. Sharp eyes; a rambler's calendar of fifty-two weeks among insects, birds and flowers; . n the puff-ball,whose smoke-like puffs scatter their countless atoms tothe ends of the earth. Though they may fall in a mill-ion places, no spore will vegetate into a plant unlessthe conditions which the puff-ball requires are presentin the soil. In the fairy-ring mushroom, as in all other mush-rooms, the rule is the same; the spores are shed frombeneath the cap, and many fall upon the ground. We23 178 SHARP EYES will suppose a single spore to have been blown by thewind to the spot upon the lawn. A single
. Sharp eyes; a rambler's calendar of fifty-two weeks among insects, birds and flowers; . n the puff-ball,whose smoke-like puffs scatter their countless atoms tothe ends of the earth. Though they may fall in a mill-ion places, no spore will vegetate into a plant unlessthe conditions which the puff-ball requires are presentin the soil. In the fairy-ring mushroom, as in all other mush-rooms, the rule is the same; the spores are shed frombeneath the cap, and many fall upon the ground. We23 178 SHARP EYES will suppose a single spore to have been blown by thewind to the spot upon the lawn. A single mushroomor group is soon seen. Its spores are scattered beneathit. The earth immediately around the stem has beenexhausted of the chemical necessities for new growth,and only such spores as have fallen in the outer edgeof the circle will find the congenial conditions for vege-tation, leaving the centre bare of growth. And thusthe ring enlarges as the interior soil is exhausted, untilit occasionally reaches the diameter of several feet in amore or less broken circle. A QUEER BUMBLEBEE. September 2gth HE following portion of a letterfrom a Connecticut farmer, villagephilosopher, oldest inhabitant,weather prophet, and phoneticexpert, is reproduced by willingpermission, and is herewith an-swered for the first time. It ac-companied a package by mail con-taining the specimen in question. Mr. Gibson : Sir,—in the summer of wen you was bordin with me here at the farm you hed a gret laugh at me becuz I sed I seen abumble bee ketch a hoss-fly and eat him up. ... I haint fergothow you tuk on about it and I recoleck thet you sed I bettermake a note ont an swar to it before a notry cuz I wud never seethe like agen in mi born days, and you sed thet you wud give methe first nine dollar bill you come acrost if I wud kill the critterin the ack next time and thet you would give me a gold platedgoose-yoke and I dont kno what all and thet you wud give me atwo dollar bill fer every bumble bee I
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
