the spores. The interior
Of these fishes was one mass of white
ish fbres, or what may be called the
roots of the fungus.
Our commonest cereals are not ex
empt Every one knows what is er
got in grain. It is fungus known as
Cordiceps purpurea. It attacks rye
most frequently. Flour made of err
gotted grain is injurious, and if taken
in quantity causes gangrene. One
year the greatest proportion of the rye
grown along the coast Of Normandy.
in France, was ergotted. The poor
being mostly dependent upon this for