144 



BASIDIOMYCE TES 



Edible Fungi. 



In the preceding pages allusion has frequently been made to 

 certain fungus species as edible. Some species were used by the 

 Romans as a food and have continued in use to the present day ; 

 all over the continent of Europe many species are commonly 

 seen in the markets and are used by all classes of people. Dur- 

 ing the season when Agaricus campestns appears in abundance 

 in English pastures, special mushroom trains bring the crop to the 

 London markets. In this country less attention has been given to 

 the mushroom as an article of food and except in certain quarters 

 only cultivated forms of Agaricus campcstris have appeared in 

 the markets, tho in some parts of the central West the morel 

 is commonly eaten as the spring mushroom. With the establish- 

 ment of mycological clubs throughout the country, the knowledge 

 of the edible species will extend and we may expect in a few 

 years to find them more generally employed as food. Mean- 

 while the chemists and physiologists are considering their nutritive 

 qualities and at present the indications are that they will discover 

 the fungi much less nutritive than they have been supposed to be.* 

 Notwithstanding all this they will continue to be regarded as 

 delicacies, which they really are, and an increased knowledge of 

 their value will very widely extend their use. 



With their use as food has come a special literature bearing on 

 the forms desirable to be used for that purpose. The best of this 

 is as follows : 



Fries. Sveriges atliga och giftiga Svampar. Folio, 92 plates. 

 Stockholm, 1861. 



Vittadini. Descrizione dei Funghi mangerecci. 4to, 44 plates. 

 Milano, 1835. 



Gibson. Our edible Toadstools and Mushrooms. 8vo, jS 

 plates. New York, 1895. 



Cooke. Edible and poisonous Mushrooms. 8vo, 18 plates. 

 London, 1894. 



Peck. Annual Report of the State Botanist of the State of New 

 York. 4to, 44 plates. Albany, 1896. 



*On this subject cf. Mendel. The chemical Composition and nu- 

 tritive Value of some edible American Fungi. Amer. Jour. Physiology, 

 i : 225-238. 1898. 



