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HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



the soil, they are found on the Hampshire downs. In 

 France, dogs are trained as truffle-hunters, and by 

 their keen scent discover them and "joint" them, 

 as the game dogs do game. The truffle somewhat 

 resembles a large black walnut with a solid brownish 

 interior. The Agaricus campestris is the mushroom of 

 our country dinners, though what we get in the London 

 shops as mushrooms are not mushrooms at all, but 

 one of the " toadstools," the A. arvensis ; the country 

 people reject this black-gilled fungus as poisonous. 



Perhaps of all the edible fungi, the morell is the 

 best known ; it is imported from Germany, but is 

 also found in Britain, it is said to be very delicious. 



With a few remarks of Dr. Badham's we will take 

 our leave of the edible fungi. He speaks thus, in a 

 tone of sorrowful reproach : — " I have indeed grieved 

 to see pounds innumerable of extempore beefsteaks 

 growing on our oaks in the shape of Fistulina hepatica ; 

 Agaricus fusipes to pickle, in clusters under them ; 

 puff-balls, which some of our friends have not inaptly 

 compared to sweetbread for the rich delicacy of their 

 unassisted flavour ; hydna as good as oysters, which 

 they somewhat resemble in taste ; Agaricus deliciosus, 

 reminding us of tender lamb kidney j the beautiful 

 yellow chantarelle growing by the bushel, and no 

 basket but our own to pick up specimens on our way ; 

 the sweet nutty boletus, in vain calling himself edulis 

 when there was none to believe him ; the dainty 

 oreades, the Agaricus heteropliyllus, which tastes like 

 the crawfish when grilled ; and the red and green 

 species of agaricus to cook in any way, and equally 

 good in all." We may add also that excellent fungi 

 are a very valuable article of diet, being highly 

 nitrogenous and containing much fat. 



Many of the fungi are poisonous, as we know too 

 well, and that fungi which would agree well with one 

 person have been the cause of death in another, has 

 been clearly demonstrated. 



For example, the late Dr. Hawkes Tanner mentions 

 in his " Memoranda on Poisons," a case in which a 

 French officer and his wife died from breakfasting 

 off "mushrooms," which others in the house ate 

 without inconvenience ! Speaking generally, highly 

 coloured mushrooms with an astringent, styptic taste, 

 a forbidding pungent odour, and which grow in dark 

 and shady places, should be avoided. 



As October is a great month for fungus-hunting, it 

 may not be out of place to mention briefly the 

 symptoms and treatment of the poisonous principle 

 contained in some of them. 



Gastro-intestinal catarrh with a disordered condi- 

 tion of the nervous system and considerable depression, 

 is the usual result following the ingestion of poisonous 

 fungi. In treating these cases, the stomach and 

 bowels must be thoroughly emptied, and the pro- 

 minent symptoms are to be relieved according as they 

 occur. After free vomiting and purgation have been 

 induced, rest in bed, with stimulants and warmth are 

 beneficial. 



The Amanita muscaria is a poisonous species which 

 is used as a means of intoxication in Kamtchatka. 

 The diseases caused by fungi are legion ; rust, smut, 

 blight, and mildew are diseases of grain. The disease 

 called ergot, which attacks rye and other grasses, is 

 produced by a fungus ; this substance is used in 

 medicine, and is very valuable in stopping bleeding 

 when taken internally. Bread made from grain con- 

 taining this substance, when eaten for some time, 

 produces mortification of the legs and arms. 



Some fungi are produced on living animals ; certain 

 wasps in the West Indies are affected by a disease 

 allied to muscardine, which affects the silkworm. 

 Many skin diseases in man owe their origin to fungi, 

 thus : the Tinea tonsurans produces ring-worm, the 

 Achorion Schonlcinii is the cause of favus, or the 

 honeycomb ring- worm, and the thrush, or vesicular 

 stomatitis, is caused by the Oidium albicans. 



The rapidity with which fungi grow is sometimes 

 very remarkable. The Bovista gigantea in a single 

 night has increased from the size of a pea to a melon. 

 The force with which they expand has been shown by 

 their raising pavements under which they had been 

 developed. 



i Lastly we come to the curious fungi, first of which 

 we will take the Clathrus cancellatus, a network of 

 trellised coral very beautiful to look upon, but, alas ! 

 very poisonous. The cedar apple is found in America, 

 and is often mistaken for the "fruit" of the cedar- 

 tree by many. The bird nest and cave fungus of 

 Pennsylvania are worthy of attention. 



GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS. 

 By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S. 



ALong 'Surviving Fallacy. — We are told by 

 "The Farming World," that an English 

 experimenter finds that, contrary to general opinion, 

 the growth of ivy over a house renders the interior 

 entirely free from moisture ; the ivy extracts every 

 possible particle of moisture from wood, brick, or 

 stone for its own sustenance, by means of the tiny 

 roots which work their way even into the hardest 

 stone. 



Of course it does ! For my own part, I am heartily 

 ashamed of requiring to be told of so obvious a fact, 

 and hope that every reader of Science-Gossip who 

 has not already reasoned it out for himself will be 

 equally penitent. Every leaf of every plant that 

 grows is largely composed of water, and every such 

 leaf is continually exhaling gaseous water, and this 

 water is supplied by rootlet absorption. The ivy 

 differs from ordinary plants in having rootlets on 

 every stem, thus rendering it almost] independent 

 of its main ground root. Its notorious killing action 

 upon growing trees when it takes full possession of 



