Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Frost" to "Fyzabad"

Chapter I: Functions of Real Variables (9)

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_Laboulbeniineae_ are a group of about 150 species of fungi found on
insects, especially beetles, and principally known from the researches
of Thaxter in America. The plant is a small, dark brown, erect
structure (receptacle) of a few cells, and 1-10 mm. high, attached to
the insect by the lowermost end (foot), and easily mistaken for a hair
or similar appendage of the insect. The receptacle ends above in
appendages, each consisting of one or a few cells, some of which are
the male organs, others the female organs, and others again may be
barren hairs. The male organ (antheridium) consists of a few cells,
the terminal one of which either abstricts from its end, or emits from
its interior the non-motile spermatia, reminding us of those of the
Florideae. The female organ is essentially a flask-shaped structure;
the neck of the flask growing out as the trichogyne, and the belly
composed of an axial carpogenic cell surrounded by investing cells,
and with one cell (trichophoric) between it and the trichogyne. These
three elements--trichogyne, trichophoric cell, and carpogenic
cell--are regarded as the procarp. The spermatia have been shown by
Thaxter to fuse with the trichogyne, after which the axial cell below
(carpogenic cell) undergoes divisions, and ultimately forms asci
containing ascospores, while cells investing this form a perithecium,
the whole structure reminding us essentially of the fructification of
a Pyrenomycete. Many modifications in details occur, and the plants
may be dioecious. No injury is done to the infested insects. It has
lately been shown that there is a fusion of nuclei in connexion with
ascus formation, so that there can be no doubt of the position of this
extraordinary group of plants among the Ascomycetes. The various cells
of these organisms are connected by large pits which are traversed by
thick protoplasmic threads connecting one cell with the next. In this
point and in their method of fertilization the Laboulbeniineae suggest
a possible relationship of Ascomycetes and the Red Algae.

FIG. 15.--_Armillaria mellea._ (After Ruhland.)

A, Young basidium with the two primary nuclei.

B, After fusion of the two nuclei. _Hypholoma appendiculatum_.

C, A basidium before the four nuclei derived from the secondary
nucleus of the basidium have passed into the four basidiospores.

D, Passage of a nucleus through the sterigma into the basidiospore.]

_Basidiales._--This very large group of plants is characterized by the
possession of a special type of conidiophore--the basidium, which
gives its name to the group. The basidium is a unicellular or
multicellular structure from which four basidiospores arise as
outgrowths; it starts as a binucleate structure, but soon, like the
ascus, becomes uninucleate by the fusion of the two nuclei. Then two
successive nuclear divisions occur resulting in the formation of four
nuclei which later migrate respectively into the four basidiospores
(fig. 15). The Basidiales are further characterized by the complete
loss of normal sexuality, but at some time or other in the
life-history there takes place an association of two nuclei in a cell;
the two nuclei are derived from separate cells or possibly in some
cases are sister nuclei of the same cell. The two nuclei when once
associated are termed "conjugate" nuclei, and they always divide at
the same time, a half of each passing into each cell. This conjugate
condition is finally brought to a close by the nuclear fusion in the
basidium. Between the nuclear association and the nuclear fusion in
the basidium many thousands of cell generations may be intercalated.
This nuclear association of equivalent nuclei apparently represents a
reduced sexual process (like the fusion of female nuclei in _Humaria
granulata_ and of vegetative nuclei in _H. rutilans_, among the
Ascomycetes) in which, however, the actual fusion (normally, in a
sexual process, occurring immediately after association) is delayed
until the formation of the basidium. During the tetrad division in the
basidium nuclear reduction occurs. There is thus in all the Basidiales
an alternation of generations, obscured, however, by the apogamous
transition from the gametophyte to sporophyte. The sporophyte may be
considered to begin at the stage of nuclear association and end with
the nuclear reduction in the basidium.

A, Mass of teleutospores (t) on a leaf of couch-grass.

e, Epidermis ruptured.

b, Sub-epidermal fibres. (After De Bary.)

B, Part of vertical section through leaf of Berberis vulgaris, with
a, aecidium fruits, p, peridium, and sp, spermogonia. (After Sachs.)

C, Mass of uredospores (ur), with one teleutospore (t).

sh, Sub-hymenial hyphae. (After De Bary.)]

_Uredineae._--This is a large group of about 2000 forms. They are all
intercellular parasites living mostly on the leaves of higher plants.
Owing to the presence of oily globules of an orange-yellow or
rusty-red colour in their hyphae and spores they are termed
Rust-Fungi. They are distinguished from the other fungi and the rest
of the Basidiales by the great variety of the spores and the great
elaboration of the life-history to be found in many cases. Five
different kinds of spores may be present--teleutospores, sporidia ( =
basidiospores), aecidiospores, spermatia and uredospores (fig. 16).
The teleutospore, with the sporidia which arise from it, is always
present, and the division into genera is based chiefly on its
characters. The teleutospore puts forth on germination a four-celled
structure, the promycelium or basidium, and this bears later four
sporidia or basidiospores, one on each cell. When the sporidia infect
a plant the mycelium so produced gives origin to aecidiospores and
spermatia; the aecidiospores on infection produce a mycelium which
bears uredospores and later teleutospores. This is the life-history of
the most complicated forms, of the so-called _eu_ forms. In the
_opsis_ forms the uredospores are absent, the mycelium from the
aecidiospores producing directly the teleutospores. In _brachy_ and
_hemi_ the aecidiospores are absent, the mycelium from the sporidia
giving origin directly to the uredospores; the former possess
spermatia, in the latter they are absent. In _lepto_ and _micro_ forms
both aecidiospores and uredospores are absent, the sporidia producing
a mycelium which gives rise directly to teleutospores; in the _lepto_
forms the teleutospores can germinate directly, in the _micro_ forms
only after a period of rest. We have thus a series showing a
progressive reduction in the complexity of the life-history, the
_lepto_ and _micro_ forms having a life-history like that of the
Basidiomycetes. The _eu_ and _opsis_ forms may exhibit the remarkable
phenomenon of heteroecism, i.e. the dependence of the fungus on two
distinct host-plants for the completion of the life-history.
Heteroecism is very common in this group and is now known in over one
hundred and fifty species. In all cases of heteroecism the sporidia
infect one host leading to the production of aecidiospores and
spermatia (if present), while the aecidiospores are only able to
infect another host on which the uredospores (if present) and the
teleutospores are developed. A few examples are appended:

Some of the Uredineae also exhibit the peculiarity of the development
of biologic forms within a single morphological species, sometimes
termed specialization of parasitism; this will be dealt with later
under the section Physiology.

FIG. 17.--_Phragmidium Violaceum._ (After Blackman.)

A, Portion of a young aecidium.

st, Sterile cell.

a, Fertile cells; at a2 the passage of a nucleus from the adjoining
cell is seen.

B, Formation of the first spore-mother-cell (sm), from the basal
cell (a) of one of the rows of spores.

C, A further stage in which from sm1 the first aecidiospore (a) and
the intercalary cell (z) have arisen.

sm2, The second spore-mother-cell.

D, Ripe aecidiospore.]

_Cytology of Uredineae._--The study of the nuclear behaviour of the
cells of the Uredineae has thrown great light on the question of
sexuality. This group like the rest of the Basidiales exhibits an
association of nuclei at some point in its life-history, but unlike
the case of the Basidiomycetes the point of association in the
Uredineae is very well defined in all those forms which possess
aecidiospores. We find thus that in the _eu_ and _opsis_ forms the
association of nuclei takes place at the base of the aecidium which
produces the aecidiospores. There we find an association of nuclei
either by the fusion of two similar cells as described by Christmann
or by the migration of the nucleus of a vegetative cell into a special
cell of the aecidium. After this association the nuclei continue in
the conjugate condition so that the aecidiospores, the
uredospore-bearing mycelium, the uredospores and the young
teleutospores all contain two paired nuclei in their cells (fig. 17).
Before the teleutospore reaches maturity the nuclei fuse, and the
uninucleate condition then continues again until aecidium formation.
In the _hemi_, _brachy_, _micro_ and _lepto_ forms, which possess no
aecidium, we find that the association takes place at various points
in the ordinary mycelium but always before the formation of the
uredospores in the _hemi_ and _brachy_ forms, and before the formation
of teleutospores in _micro_ and _lepto_ form. Whether the association
of nuclei in the ordinary mycelium takes place by the migration of a
nucleus from one cell to another or whether two daughter nuclei become
conjugate in one cell, is not yet clear. The most reasonable
interpretation of the spermatia is that they are abortive male cells.
They have never been found to cause infection, and they have not the
characters of conidia; the large size of their nuclei, the reduction
of their cytoplasm and the absence of reserve material and their thin
cell wall all point to their being male gametes. Although in the forms
without aecidia the two generations are not sharply marked off from
one another, we may look up the generation with single nuclei in the
cells as the gametophyte and that with conjugate nuclei as the
sporophyte. The subjoined diagram will indicate the relationship of
the forms.

_Basidiomycetes._--This group is characterized by its greatly reduced
life-history as compared with that of the _eu_ forms among the
Uredineae. All the forms have the same life-history as the _lepto_
forms of that group, so that there is no longer any trace of sexual
organs. There is also a further reduction in that the basidium is not
derived from a teleutospore but is borne directly on the mycelium.
Formerly, before the relationship of promycelium and basidium were
understood, the Uredineae were considered as quite independent of the
Basidiomycetes. Later, however, these Uredineae were placed as a mere
subdivision of the Basidiomycetes. Although the Uredineae clearly lead
on to the Basidiomycetes, yet owing to their retaining in many cases
definite traces of sexual organs they are clearly a more primitive
group. Their marked parasitic habit also separates them off, so that
they are best included with the Basidiomycetes in a larger cohort
which may be called Basidiales. Most of Basidiomycetes are
characterized by the large sporophore on which the basidia with its
basidiospores are borne.

FIG. 18.]

It must be clearly borne in mind that though the Basidiomycetes show
no traces of differentiated sexual organs yet, like the _micro_ and
_lepto_ forms of the Uredineae, they still show (in the association of
nuclei and later fusion of nuclei in the basidium), a reduced
fertilization which denotes their derivation, through the Uredineae,
from more typically sexual forms. No one has yet made out in any form
the exact way in which the association of nuclei takes place in the
group. The mycelium is always found to contain conjugate nuclei before
the formation of basidia, but the point at which the conjugate
condition arises seems very variable. Miss Nichols finds that it
occurs very soon after the germination of the spore in _Coprinus_, but
no fusion of cells or migration of nuclei was to be observed.

_Protobasidiomycetes._--This, by far the smaller division of
Basidiomycetes, includes those forms which have a septate basidium.
There are three families--Auriculariaceae, Pilacreaceae and
Tremellinaceae. The first named contains a small number of forms with
the basidium divided like the promycelium of the Uredineae. They are
characterized by their gelatinous consistence and large size of their
sporophore. _Hirneola_ (_Auricularia_) _Auricula-Judae_ is the
well-known Jew's Ear, so named from the resemblance of the sporophore
to a human ear.

A, The young plant.

B, The mature plant.

C, Longitudinal section of mature plant.

p, The _pileus_.

g, The gills.

a, The _annulus_, or remnant of _velum partiale_,

v, Remains of _volva_ or _velum universale_.

s, The stalk.]

The Pilacreaceae are a family found by Brefeld to contain the genus
_Pilacre_. _P. Petersii_ has a transversely divided basidium as in
_Auriculariaceae_, but the basidia are surrounded with a peridium-like
sheath. The _Tremellinaceae_ are characterized by the possession of
basidia which are divided by two _vertical_ walls at right angles to
one another. From each of the four segments in the case of _Tremella_
a long outgrowth arises which reaches to the surface of the hymenium
and bears the basidiospores. In _Dacryomyces_ only two outgrowths and
two spores are produced.

_Autobasidiomycetes._--In this by far the larger division of the
Basidiomycetes the basidia are undivided and the four basidiospores
are borne on short sterigmata nearly always at the apex of the
basidium. The group may be divided into two main divisions,
_Hymenomycetes_ and _Gasteromycetes_.

_Hymenomycetes_ are a very large group containing over 11,000 species,
most of which live in soil rich in humus or on fallen wood or stems, a
few only being parasites. In the simplest forms (e.g. _Exobasidium_)
the basidia are borne directly on the ordinary mycelium, but in the
majority of cases the basidia are found developed in layers (hymenium)
on special sporophores of characteristic form in the various groups.
In these sporophores (such as the well-known toadstools and mushrooms
where the ordinary vegetative mycelium is underground) we have
structures specially developed for bearing the basidiospores and
protecting them from rain, &c., and for the distribution of the
spores--see earlier part of article on distribution of spores (figs.
19 and 20). The underground mycelium in many cases spreads wider and
wider each year, often in a circular manner, and the sporophores
springing from it appear in the form of a ring--the so-called fairy
rings. _Armillaria melleus_ and _Polyporus annosus_ are examples of
parasitic forms which attack and destroy living trees, while _Merulius
lacrymans_ is the well-known "dry rot" fungus.

_Gasteromycetes_ are characterized by having closed sporophores or
fruit-bodies which only open after the spores are ripe and then often
merely by a small pore. The fruit-bodies are of very various shapes,
showing a differentiation into an outer _peridium_ and an inner
spore-bearing mass, the _gleba_. The gleba is usually differentiated
into a number of chambers which are lined directly by the hymenium
(basidial layer), or else the chambers contain an interwoven mass of
hyphae, the branches of which bear the basidia. By the breaking down
of the inner tissues the spores often come to lie as a loose powdery
mass in the interior of the hollow fruit-body, mixed sometimes with a
capillitium. The best-known genera are _Bovista, Lycoperdon_
(puff-ball) _Scleroderma, Geaster_ (earth-star, q.v.). In the
last-named genus the peridium is double and the outer layer becomes
ruptured and spreads out in the form of star-shaped pieces; the inner
layer, however, merely opens at the apex by a small pore.

The most complex members of the Gasteromycetes belong to the
_Phalloideae_, which is sometimes placed as a distinct division of the
Autobasidiomycetes. _Phallus impudicus_, the stink-horn, is
occasionally found growing in woods in Britain. The fruit-body before
it ruptures may reach the size of a hen's egg and is white in colour;
from this there grows out a hollow cylindrical structure which can be
distinguished at the distance of several yards by its disgusting
odour. It is highly poisonous.

_Physiology._--The physiology of the fungi comes under the head of that of plants generally, and the works of Pfeffer, Sachs, Vines, Darwin and Klebs may be consulted for details. But we may refer generally here to certain phenomena peculiar to these plants, the life-actions of which are restricted and specialized by their peculiar dependence on organic supplies of carbon and nitrogen, so that most fungi resemble the colourless cells of higher plants in their nutrition. Like these they require water, small but indispensable quantities of salts of potassium, magnesium, sulphur and phosphorus, and supplies of carbonaceous and nitrogenous materials in different stages of complexity in the different cases. Like these, also, they respire oxygen, and are independent of light; and their various powers of growth, secretion, and general metabolism, irritability, and response to external factors show similar specific variations in both cases. It is quite a mistake to suppose that, apart from the chlorophyll function, the physiology of the fungus-cell is fundamentally different from that of ordinary plant-cells. Nevertheless, certain biological phenomena in fungi are especially pronounced, and of these the following require particular notice.

_Parasitism._--Some fungi, though able to live as saprophytes,
occasionally enter the body of living plants, and are thus termed
facultative parasites. The occasion may be a wound (e.g. _Nectria_,
_Dasyscypha_, &c.), or the enfeeblement of the tissues of the host, or
invigoration of the fungus, the mycelium of which then becomes strong
enough to overcome the host's resistance (_Botrytis_). Many fungi,
however, cannot complete their life-history apart from the host-plant.
Such _obligate_ parasites may be epiphytic (_Erysipheae_), the
mycelium remaining on the outside and at most merely sending haustoria
into the epidermal cells, or endophytic (_Uredineae_, _Ustilagineae_,
&c.), when the mycelium is entirely inside the organs of the host. An
epiphytic fungus is not necessarily a parasite, however, as many
saprophytes (moulds, &c.) germinate and develop a loose mycelium on
living leaves, but only enter and destroy the tissues after the leaf
has fallen; in some cases, however, these saprophytic epiphytes can do
harm by intercepting light and air from the leaf (_Fumago_, &c.), and
such cases make it difficult to draw the line between saprophytism and
parasitism. Endophytic parasites may be intracellular, when the fungus
or its mycelium plunges into the cells and destroys their contents
directly (_Olpidium_, _Lagenidium_, _Sclerotinia_, &c.), but they are
far more frequently intercellular, at any rate while young, the
mycelium growing in the lacunae between the cells (_Peronospora_,
_Uredineae_) into which it may send short (_Cystopus_), or long and
branched (_Peronospora Calotheca_) haustoria, or it extends in the
middle lamella (_Ustilago_), or even in the solid substance of the
cell-wall (_Botrytis_). No sharp lines can be drawn, however, since
many mycelia are intercellular at first and subsequently become
intracellular (_Ustilagineae_), and the various stages doubtless
depend on the degrees of resistance which the host tissues are able to
offer. Similar gradations are observed in the direct effect of the
parasite on the host, which may be local (_Hemileia_) when the
mycelium never extends far from the point of infection, or general
(_Phytophthora_) when it runs throughout the plant. Destructive
parasites rapidly ruin the whole plant-body (_Pythium_), whereas
restrained parasites only tax the host slightly, and ill effects may
not be visible for a long time, or only when the fungus is epidemic
(_Rhytisma_). A parasite may be restricted during a long
incubation-period, however, and rampant and destructive later
(_Ustilago_). The latter fact, as well as the extraordinary
fastidiousness, so to speak, of parasites in their choice of hosts or
of organs for attack, point to reactions on the part of the
host-plant, as well as capacities on that of the parasite, which may
be partly explained in the light of what we now know regarding enzymes
and chemotropism. Some parasites attack many hosts and almost any
tissue or organ (_Botrytis cinerea_), others are restricted to one
family (_Cystopus Candidus_) or genus (_Phytophthora infestans_) or
even species (_Pucciniastrum Padi_), and it is customary to speak of
root-parasites, leaf-parasites, &c., in expression of the fact that a
given parasite occurs only on such organs--e.g. _Dematophora necatrix_
on roots, _Calyptospora Goeppertiana_ on stems, _Ustilago Scabiosae_
in anthers, _Claviceps purpurea_ in ovaries, &c. Associated with these
relations are the specializations which parasites show in regard to
the age of the host. Many parasites can enter a seedling, but are
unable to attack the same host when older--e.g. _Pythium_,
_Phytophthora omnivora_.

_Chemotropism._--Taken in conjunction with Pfeffer's beautiful
discovery that certain chemicals exert a distinct attractive influence
on fungus hyphae (_chemotropism_), and the results of Miyoshi's
experimental application of it, the phenomena of enzyme-secretion
throw considerable light on the processes of infection and parasitism
of fungi. Pfeffer showed that certain substances in definite
concentrations cause the tips of hyphae to turn towards them; other
substances, though not innutritious, repel them, as also do nutritious
bodies if too highly concentrated. Marshall Ward showed that the
hyphae of _Botrytis_ pierce the cell-walls of a lily by secreting a
cytase and dissolving a hole through the membrane. Miyoshi then
demonstrated that if _Botrytis_ is sown in a lamella of gelatine, and
this lamella is superposed on another similar one to which a
chemotropic substance is added, the tips of the hyphae at once turn
from the former and enter the latter. If a thin cellulose membrane is
interposed between the lamellae, the hyphae nevertheless turn
chemotropically from the one lamella to the other and pierce the
cellulose membrane in the process. The hyphae will also dissolve their
way through a lamella of collodion, paraffin, parchment paper,
elder-pith, or even cork or the wing of a fly, to do which it must
excrete very different enzymes. If the membrane is of some impermeable
substance, like gold leaf, the hyphae cannot dissolve its way through,
but the tip finds the most minute pore and traverses the barrier by
means of it, as it does a stoma on a leaf We may hence conclude that a
parasitic hyphae pierces some plants or their stomata and refuses to
enter others, because in the former case there are chemotropically
attractive substances present which are absent from the latter, or are
there replaced by repellent poisonous or protective substances such as
enzymes or antitoxins.

_Specialization of Parasitism._--The careful investigations of recent
years have shown that in several groups of fungi we cannot be content
to distinguish as units morphologically different species, but we are
compelled to go deeper and analyse further the species. It has been
shown especially in the _Uredineae_ and _Erysiphaceae_ that many forms
which can hardly be distinguished morphologically, or which cannot be
differentiated at all by structural characters, are not really
homogeneous but consist of a number of forms which are sharply
distinguishable by their infecting power. Eriksson found, for example,
that the well-known species _Puccinia graminis_ could be split up into
a number of forms which though morphologically similar were
physiologically distinct. He found that the species really consisted
of six distinct races, each having a more or less narrow range of
grasses on which it can live. The six races he named _P. graminis
Secalis_, _Tritici_, _Avenae_, _Airae_, _Agrostis_, _Poae_. The first
named will grow on rye and barley but not on wheat or oat. The form
_Tritici_ is the least sharply marked and will grow on wheat, barley,
rye and oat but not on the other grasses. The form _Avenae_ will grow
on oat and many grasses but not on the other three cereals mentioned.
The last three forms grow only on the genera _Aira_, _Agrostis_ and
_Poa_ respectively. All these forms have of course their
aecidium-stage on the barberry. The terms biologic forms, biological
species, physiological species, physiological races, specialized forms
have all been applied to these; perhaps the term biologic forms is the
most satisfactory. A similar specialization has been observed by
Marshall Ward in the _Puccinia_ parasitic on species of _Bromus_, and
by Neger, Marchal and especially Salmon in the Erysiphaceae. In the
last-named family the single morphological species _Erysiphe graminis_
is found growing on the cereals, barley, oat, wheat, rye and a number
of wild grasses (such as _Poa_, _Bromus_, _Dactylis_). On each of
these host-plants the fungus has become specialized so that the form
on barley cannot infect the other three cereals or the wild grasses
and so on. Just as the uredospores and aecidiospores both show these
specialized characters in the case of _Puccinia graminis_ so we find
that both the conidia and ascospores of _E. graminis_ show this
phenomenon. Salmon has further shown in investigating the relation of
_E. graminis_ to various species of the genus, _Bromus_, that certain
species may act as "bridging species," enabling the transfer of a
biologic form to a host-plant which it cannot normally infect. Thus
the biologic form on _B. racemosus_ cannot infect _B. commutatus_. If,
however, conidia from _B. racemosus_ are sown on _B. hordaceus_, the
conidia which develop on that plant are now able to infect _B.
commutatus_; thus _B. hordaceus_ acts as a bridging species. Salmon
also found that injury of a leaf by mechanical means, by heat, by
anaesthetics, &c., would affect the immunity of the plant and allow
infection by conidia which was not able to enter a normal leaf. The
effect of the abnormal conditions is probably to stop the production
of, or weaken or destroy the protective enzymes or antitoxins, the
presence of which normally confers immunity on the leaf.

_Symbiosis._--The remarkable case of life in common first observed in
lichens, where a fungus and an alga unite to form a compound
organism--the lichen--totally different from either, has now been
proved to be universal in these plants, and lichens are in all cases
merely algae enmeshed in the interwoven hyphae of fungi (see LICHENS).
This dualism, where the one constituent (alga) furnishes
carbohydrates, and the other (fungus) ensures a supply of mineral
matters, shade and moisture, has been termed _symbiosis_. Since then
numerous other cases of symbiosis have been demonstrated. Many trees
are found to have their smaller roots invaded by fungi and deformed by
their action, but so far from these being injurious, experiments go to
show that this mycorhiza (fungus-root) is necessary for the well-being
of the tree. This is also the case with numerous other plants of moors
and woodlands--e.g. Ericaceae, Pyrolaceae, Gentianaceae, Orchidaceae,
ferns, &c. Recent experiments have shown that the difficulties of
getting orchid seeds to germinate are due to the absence of the
necessary fungus, which must be in readiness to infect the young
seedling immediately after it emerges from the seed. The well-known
failures with rhododendrons, heaths, &c., in ordinary garden soils are
also explained by the need of the fungus-infected peat for their
roots. The role of the fungus appears to be to supply materials from
the leaf-mould around, in forms which ordinary root-hairs are
incapable of providing for the plant; in return the latter supports
the fungus at slight expense from its abundant stores of reserve
materials. Numerous other cases of symbiosis have been discovered
among the fungi of fermentation, of which those between _Aspergillus_
and yeast in sake manufacture, and between yeasts and bacteria in
kephir and in the ginger-beer plant are best worked out. For cases of
symbiosis see BACTERIOLOGY.

AUTHORITIES.--_General_: Engler and Prantl, _Die naturlichen
Pflanzenfamilien_, i. Teil (1892 onwards); Zopf, _Die Pilze_ (Breslau,
1890); De Bary, _Comparative Morphology of Fungi_, &c. (Oxford, 1887);
von Tafel, _Vergleichende Morphologie der Pilze_ (Jena, 1892);
Brefeld, _Unters. aus dem Gesamtgebiete der Mykologie_, Heft i. 13
(1872-1905); Lotsy, _Vortrage uber botanische Stammesgeschichte_
(Jena, 1907). _Distribution_, &c.: Cooke, _Introduction to the Study
of Fungi_ (London, 1895); Felix in _Zeitschr. d. deutsch. geologisch.
Gesellsch._ (1894-1896); Staub, _Sitzungsber. d. bot. Sec. d. Kgl.
ungarischen naturwiss. Gesellsch. zu Budapest_ (1897). _Anatomy_, &c.:
Bommer, "Sclerotes et cordons myceliens," _Mem. de l'Acad. Roy. de
Belg._ (1894); Mangin, "Observ. sur la membrane des mucorinees,"
_Journ. de Bot._ (1899); Zimmermann, _Die Morph. und Physiologie des
Pflanzenzellkernes_ (Jena, 1896); Wisselingh, "Microchem. Unters. uber
die Zellwande d. Fungi," _Pringsh. Jahrb._ B. 31, p. 619 (1898);
Istvanffvi, "Unters. uber die phys. Anat. der Pilze," _Prings. Jahrb._
(1896). _Spore Distribution_: Fulton, "Dispersal of the Spores of
Fungi by Insects," _Ann. Bot._ (1889); Falck, "Die Sporenverbreitung
bei den Basidiomyceten," _Beitr. zur Biol. d. Pflanzen_, ix. (1904).
_Spores and Sporophores_: Zopf, _Die Pilze_; also the works of von
Tafel and Brefeld. _Classification_: van Tieghem, _Journ. de bot._ p.
77 (1893), and the works of Brefeld, Engler and Prantl, von Tafel,
Saccardo and Lotsy already cited, _Oomycetes_: Wager, "On the
Fertilization of _Peronospora parasitica_," _Ann. Bot._ vol. xiv.
(1900); Stevens, "The Compound Oosphere of _Albugo Bliti_," _Bot.
Gaz._ vol. 28 (1899); "Gametogenesis and Fertilization in _Albugo_,"
ibid. vol. 32 (1901); Miyake, "The Fertilization of _Pythium de
Baryanum_," _Ann. of Bot._ vol. xv. (1901); Trow, "On Fertilization in
the Saprolegnieae," _Ann. of Bot._ vol. xviii. (1904); Thaxter, "New
and Peculiar Aquatic Fungi," _Bot. Gaz._ vol. 20 (1895); Lagerheim,
"Unters. uber die Monoblepharideae," _Bih. Svenska Vet. Acad.
Handlingar_, 25. Afd. iii. (1900); Woronin, "Beitrag zur Kenntnis der
Monoblepharideen," _Mem. de l'Acad. Imp. d. Sc. de St-Petersbourg_, 8
ser. vol. 16 (1902). _Zygomycetes_: Harper, "Cell-division in
Sporangia and Asci," _Ann. Bot._ vol. xiii. (1899); Klebs, _Die
Bedingungen der Fortpflanzung_, &c. (Jena, 1896), and "Zur Physiologie
der Fortpflanzung" _Prings. Jahr._ (1898 and 1899), "Uber _Sporodinia
grandis_," _Bot. Zeit._ (1902); Falck, "Die Bedingungen der
Zygotenbildung bei Sporodinia grandis," Cohn's Beitr. z. Biol. d.
Pflanzen, Bd. 8 (1902); Gruber "Verhalten der Zellkerne in den
Zygosporen von _Sporodinia grandis_," _Ber. d. deutschen bot. Ges._
Bd. 19 (1901); Blakeslee, "Sexual Reproduction in the Mucorineae,"
_Proc. Am. Acad._ (1904); "Zygospore germination in the Mucorineae,"
_Annales mycologici_ (1906). _Ustilagineae_: Plowright, _British
Uredineae and Ustilagineae_ (London, 1889); Massee, _British Fungi_
(Phycomycetes and Ustilagineae) (London, 1891); Brefeld, _Unters. aus
dem Gesamtgeb. der Mykol._ Hefte xi. and xii.; and Falck, "Die
Bluteninfektion bei den Brandpilzen," ibid. Heft xiii. 1905; Dangeard,
"La Reproduction sexuelle des Ustilaginees," C.R., Oct. 9, 1893;
Maire, "Recherches cytologiques et taxonomiques sur les
Basidiomyceten," _Annexe au Bull. de la Soc. Mycol. de France_ (1902).
_Saccharomycetaceae_: Jorgensen, _The Micro-organisms of Fermentation_
(1899); Barker, _Ann. of Bot._ vol. xiv. (1901); "On Spore-formation
among the Saccharomycetes," _Journ. of the Fed. Institute of Brewing_,
vol. 8 (1902); Guillermond, _Recherches cytologiques sur les levures_
(Paris, 1902); Hansen, _Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Parasitenp._ Abt. ii.
Bd. 12 (1904). _Exoascaceae_: Giesenhagen, "_Taphrina, Exoascus,
Magnusiella_" (complete literature given), _Bot. Zeit._ Bd. 7 (1901).
_Erysiphaceae_: Harper, "Die Entwicklung des Perithecium bei
_Sphaerotheca castagnei_," _Ber. d. deut bot Ges._ (1896); "Sexual
Reproduction and the Organization of the Nucleus in certain Mildews,"
_Publ. Carnegie Institution_ (Washington, 1906); Blackman & Fraser,
"Fertilization in _Sphaerotheca_," _Ann. of Bot._ (1905).
_Perisporiaceae_: Brefeld, _Untersuchungen aus dem Gesamtgeb. der
Mykol._ Heft 10 (1891); Fraser and Chamber, _Annales mycologici_
(1907). _Discomycetes_: Harper, "Uber das Verhalten der Kerne bei
Ascomyceten," _Jahr. f. wiss. Bot._ Bd. 29 (1890); "Sexual
Reproduction in _Pyronema confluens_," _Ann. of Bot._ 14 (1900);
Claussen, "Zur Entw. der Ascomyceten," Boudiera, Bot. Zeit. Bd. 63
(1905); Dangeard, "Sur le _Pyronema confluens_," _Le Botaniste_, 9
serie (1903) (and numerous papers in same journal earlier and later);
Ramlow, "Zur Entwick. von _Thelebolus stercoren_," _Bot. Zeit._
(1906); Woronin, "Uber die Sclerotienkrankheit der Vaccineen Beeren,"
_Mem. de l'Acad. Imp. des Sciences de St-Petersbourg_, 7 serie, 36
(1888); Dittrich, "Zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der Helvellineen,"
Cohn's _Beitr. z. Biol. d. Pflanzen_ (1892). _Pyrenomycetes_: Fisch,
"Beitr. z. Entwickelungsgeschichte einiger Ascomyceten," _Bot. Zeit._
(1882); Frank, "Uber einige neue u. weniger bekannte Pflanzkrankh.,"
_Landw. Jahrb._ Bd. 12 (1883); Ward, "_Onygena equina_, a
horn-destroying fungus," _Phil. Trans._, vol. 191 (1899); Dawson, "On
the Biology of Poroniapunctata," Ann. of Bot. 14 (1900). _Tuberineae_:
Buchholtz, "Zur Morphologie u. Systematik der Fungi hypogaei," _Ann.
Mycol._ Bd. 1 (1903); Fischer in Engler and Prantl, _Die naturlichen
Pflanzenfamilien_ (1896). _Laboulbeniineae_: Thaxter, "Monograph of
the Laboulbeniaceae," _Mem. Amer. Acad. of Arts and Sciences_, vol. 12
(1895). _Uredineae_: Eriksson and Henning, _Die Getreideroste_
(Stockholm, 1896); Eriksson, _Botan. Gaz._ vol. 25 (1896); "On the
Vegetative Life of some Uredineae," Ann. of Bot. (1905); Klebahn, _Die
wirtwechselnden Rostpilze_ (Berlin, 1904); Sapin-Trouffy, "Recherches
histologiques sur la famille des Uredinees," _Le Botaniste_
(1896-1897); Blackman, "On the Fertilization, Alternation of
Generations and General Cytology of the Uredineae," _Ann. of Bot._
vol. 18 (1904); Blackman and Fraser, "Further Studies on the Sexuality
of Uredineae," _Ann. of Bot._ vol. 20 (1906); Christman, "Sexual
Reproduction of Rusts," _Ann. of Bot._ vol. 20 (1906); Ward, "The
Brooms and their Rust Fungus," _Ann. of Bot._ vol. 15 (1901).
_Basidiomycetes_: Dangeard, "La Reprod. sexuelle des Basidiomycetes,"
_Le Botaniste_ (1894 and 1900); Maire, "Recherches cytologiques et
taxonomiques sur les Basidiomycetes," _Annexe du Bull. de la Soc.
Mycol. de France_ (1902); Moller, "Protobasidiomyceten," _Schimper's
Mitt. aus den Tropen_, Heft 8 (Jena, 1895); Nichols, "The Nature and
Origin of the Binucleated Cells in certain Basidiomycetes," _Trans.
Wisconsin Acad. of Sciences_, vol. 15 (1905); Wager, "The Sexuality of
the Fungi," _Ann. of Bot._ 13 (1899); Woronin, "_Exobasidium
Vaccinii_," _Verh. Naturf. Ges. zu Freiburg_, Bd. 4 (1867).
_Fermentation_: Buchner, "Gahrung ohne Hefezellen," _Bot. Zeit._ Bd.
18 (1898); Albert, _Cent. f. Bakt._ Bd. 17 (1901); Green, _The
Soluble Ferments and Fermentation_ (Cambridge, 1899). _Parasitism_:
"On some Relations between Host and Parasite," _Proc. Roy. Soc_. vol.
47 (1890); "A Lily Disease," _Ann. of Botany_, vol. 2 (1888); Eriksson
& Hennings, _Die Getreideroste (vide supra_); Ward, "On the Question
of Predisposition and Immunity in Plants," _Proc. Cambridge Phil.
Soc_. vol. 11 (1902); also _Annals of Bot_. vol. 16 (1902) and vol. 19
(1905); Neger, "Beitr. z. Biol. d. Erysipheen" _Flora_, Bde. 88 and 90
(1901-1902); Salmon, "Cultural Experiments with 'Biologic Forms' of
the Erysiphaceae," _Phil. Trans_. (1904); "On Erysiphe graminis and
its adaptative parasitism within the genus, _Bromus_," _Ann. Mycol_.
vol. 11 (1904), also _Ann. of Bot_. vol. 19 (1905). _Symbiosis_: Ward,
"The Ginger-Beer Plant," _Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc_. (1892); "Symbiosis,"
_Ann. of Bot_. 13 (1899); Shalk, "Der Sinn der Mykorrhizenbildung,"
_Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot_. Bd. 34 (1900); Bernard, "On some Different
Cases of Germination," _Gardener's Chronicle_ (1900); Pierce, _Publ.
Univ. California_ (1900). (H. M. W.; V. H. B.)

FUNJ (FUNNIYEH, FUNG, FUNGHA), a very mixed negroid race, occupying parts of Sennar and the hilly country to the south between the White and Blue Niles. They traditionally come from west of the White Nile and are affiliated by some to the Kordofan Nubas, by others, more justifiably, to the negro Shilluks. These Funj, who became the dominant race in Sennar in the 15th century, almost everywhere assimilated the speech, religion and habits of the Arabs settled in that region. Until the 19th century they were one of the most powerful of African peoples in the eastern Sudan. About the end of the 15th century they overthrew the kingdom of Aloa, between the two Niles, and conquered the neighbouring peoples of the Sudan, Nubia and even Kordofan. The Funj had mixed much with the Arabs before their conquests, and had been converted to Islam. But they were still in many ways savages, for James Bruce (who traversed the district in 1772) says that their most famous king, Malek-el-Gahman, preferred human liver to any other food, and the Belgian traveller E. Pruyssenaere (1826-1864) found them still performing pagan rites on their sacred Mount Gula. Ernst Marno declared that as late as 1870 the most southern branch of the race, the Boruns, a non-Arabic speaking tribe, were cannibals. The Funj kings were content with levying tribute on their neighbours, and in this loose way Shendi, Berber and Dongola were once tributary. The Arab viziers gradually absorbed all power, the Funj sovereignty becoming nominal; and in 1821 the Egyptians easily destroyed the Funj domination. To-day the Funj are few, and represent no real type. They are a bright, hospitable folk. Many of them are skilful surgeons and go far afield in their work. The fellahin, indeed, call surgeons "Senaari" (men of Sennar). See further SENNAR AND SUDAN (Anglo-Egyptian).

FUNKIA, in botany, a genus of rather handsome, hardy, herbaceous plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceae, and natives of China and Japan. They are tuberous, with broadly ovate or heart-shaped leaves and racemes of white or pale lilac, drooping, funnel-shaped flowers. They are useful for the borders of a shrubbery, the lawn or rock-work, or may be grown in pots for the greenhouse. The plants are propagated by dividing the crowns in autumn or when growth begins in spring.

FUNNEL (through an O. Fr. _founil_, found in Breton, from Lat. _infundibulum_, that through which anything is poured, from _fundere_, to pour), a vessel shaped like a cone having a small tube at the apex through which powder, liquid, &c., may be easily passed into another vessel with a small opening. The term is used in metal-casting of the hole through which the metal is poured into a mould, and in anatomy and zoology of an _infundibulum_ or funnel-shaped organ. The word is thus used generally of any shaft or passage to convey light, air or smoke, as of the chimney of an engine or a steam-boat, or the flue of an ordinary chimney. It is also used of a shaft or channel in rocks, and in the decoying of wild-fowl is applied to the cone-shaped passage leading from a pond and covered with a net, a "funnel-net," into which the birds are decoyed.

FUR (connected with O. Fr. _forre_, a sheath or case; so "an outer covering"), the name specially given to the covering of the skin in certain animals which are natives of the colder climates, lying alongside of another and longer covering, called the overhair. The fur differs from the overhair, in that it is soft, silky, curly, downy and barbed lengthwise, while the overhair is straight, smooth and comparatively rigid. These properties of fur constitute its essential value for felting purposes, and mark its difference from wool and silk; the first, after some slight preparation by the aid of hot water, readily unites its fibres into a strong and compact mass; the others can best be managed by spinning and weaving.

On the living animal the overhair keeps the fur filaments apart, prevents their tendency to felt, and protects them from injury--thus securing to the animal an immunity from cold and storm; while, as a matter of fact, this very overhair, though of an humbler name, is most generally the beauty and pride of the pelt, and marks its chief value with the furrier. We arrive thus at two distinct and opposite uses and values of fur. Regarded as useful for felt it is denominated staple fur, while with respect to its use with and on the pelt it is called fancy fur.

_History._--The manufacture of fur into a felt is of comparatively modern origin, while the use of fur pelts as a covering for the body, for the couch, or for the tent is coeval with the earliest history of all northern tribes and nations. Their use was not simply a barbarous expedient to defend man from the rigours of an arctic winter; woven wool alone cannot, in its most perfect form, accomplish this. The pelt or skin is requisite to keep out the piercing wind and driving storm, while the fur and overhair ward off the cold; and "furs" are as much a necessity to-day among more northern peoples as they ever were in the days of barbarism. With them the providing of this necessary covering became the first purpose of their toil; subsequently it grew into an object of barter and traffic, at first among themselves, and afterwards with their neighbours of more temperate climes; and with the latter it naturally became an article of fashion, of ornament and of luxury. This, in brief, has been the history of its use in China, Tatary, Russia, Siberia and North America, and at present the employment of fancy furs among civilized nations has grown to be more extensive than at any former period.

The supply of this demand in earlier times led to such severe competition as to terminate in tribal pillages and even national wars; and in modern times it has led to commercial ventures on the part of individuals and companies, the account of which, told in its plainest form, reads like the pages of romance. Furs have constituted the price of redemption for royal captives, the gifts of emperors and kings, and the peculiar badge of state functionaries. At the present day they vie with precious gems and gold as ornaments and garniture for wealth and fashion; but by their abundance, and the cheapness of some varieties, they have recently come within the reach of men of moderate incomes. The history of furs can be read in Marco Polo, as he grows eloquent with the description of the rich skins of the khan of Tatary; in the early fathers of the church, who lament their introduction into Rome and Byzantium as an evidence of barbaric and debasing luxury; in the political history of Russia, stretching out a powerful arm over Siberia to secure her rich treasures; in the story of the French occupation of Canada, and the ascent of the St Lawrence to Lake Superior, and the subsequent contest to retain possession against England; in the history of early settlements of New England, New York and Virginia; in Irving's _Astoria_; in the records of the Hudson's Bay Company; and in the annals of the fairs held at Nizhniy Novgorod and Leipzig. Here it may suffice to give some account of the present condition of the trade in fancy furs. The collection of skins is now chiefly a matter of private enterprise. Few, if any, monopolies exist.

_Natural Supplies._--We are dependent upon the Carnivora, Rodentia, Ungulata and Marsupialia for our supplies of furs, the first two classes being by far of the greatest importance. The Carnivora include bears, wolverines, wolves, raccoons, foxes, sables, martens, skunks, kolinskis, fitch, fishers, ermines, cats, sea otters, fur seals, hair seals, lions, tigers, leopards, lynxes, jackals, &c. The Rodentia include beavers, nutrias, musk-rats or musquash, marmots, hamsters, chinchillas, hares, rabbits, squirrels, &c. The Ungulata include Persian, Astrachan, Crimean, Chinese and Tibet lambs, mouflon, guanaco, goats, ponies, &c. The Marsupialia include opossums, wallabies and kangaroos. These, of course, could be subdivided, but for general purposes of the fur trade the above is deemed sufficient.

The question frequently arises, not only for those interested in the production of fur apparel, but for those who derive so much comfort and pleasure from its use, whether the supply of fur-bearing animals is likely to be exhausted. Although it is a fact that the demand is ever increasing, and that some of the rarer animals are decreasing in numbers, yet on the other hand some kinds of furs are occasionally neglected through vagaries of fashion, which give nature an opportunity to replenish their source. These respites are, however, becoming fewer every day, and what were formerly the most neglected kinds of furs are becoming more and more sought after. The supply of some of the most valuable, such as sable, silver and natural black fox, sea otter and ermine, which are all taken from animals of a more or less shy nature, does very gradually decrease with persistent hunting and the encroachment of man upon the districts where they live, but the climate of these vast regions is so cold and inhospitable that the probabilities of man ever permanently inhabiting them in numbers sufficient to scare away or exterminate the fur-bearing wild animals is unlikely. Besides these there are many useful, though commonplace, fur-bearing animals like mink, musquash, skunk, raccoon, opossum, hamster, rabbit, hares and moles, that thrive by depredations upon cultivated land. Some of these are reared upon extensive wild farms. In addition there are domestic fur-bearing animals, such as Persian, Astrachan and Chinese lambs, and goats, easily bred and available.

With regard to the rearing of the Persian lamb, there is a prevalent idea that the skins of the unborn lamb are frequently used; this, however, is a mistake. A few such skins have been taken, but they are too delicate to be of any service. The youngest, known as "broadtails," are killed when a few days old, but for the well-developed curly fur, the lambs must be six or seven weeks old. During these weeks their bodies are covered with leather so that the fur may develop in close, light and clean curls. The experiment has been tried of rearing rare, wild, fur-bearing animals in captivity, and although climatic conditions and food have been precisely as in their natural environment, the fur has been poor in quality and bad in colour, totally unlike that taken from animals in the wild state. The sensation of fear or the restriction of movement and the obtaining of food without exertion evidently prevent the normal development of the creature.

In mountainous districts in the more temperate zones some good supplies are found. Chinchillas and nutrias are obtained from South America, whence come also civet cats, jaguars, ocelots and pumas. Opossums and wallabies, good useful furs, come from Australia and New Zealand. The martens, foxes and otters imported from southern Europe and southern Asia, are very mixed in quality, and the majority are poor compared with those of Canada and the north.

Certain characteristics In the skin reveal to the expert from what section of territory they come, but in classifying them it is considered sufficient to mention territories only.

Some of the poorer sorts of furs, such as hamster, marmot, Chinese goats and lambs, Tatar ponies, weasels, kaluga, various monkeys, antelopes, foxes, otters, jackals and others from the warmer zones, which until recently were neglected on account of their inferior quality of colour, by the better class of the trade, are now being deftly dressed or dyed in Europe and America, and good effects are produced, although the lack of quality when compared with the better furs from colder climates which possess full top hair, close underwool and supple leathers, is readily manifest. It is only the pressure of increasing demand that makes marketable hard pelts with harsh brittle hair of nondescript hue, and these would, naturally, be the last to attract the notice of dealers.

As it is impossible that we shall ever discover any new fur-bearing animals other than those we know, it behoves responsible authorities to enforce close seasons and restrictions, as to the sex and age, in the killing for the purpose of equalizing the numbers of the catches. As evidence of indiscriminate slaughter the case of the American buffaloes may be cited. At one time thousands of buffalo skins were obtainable and provided material for most useful coats and rugs for rough wear in cold regions, but to-day only a herd or so of the animals remain, and in captivity.

The majority of animals taken for their fur are trapped or snared, the gun being avoided as much as possible in order that the coat may be quite undamaged. Many weary hours are spent in setting baits, traps and wires, and, frequently, when the hunter retraces his steps to collect the quarry it is only to find it gone, devoured by some large animal that has visited his traps before him. After the skins have been carefully removed--the sooner after death the better for the subsequent condition of the fur--they are lightly tacked out, pelt outwards, and, without being exposed to the sun or close contact with a fire, allowed to dry in a hut or shady place where there is some warmth or movement of air. With the exception of sealskins, which are pickled in brine, all raw skins come to the various trade markets simply dried like this.

_Quality and Colour._--The best fur is obtained by killing animals when the winter is at its height and the colder the season the better its quality and colour. Fur skins taken out of season are indifferent, and the hair is liable to shed itself freely; a good furrier will, however, reject such faulty specimens in the manufacturing. The finest furs are obtained from the Arctic and northern regions, and the lower the latitude the less full and silky the fur, till, at the torrid zone, fur gives place to harsh hair without any underwool. The finest and closest wools are possessed by the amphibious Carnivora and Rodentia, viz. seals, otters, beavers, nutrias and musquash, the beauty of which is not seen until after the stiff water or top hairs are pulled out or otherwise removed. In this class of animal the underneath wool of the belly is thicker than that of the back, while the opposite is true of those found on the land. The sea otter, one of the richest and rarest of furs, especially for men's wear, is an exception to this unhairing process, which it does not require, the hair being of the same length as the wool, silky and bright, quite the reverse of the case of other aquatic animals.

Of sealskins there are two distinct classes, the fur seals and the hair seals. The latter have no growth of fur under the stiff top hair and are killed, with few exceptions (generally of the marbled seals), on account of the oil and leather they yield. The best fur seals are found off the Alaska coast and down as far south as San Francisco.

It is found that in densely wooded districts furs are darker in colour than in exposed regions, and that the quality of wool and hair is softer and more silky than those from bare tracts of country, where nature exacts from its creatures greater efforts to secure food, thereby developing stronger limbs and a consequently coarser body covering.

As regards density of colour the skunk or black marten has the blackest fur, and some cats of the domestic kind, specially reared for their fur, are nearly black. Black bears have occasionally very black coats, but the majority have a brownish underwool. The natural black fox is a member of the silver fox family and is very rare, the skins bringing a high price. Most silver foxes have dark necks and in some the dark shade runs a quarter, half-way, or three-quarters, or even the whole length of the skin, but it is rather of a brownish hue. Some Russian sables are of a very dense bluish brown almost a black, which is the origin undoubtedly of the term "sables," while some, from one district in particular, have a quantity of silver hairs, evenly interspersed in the fur, a peculiarity which has nothing to do with age. The best sea otters have very dark coats which are highly esteemed, a few with silver hairs in parts; where these are equally and evenly spread the skins are very valuable. Otters and beavers that run dark in the hair or wool are more valuable than the paler ones, the wools of which are frequently touched with a chemical to produce a golden shade. This is also done with nutrias after unhairing. The darker sorts of mink, musquash, raccoon and wolverine are more valuable than the paler skins.

_Collective Supplies and Sales._--There are ten large American and Canadian companies with extensive systems for gathering the annual hauls of skins from the far-scattered trappers. These are the Hudson's Bay Co., Russian Fur Co., Alaska Commercial Co., North American Commercial Co., Russian Sealskin Co., Harmony Fur Co., Royal Greenland Fur Co., American Fur Co., Missouri Co. and Pacific Co. Most of the raw skins are forwarded to about half-a-dozen brokers in London, who roughly sort them in convenient lots, issuing catalogues to the traders of the world, and after due time for examination of the goods by intending purchasers, the lots are sold by public auction. The principal sales of general furs are held in London in January and March, smaller offerings being made in June and October; while the bulk of fur sealskins is sold separately in December. The Hudson's Bay Co.'s sales take place before the others, and, as no reserves are placed on any lot, the results are taken as exactly indicating current values. While many buyers from America and Russia are personally in attendance at the sales, many more are represented by London and Leipzig agents who buy for them upon commission. In addition to the fur skins coming from North America vast numbers from Russia, Siberia, China, Japan, Australia and South America are offered during the same periods at public auction. Fairs are also held in Siberia, Russia and Germany for the distribution of fur skins as follows:--

January: Frankfort-on-the- Small collection of provincial produce,
Oder such as otter, fox, fitch and marten.

February: Irbit, Siberia General Russian furs.

Easter: Leipzig, Germany General furs.

August: Nizhniy Novgorod, Persian lamb and general furs.
Russia

August: Kiakhta, Siberia Chinese furs and ermine.

December: Ishim, Siberia Chiefly squirrels.

Of course there are many transactions, generally in the cheaper and coarser kinds of furs, used only in central Europe, Russia and Asia which in no way interest the London market, and there are many direct consignments of skins from collectors in America and Russia to London, New York and Leipzig merchants. But the bulk of the fine furs of the world is sold at the large public trade auction sales in London. The chief exceptions are the Persian and Astrachan lambs, which are bought at the Russian fairs, and are dressed and dyed in Leipzig, and the ermine and Russian squirrels, which are dressed and manufactured into linings either in Russia or Germany before offered for sale to the wholesale merchants or manufacturers.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Frost" to "Fyzabad"Chapter I: Functions of Real Variables (9)

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