The following pretty but fanciful allusions to the fungi found n woods is from a description of a woodland walk by Madame Gas-par in:-

"They are a singular race, and full of mystery. There are good and bad among them. I am not speaking of their poisonous properties, but of their outward shape and bearing. Some are delicate, milk-white, planted in circles, as if to mark the spot where fairies danced last night. Others are solitary, blackish, livid, treacherousa bright flame, while the larch, from its toughness and compactness, resists the action of fire; so that its wood is recommended for the beams of houses, as a beam of pine or dry oak will be in a blaze before one made of larch will be charred.

The ash is also said to be, in point of utility, little inferior to the oak; it has been called "the husbandman's tree," nothing being equal to it for agricultural implements; while its roots being finely veined and susceptible of a good polish, make beautiful articles of furniture. The lime, box, and larch, claim consideration as the trees used by carvers, engravers, and artists : the first being the wood used by the celebrated Grinling Gibbons for his exquisite imitations of fruit and flowers, wherewith so many old mansion-houses are decorated; the box is used by wood-engravers for the blocks on which their designs are cut; and the larch furnished panels on which Raphael and other masters painted many of their immortal works. Larch will also take high polish, and may be wrought into beautiful wainscot. Elm and elm-roots, walnut, birch, laburnum and yew, all are capable of being wrought into looking, planning some crime apart. Those, purple lined with orange, display their magnificent attire in the midst of a crowd of gray knobs, that stand round at respectful distances, pachas in their harems! These, bright as silver, smooth as silk, a satin dome above, ivory gills below. There are some rainbow-coloured, some of pale gold. Whence do they come? - whither do they go? When the mists of autumn hang heavy on the earth, what sun purpled them, painted them sulphur-coloured, gave them their mother-of-pearl iridescence?" furniture. When I allude to this use of our trees, I do not intend to wander into a history of the art of veneering, or of the craft of the cabinetmaker, but to suggest merely that it may sometimes be found interesting to have some record of a favourite tree; and when this is desired, getting it made into some article of furniture seems one of the most sensible as well as satisfactory methods of securing a memento. The love of having furniture made out of rare or fine wood, is by no means a modern taste, for it is said that enormous sums were spent in this manner by the ancients; and it is said by Evelyn, that when the men at any time reproached their wives for extravagance, they were wont to retort and turn the tables upon their husbands. Hence the origin of the proverb of turning the tables upon any one.

Great as the beauty of trees in their leafless state is, it cannot be denied that in the winter season it is to our evergreens we look chiefly both for ornament and shelter, and as these are more dependent upon our care in training, pruning, and cultivating them than our hardier and more independent friends the forest trees, they are generally, I think, regarded by their owners with more affection, and removed with more reluctance. No country residence, be it large or small, should be without evergreens near enough to the house to be seen and enjoyed from the windows, and in sufficient numbers to give a clothed, sheltered appearance. It is true these shrubs are generally of slow growth; but, even when young, there is a feeling of comfort and shelter connected with their green life when all around is dead and bare; while full-grown plants of laurel, bay, or holly are so universally admired, that little need be said in their favour. The holly is a universal favourite, beautiful alike in shape and foliage; it needs little care, and looks well at all seasons. I confess to a sincere sympathy with the author of the "Manse Garden,"in his enthusiasm for the holly. He says of it most truly - "Of all the trees of the forest, the native holly is the most interesting and beautiful. Whether young, as a shrub in the garden, or old, as a lonely tree of the mountain, its glowing, full, and glossy leaves, gleaming in the winter sun, prove the delight of all eyes." Of its culture he remarks - "Nothing that grows will look so smiling and vigorous under the shade of trees. It may be seen luxuriant where it has been chance-sown by the root of an old oak; it never knows what it is to die, under any circumstances; it is peeled by bird-catchers, to whose blackguard calling it seems indispensable, still it lives; age seems unable to secure its decay; it is literally ever green."