hundred and fifty pounds, and that its skeleton was nineteen feet long. I will show you a picture of this ring in Gesner's book when we get home. [Illustration] WALK X. OCTOBER. How pleasant is the season of autumn, with its yellow fields of ripe corn, and its orchards laden with the fruits of the apple and the pear. But now the golden grain is safely stored. The birds, too, have done singing, with the exception of the robin and the hedge-warbler, which even in the winter occasionally cheer us with their welcome notes. There are yet, however, a few wild flowers to interest us, and the ferns are still beautiful. The various kinds of fungi are springing up in the fields and woodlands; it is a charming day for a stroll; we will drive to the Wrekin and explore the woods at its base. I am sure we shall be able to meet with many pretty forms. The woods are rendered extremely beautiful by the rich autumnal tints of the foliage. We will go through this wicket and follow the path in the direction of Ten-Tree Hill. Now, who will be the first to find the bright scarlet fly agaric? It is a poisonous species, though so beautiful. We will put the wholesome fungi in one basket and the suspected ones in another. Here you see is the elegant parasol fungus, with its tall stem and top spotted with brown flakes; it is a most delicious one to eat, and in my opinion is superior to the common mushroom. "Shall we find the beefsteak fungus, papa?" said Willy. I have never seen it growing here; the beefsteak fungus prefers to grow on very old oak trees, and it is, moreover, by no means common. It is so called from its resemblance to a beefsteak when cut through; a reddish gravy-like juice flows from the wound, and I think the whole fungus when young very inviting. I have on three or four occasions eaten this species, but I do not think it a very palatable one, though perfectly wholesome and doubtless nutritious. Here is a quantity of _Amanita phalloides_, very beautiful with its green tints and white stem; but I should not like to eat any of this kind. Do you notice what a very unpleasant smell it has? [Illustration: FUNGI. 1.--Beef-steak Fungus. 2.--Latticed Stinkhorn, (very rare.) 3.--Boletus. 4.--Hedgehog Mushroom. 5.--Fly Agaric. 6.--Clavaria. 7.--Bird's-nest Fungus; b, Sporangium of ditto, magnified.]