S. Olfirvationr upon crrtnin Fungi, wbich are PmnJilics cf 1Lc IJXcat. By the Rev. It/il l iom Kirby, F. L. S.

UKIXG the time that my attention has been direaed to tlioie D infeAs which fi-eqiicnt thc whciit fields, I !lave often had occafion to o b k r w thc appcaranccs produced in tha t grain by fwcral different fpecies of Fungi ( a ) , which derive their nouriiliriieiit from it. I thousht of cotifidcring this Cubjeit at largc ; but as my timc is likely to bc fully ernploycd in other pr fu i t s , I fee no probability of doing this in the m a w r tbat I could wilh ;) and therefore having made hme obfervations, which, though by no nieahs complctc, rnay not be wholly unimportant, I now beg Ieave.t&y them before the Linncan Society, trufting that they may-{eve qs hints to others who may be inclincd to ciiter morc fully upon lo intereftin;. n i u 11 je c‘t ,

T h e fir l t 1 ha11 mcntion is named by Dr. LVithcring Reticuhri,~ . . / ~ y c ~ u r i i (t). 111 thc Kcv. Henry Bryant’s i’aniplilet up011 B r a d (c), i t is called

( u ) That there appearances are produccd by minute v’eget3blCs of the order of Fungi, kerns now to be atl;nowledgcd by tlrore naturalifis whoewe the. moft coiivcrbnt wiilr that order.

I havc noticecl f ivc or fix different fpecies of theft.) Funy;.

( b ) Bot. Arr. vol. iv . p . 383. (‘) A particular Enquiry into the Caufrs of that Dikak in tlrz M ’ l i c ~ t coininonly

cJlled IhanJ, Src. Norwicli 1783.

D.JI Brand(d). Here its ufiial name is Smut or Burnt Corn. This fpecies is common to wheat, oats, barley, and rye. I have alfo feen f;'e_/lucuJlrr;tans, and Come other graires, affeaed by it. It is fcent- lefs, and confumes not only the farinaceous part of the grain, but even the arillus and chaff, difpcrfing itfelf entirely before the corn is cut; fo that the injury which it occafions is coilfined to the quan- tity of grain defiroyed by it, which is iiot very great in any feafon. I have feen, more than once, half an ear of corn affeaed by this Fungus, when the other half was found and good. Sometimes - i t injures all the Items that fpring froin the fame root ; a t other times part of them &ape : I never Quid dikover any difeafed appear- ance about the root. ..The ear is often,&&+ by this Rctimhria be- fore it-emerges from the foiium vagiraans, or bo$.

Barley and oats are more frequently attacked by it than wheat; but this may be accounted'for by the latter being ufually d<&dfor {owing. Mr. Lathbury examined the dufk of this Fungus under a powerful magnifier, and found that it conhiled of a number of mi- nute particles, uniform in ihape and h e , much fmaller and blacker than thole of the Pepper Brand, and lefs eaGly feeparable: they feemed ro be contained in'little irregular cells. This duit or feed is the food of a {mall, ihining, black Derm@e$(e).

The next fpecies that I hal l mention is what Mr. Bryant difiin- b Wuifhes by the name of -PeWr Brand (f) ; with our farmers it is Gmply called Brand or Bluddtrr. Thk diptzks-doer~ nat cat .through the arillus, confuming onIy the farinaceous part of the grain. The ears affeeed by it are eaGly difcovered by their external afpea; for the chaff opens, as if unnaturally difiended (g), the germen becomes fiorter and rounder, and exhibits the appearance both of &elling

( J ) Bryant, p, 31. 54-56. (P) Drrmc;ier aier. Marlham, (f) Brymt, pa 32.

(g> Bryant, P. 43. Y O L . v. Q and

TI4 Rev. Mr. KIRBY'S Obfirvathns u p ccrtnh Fungi

and (if it may be allowable to apply fuch a term to it) inflamma- tion ; for, infiead of the pale, plcafant green which is the colour o€ this g a i n in a healthy fiate, it affumes oiie'of a deep and dingey hue : in this ftate it eaGly- breakswhen rubbed; and the footy yo^- der, that foils the fingers, emits a very fetid fcent, extr3mcly Gmilai~ to that of putrid fifh or Cbempdium Fulvaria. TheCe circumitanccs gufficiently d i i t i n p i h it from Rcticu/uria jigaturn,. and render it, when a t all plentiful, exceedingly prejudicial to the farmer ;. for, as. it does not cat its way through the arillus, and difperfe itfclf before the corn is cut, it is carried with it into the barn, and, being broken. under the flail, when the whcat is threihed, difcolours and other- wife injuixs the faample, to fuch a degree as to render it udaleable, or at leait greatly to reduce i t4 pice. To prevent this evil, farmers Senerally drefs their feed wheat with 'various preparations : fome ufe a lixiviuin of wood aihes and urine; others, falt and water only, or f a water: if at hand otheps, the lie from the fip-boilers;. others- again, urine and cheek whey ; and I have heard of fome who have infufed sdeni i for this p u r p o k All, I believe, dry their feed with. freih flaked lime ... This c u f l h , which is nearly univerfal, a t leaIt in chefe eaitern counties, proves the idea to be general, that the difor- tler oiiginates from the adhefion of the duif or feed of the Brand to, the feed of the wheat, and that by thefe methods it is either waked off or defiroyed : but what kind of fubfiance it is, whether animal,, vegetable, or merely a dillemper incident to this grain, agricul tyriits -do not trouble themfelves much to inquire : this indeed is properly the bufinek of the naturalilk; and of thek latter the opinions con- cerning it are variow Mr. Bryant, in the pamphlet referred to above, is f i emoue for its being occafioned by. an injury which Iic iuppofcs the anthercz receive, by too great confiri&ion, when the ear cmerges from the foiimi vriginnw Ch) ; and. therefore he h u t s

( F ) Bryant, p. 50-53. the

which urc PclraJticJ df the Whcd. I '5

, the common praEtice jufi mentioned of drefing the l e d , as anfwer- k g no good end, and deitruaive of the grain (i). Some take the *dufi for the eggs of i d e a s , and others adopt, what to me appears the moil probable opinion, that this evil is occafioned by a minute vegetable of the order of Fungi.

Mr. Bryant founds his hypothefis upon few experiments, and thofe not very precifely fiated ( k ) : the one was favourable rather than otherwife to the praAice which he is endeavouring to fet afide (1)- This was,rnqde upon a fmall fcale in his garden, From his larger experiment no fair confequences in fupport of either fide of the queition can be drawn ; €or it w a s made in two feparate fields, the corn being fewn unprepared in oo.e,? and dreffed m*dual in the other(m). Whether thefe fields were near to each other, or far afunder, or of a firnil& or different €oil, be dws pot inform us. Thc refult of this experiment was rather in favour (not: much he con- feires) (n) of the undreffed feed. Now, a6 fome years are much .more favourable to the produaion of Brand, it is probable, than others (o), and it Is not to be expe&ed that any precaution ikould fo infallibly fecure our crops as that they ihall never be injured, no found reaforrer would venture to build a fyfiem upon experiments, much more numerous and decifwe than thoce related by Mr. Bry- ant, which were made in a fingle year. Again, as fome €oils may be more@ven ' t ~ the prgdu&ion of this difeqfe, or whaever we am

( i ) In juflice to this gentleman, I muff 'rcknowkdge, ithat, with refpeA r o t h i s circum- fiance, his opinion feems founded upon fa&; for I am informed by intelligent farmers, that much of the grain does periih, as they fufpeEt, by the uie of lime. But is the evil incurred, greatcr than the evil prevented?

(n) Id. p. 33. (d ) lhyant, p. 24, 25.

( 0 ) A tenant of mine, in the year 1797 I think, told me that his wheat that year was very much injured by the Braad, alrhough he prepared it in the fame manner as he laad done forten years befox, and always till then with fuccefs.

( I ) Id. p. 32, 33. (m) Id. p. 24, 25.

Q 2 to

IIG Rt v. hlr. K I R BY'S Objrvatiolzs upon certah Fungi

to call it, than others, nothing fatisfaaory can be deduced from fuch experiments as are tried in-different fields, where the foil, afpefk, or mode of cuItivation and management, might be different. Mr. Bryant's method of accounting for this diforder is certainly in- genious, but founded upon no arguments which can convince one who is in fearch not of theories but of truth. T h a t the praQice of drefing the feed previous to €owing,iri the- above mentioned, is a very eff&ual preventive of the Brand, will appear fuffickntly evi- dent, when I proceed to lay before the Linnean Society the refuk of fome experiments made by ingenious and accurate friend the Rev. Peter Lathbury, F. L, S. Upon my informing him that I was going to put together a few obfervations upon the fubjea, he very obligingly allowed me the ufe of his memorandum-book, which alfo related another very decifive experiment, upon a large fcalc, made by a gentleman of his acquaintance, I t was in confequence of reading Mr. 3ryant's treatife tha t Mr; Lathbury and is gentle- man made fheir experiments. T o thefe I hall add a few inftanccs, out of many, that Iiare'faIlen withiit my own knowle&:

Mr. Lathbury procured two h a l l parcels of wheat, one from a clean fample not a t a41 infefied by the Brand, and the other from one which it had much injured. Each parcel h e divided into four: equal portions, and prepared for fowing as follo~vs, drefing one por- tion from each parcel in the fame manner. T h e firlt he waked carefully with fprjiig water, and wiped with a foft dry cloth. T h e next he clippcd in firong white wine vinegar, and allowed to dry upon a iheet of writing paper. A third he covertid with la!t water taken from the river; and after letting it remain in it for twelve hou-rs, he wiped it as the 'firfi. T h e fourth portions were not dreffed 3t all. T h e wheat froin the clean fample was p h t e d on one iide of iiis garden, and that from the branded one on another, When hc

(owed

wKcb r l re Par@& of the EV6eat. 117

fowcd the two undrered portions, bcfore lie covered the feed with earth he fprinkled upon it Come Brand dufi. ’The refult of his expe- riment was, tha t thc three firlt portions of both forts which had been prepared for fowing were very little injuretl by t he Brand. Thofe which were from feed of the clean fampIe had only oiie.ear affeAd, and that yart.ially. Tlrofe from the branded fample proi. duced two ears that were partially branded, and three t h a t were affcaed by the Smut or Duit Brand (Reticulmh&tum). Eut the produce of thofc portions which had been fprinkled with the d u f i of the Pepper Brand was greatly injured by it, three-fourths of the grain being dc2royed. There appeared ~ 1 0 difference in the number of plants produced f t o h each portion of the clean feed ; every grain vegetated, except in one infiance, where it was evident that thole which perithed were defiroyed by an infelt: but the number of plants produced from the injured feed was various ; that which was walhed with water produced the greateft number, and that wetted with vinegar the fmallcfi. Mr. Lathbury, in the drefing of the feed for his experiment,does not appear td have ufed lime ; which I fhould apprehend to be the moit efficacious j~rcventive of the evil’, though at the fame time it may probably be moil deitruQive of the fced. Thefe portions of wheat were fown a t Orford on the 20th of September I 78G.

T h e other hperiment was made in the neighbourhood of Wood- bridge in the following year. 1 h a l l give it in MI-. Lat1ibury”s words : “ Mr. John Woolnough of Bbyton, a moil intelligent and exccllent farmer, read kIr. Bryant’s pamphler, and, in confeqtience of his arguments, the next year knveci 1 large fieId in altcrnate breadths with. wheat taken from a good ihinyle (wilhouf d , - e J q ) and wheat tha t had been dreffed in the ufiial manner. Long before the corn was ripe, tlic difkrence was iiioit diitinguifliable. . Upon

th aie

$hoTeJZt.eJcJJes ( p ) fown with dreired wheat it was difficult to find any branded ears, except upon thc edges, whcre i t is probable the uti- xlrcffed had been occafionally thrown in fowiiig it by hand, The ,other breadths wcre i'o branded as to niake it neceflary for him to determine to carry the corn a t feeparate times to different places. A nret feafon fetting in, the hurry of bufineis made him negleEt this precaution; and being all h o u k d tagether, the whole crop, when ;thrclhcd out, was +oiled fo much by the Brand duff as to render the h m p l e unfaleable. H e computed his lofs at sol." I h a l l now ,copy an in fiance from M r . Lathbury7s memorandum-book, of mif- achicf incurred by a &fe& in the quality of the 1ime.ufed for drying rhc iced .: 'Mr. Honrlctt of Bligliborough Lodge, always accuE itomed-to drefs his wheat with falt water and freih flaked lime, wa6 induced, from the magnitude of his concern, to purchak a quantity af limc which from fome circutnitances was offered to him at a much Jefs price than ufual. W h e n he d r d e d his wheat with it, it was air-

&ked, hut did not appear otherwife altered by keeping; yet had it So far loil its itrength, tha t his crop that. year was injured by the Pepper Brand to the amount af .upwards of ~ 1 . in the opinion of good and able judges," Thus far Mr. Lathbury's communications.

I h a l l now praceed, ,as I propofcd, in the next place to mention Some infiances which fe1.l within my own knowledge. Lait year a n hitclligent farmer infarmed me, tha t through hafie he had negldted t o dreib part of his ked wheat, and that in coafequencc of it the Eropaf tbc,field where i t wx {own was greatly injured by t he Brand, while th,e-r;eit of his wheat was free from it. f i e dfo informed me, ahat if old w h a t was ufed for leed, it w s pot €ubje& t~ it. During

( p ) I know not f i e orthography of &is wora. It is aCuaIly pronounced I j l p t ch . I t i s the name given to thofe breadths, narrower or wider according t o ihr nature of thc 603, into which a ficld iadivided previw to fowing.

3 thc

theprelent yaar,a gentleman w h o occupicg a confidcrable traR of landb in t h e pariih of Barham, and who is very attentive to farming, told. mc,th?t in a particular ficlJ, the drclfcd feed not holding out, rhcy fowed the headland wi th wha t was undreffcd. T h e coiilequence was, $hat thi4 part was \very f d l of t h e Pcpper Brand, while t h e refi of t h e field efcapcd. Anothcr gcutlenian, who was brought u p in t h e medical lmc , but h a s now takcn to farmins, aCTurcs mc, t h a t fince. he has dreffed h is whcat lie h a s nevcr iiift'ered from this evil ; and €0 convinced is h e of t h e efficacy of t!ic common method, t h a t h e is dcterrniIictl to prepare bnrlcy and oats in the Came way, in ordcr ro prcvciit thc D i g Brand, I could multiply more inftances, if nc- ceffary, from inhrnadon received from othcr quarters; but I tbink- bhefe are fully fuficient to prove t h a t XI-. Bryant's hypothefis is no t Eounded upon faas. It feems evident from them, tha t t h c mifchief is carried with t h e fcad in to t h e ficld (q)3 and tha t the ufurl mode of drcflinq it a&s as n fufficient preventive, From one of Mr. Lath-

(9) It may be ohjettcd here, that fccd w.heat is always t a k n from a clean fampk, and that thcreforc i t is molt p r o h b l c t l n t i t Ihould meet with the feeds of tlle Brand in tlle hi1 5 but in that cafi. how coulCi the previous dref ing, cfpeciallg a_ finfile wdiing , a 0 as a preventive ? Old feed, WI(: fee, is not Cub@ m it;; which mult,.I fllould think,. arife either from thc Ura:id Dun being rubbed off' b y the frequent f r i t l ion of the g r a i m one againlt another, u h c n turiictl over, or fram'the latter. Iofing irs vegetative principle : but neither of the& circurnllancer would hinder its attack, if the Brand Dull were already in the foil. Befides, i ts rem.aining,wiihin +e pi% attd not like rht Dug b u d trtihg t h o u g h thc arillue, militates f i m n g l y x ? i n f i fuch a kppof ihts , It is G b d e that i n every wheat field a fcw fcattered ears m a y br branded, and t k f e would be fuficicnt 10

infe& a large parcel of grain ; for evcry difeared kernel contains millions of feeds of the Brand, and the frequent turning over 2nd mixing of the corn would d i f imina te thefe &rough a confiderJblc quantity. Still I would not be untlcrflood tu alrcrr, tha t Rrand i r f t in the foil never a t t x k r the wheat : fuch circumflaiice may x c o u i i t fcr i t 3 preva- lence i n fome kafons, cvcn where corii IASS b c a i drriTcd :. all I contend for is, t l u t this i, not u f d l y !he d e .

bury'3

120 Rev. Mr. KIRBY’S Overvations u p cerlaitr Fungi

bury’s experiments it appears, that the fimple wafhing of the feed with water, if it be carefully wiped, anfwers all the end of fieeping in a more expenfive preparation. Th i s perhaps could not be done with fuficient care and accuracy upon a large fcale, otherwife the moll fimple and lealt expenfive method is certainly the beit, and all t ha t feems tb Lc wanted previous to Cowing is thoroughly to cleanfe t h e feed from the Brand duit that adheres to it. Probably wetting the feed Ivith water, and afterwards drying it with frefh flaked lime, would an fiver every purpofe.

T h e fuppofition that the Brand is produced by infeats is not {up- ported by one fa& or experiment that I have ever heard of: indeed, t h e Gngle circumltance that the diforder originates with the feed, and from thence paires by fome unknown channel into the plant, entirely overturns it, I h a l l not therefore lore time by dwelling upon it, bu t procecd further to eitablilh the third opinion, t ha t t h e diforder is occaiioned by a vegetable fubflance. The fa& efiablilhhed by the above experiments, that the dufi of Brand, carried into the field with the feed wheat, like other vegetables propagates itfelf, gives the high& degree of probability te this opinion ; which is itill further confirmed by the refult of Mr. Lathbury’s experiment of Eowing it as it were upon its native foil (erpecially in the cafe of wheat taken from a clean famyle), which feems to have occafioned thc deitrulkion of three-fourths of its produce. This is as decifive a proof as can be defired of its being a vegetable. But what I think places the matter beyond all doubt, is tha t this duft, when put under a powerful magnifier, exhibits every appearance of minute feed. 1 happened to take rome dufi from branded grains, 1, think lait year, which I laid by for future infpeLkion. After I had begun this Paper, I firewed fome of that duR upon a piece of glafs; and putting it under a very itrong magiiificr over a refleaor, I was highly grati-

fied

heJ w i t h obrercing that every particle of Brand was a globular feed ; iiot thc leait variation in ihape or magnitude was vifible amongR them. 1 afterwnyds pi i t a drop of water u p n them, and let thcm remain in this fituation for io”otne t ime; but- it produced no altera- tion whatfoever in their appearance. I afterwards examined in the fame way the duft of one of the ftellatecl 1gco;erdmr which I hap- pened to have by me; but the particies of this were niuch iinallcr than thoie of the Brand, and not of a form €0 vifibly determinate. Afr. Lathbury alfo tried a variety of experiments with the hnie view; and in every one “ t h e dutt when diluted with water in- itantly ieparated, and prefented to the eye itivaiiably a number of globules, touching each other, alike in form and he .”

It now remains for confideration, how thefe feeds vegctate and afcend from the feed with the growing plant till they reach the heart of the grain. This is an inquiry tha t may be extended to a great number of the Fungi, which without impropriety may he denominated fibcutaneous vegetables ; for in fiance, the feveral fpe- cies of Acidium (for they are numerous), U-rdo ( r ) , and iiot a few Spbark, except that thefe latter grow upon decaying fubkances : but thefe I h a l l let alone, and only offer a conjeAure, for it is merely iuch, with refpea to the Brand. Perhaps then the uncom- monly minute feeds of this Fungus may attach themfelves either to the pfurnula, and fo pds through the air veffels into the plant ; or elfe to the rojc/lum, which to ’me kerns mait probable; and in that cafe they may be propelled through the fap veifels with the fap, till at length they arrive a t their final €eat, the heart of the germen. Whether this fpecies belong to the genus Reticularia or not, I mufi leave to be determined by thofe gentlemen who arc more deeply killed in ‘6 cryptogamic fore” than I am.

( r ) Are rP3cidirrm and Uredo (ufficuntly difiinfi ?

V O L . v. K The

122 Rev, KIRBY’s Ob/eruar;ons upon certni’n Fungi

The next Frrngzcs of the wheat that I ha l l notice, is that Acidium known to aqriculturilts by the name of the Red Gum. This fpccies grows ufually upon the infide of the glumes of the calyx and of the exterior valvule of the corolla, under their epidermis; which, when the plant is ripe, burits, and emits a powder of a bright orange colour. This little plant, which is now well known ($1, does not appear to be materially iujurious to the grain, if at all. . I have ken ears full of it, with very plumy kcmels. I have alfo found i t upou branded ears. Before the cuticle which covers the feed of this Fungus burns, i$- has very much the appearance of a fmall puitule upon the human Body.

Another plant of this order, which is very common upon wheat, is that named by Mr. Lambert in the Linnean TranfaAims (I), and by Mr. Sowerby in his elegant work upon Engl ih Fungi (v) , Urcdo Frurnmti. It grows upon the foliage, culm, and glurnes, burning in longitudinal itreaks from under the epdc?m?. Thefe gentlemen reprefent this plant as the &hi of the wheat, which in certain fea- {om and foils is. fo injurious to t h a t grain. lc had m+f fof fomc time fufpelted that it was the caufe of that dileafe; but after re- peated examination .of ears the firaw of which was quite black with it, I had given up that opinion, for in no one infiance was the grain injured by it. Yet I would by no means be underftood to contra&& the airertion of thefe gentlemen in totunz. This plant, when it makes its attack before the wheat begins to harden, by depriving it of part of its a u t r h e n r may occafion it to brink ; and Mr. Lambert’s own experience ferns to confirm this obfervation a unlefs the mifchievous pIant which I ihall ~ e ~ t mention had taken p d h m - o f the ear, a t the hm h e tbat the Urdo Frummti had & h b u r e d the fialk ;

( 2 ) Linn. TrqJ vd. iii. p. 249, 250.

( v ) Englifi Fungi, ML ii; tab. CXL. ( I ) id. v ~ l . iv. p. 193, 194.

for

d i c b arc ParoJtics ofthe Wbed. t 33

for the fame circurnflances ivouid be favourable to the produaion of both, although we have rearon to be thankful that the Iatter is much the mofi common of the two. I doubt not but there gcn- tlcrnen will readily excufe my diKcnt from their fentirnents in this infiance ; and fhould future examination prove me in the wroiig, I h a l l with pleafure retra&. In fubjeats not thoroughly difcuffed and underflood, the collifioii of opinions contributes vcry much to. bring hidden truths to light.

In the year 1797 the wheat luffered much by the blight, or mildew as our farmers more commonly call it, by far the worlt enemy of that grain; and I had frequent opportunities of examining into the caufe of it. The edrs that were injured by it were to be dif t inpihed a t a confiderabfe diitance by their blacknefs ; and when brought clofe to the eye, they appeared as if foot, or fome other fmutty powder, had been firewed over them. Under a commonlens (for at that time I had no other) the chaff appeared covered with fmall black dots irregularly fcattered over it, and widely different from the appearance of Uredo Frurnenfi upon the fame part, which is very accurntely reprefented in Mr. Sowerby's figure. Whenever this appearance feizes an ear, it invariably occafions the grain to firink lo much as to be f i t fot no- thing but to feed hogs or poultry I do not recolle6l making any obfervations upon the fitate of the firaw; but I have a memorandum, made in a field @om which I took many ears, which fays that thc itraw of the mildewed wheat in that fieM b a s ~kari; and if my memory does not fail me, the mildew itfelf was always confined to the ear ; though fometimes the firawlnight be affe&ed, as I hinted above, by Uredo Frummi at the fame time. Some farmers, whom I have confulted, have told me that the itraw is always injured; but others have confirmed my own obfervation in the field above men- tioned, that it is not invariably fo. I ihould obferve, that the foliage

R 2 of

J 24 Rev. Mr. KIRBY'S Objrvations upon cerhn Fmgi

of the milclcwed wheat in this field w;?s difiinguiihed by another fpe- cics of Uredo; though perhaps this might be only another appearance of the mildew, which difcharged its Cecd at regular intervals in dots. From the abience of Uredo Frumenti in this inftance,it is cbident that the mildew is independent of that plant, and fo vice uer~a". A whole diftria in thc neighhourhood of Barham is particularly given to this evil ; but improved management of the foil, I am told, will ferve as a remedy, T h e appearance occafioned by t he kddesv, upon an ear examined under a lens, did not fo fully convince ine of its being a Fungus, as that of the four preceding fpecies; the dots were too mi- nute to determine with certainty without a more pou/erful magni- fier: yet I am moit inclined to that opinion; and i t derives addi- tional force from what was once related to me by a gentleman who had been abroad, that an Italian Abbate, I forget who, had written P inemoir upon the fubjec9, ia urhicli he had proved the mildew to be a very minute Lycoperdon. He promifed ts fend me the pamphlet; but was not fo good as his word. The prefent year produced no mildew, that I can learn; and I €ent my fpecirnens to Mr. Sowerby.

I have now brought to a coiiclufion what I had to ray upon thofe parafitic Fungi which T have obfenqi upon the wheat; and I hope tha t thefe hints, for fuch only I defire that they may be confidered, may induce other gentlemen, nmre deeply fkilled in this department of natural hiltory than I am, to purfue them further. T h e fubjea, if viewcd as clofely conneaed with agricultnre, is certainly import- ant ; and if the fiudy af it Lhould lead to a difcovery of a method of preventing the Blkbi, as e f f e h a l as that which has long been ufed by farmers to fecure their crops from the Brand, the natural& who led the way to it would have no reafon to think that his labours were in vain.

Mach has been done in this country towards inveitigating the Fwgi

which are PardJiics ~ f t h c Wbrat. 125

Fungi by MeK Withering, Woodward, Dickfoii, Bolton, Sowerby, &c. yet the knowledge of this clafs of vegetables is adbuc in incuna- bulis, and many years mufi elapfe before we may expea to fee it upon the fame firm footing with .the other brairthes of botany. There is fcarcely a leaf (at leafi of trees and ihrubs) falls t9 the grognd, tha t has not its peculiar Fungus, which, afilted by humi- dity, reduces i t to its original earth. The iame obkrvation may be extended to flicks (w) and italks, and many other fubbftances. The more w e attend to thefe things, the further we fhall fee into the plan of Divine Providence, and, every itep we take, be more and more convinced that there is nothins either deficient or fuperfluous; but tha t all thing4 we witted inweight st& meqhre, and work t h gether (whether their ofice be to preferve or to deltroy) to promote the befi ends by the moQ efficaciaus means.

( w ) Mr. Sowerby, in his Engl# Fungi (vol. ii. tab. CXXXVII), has given the name of dccorticota to a particular fpecies of Sphrriu, a8 fuggefted by me, probably owing to my bad writing The name 1 intended was dtcorticnnr, from the circumftai~cc of its growing wader the bark, and finally occafioning it to peel otf.