492 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Edibility of Fungi for Rodents.* — Somerville Hastings has made 

 observations on this subject for a number of years. The notes refer 

 mainly to squirrels and rabbits, and to fungi eaten in the late summer 

 and early autumn ; but it is not until frosts begin, and other foods 

 become somewhat scarce, that they are consumed to any large extent. 

 Hastings gives many data, both of fungi found to be nibbled, and of 

 experiments by feeding rabbits with various fungi. Those that were more 

 or less palatable are indicated ; species poisonous to man, such as 

 Amanita imiscaria and Russida emetica, were eaten, the former on six 

 occasions, the latter once. One fact he noticed was the immediate 

 sureness with which the animal either ate or rejected fungi offered to it ; 

 selection was made almost certainly by the sense of smell, and in no 

 instance did the creature change its mind. The paper is well illustrated 

 by photographs. 



Montana Forest-tree Fungi.t — James R. Weir has for some time 

 been collecting these fungi, and in the present paper he gives a list of 

 the Polyporacege, a very long series, though he does not think that it is 

 yet complete. Probably some have not been found, and of those 

 collected a number have not been identified. 



" Owing to the wide extension of the State of Montana to the east 

 and west of the Continental Divide, the fungous flora includes many 

 species of the central as well as of the Pacific Coast States. The heavily- 

 wooded section in the north-western part has practically the same 

 fungous flora as British Columbia." The genera dealt with are lleruUus, 

 Polyporus, Poria, Polystictus, Fomes, Trametes, Dsedalea, Lenzites, and 

 Favolus. 



Notes on Australian Fungi. J— J. B. Cleland and E. Cheel have 

 taken up the study of Australian fungi, especially of the larger Basidio- 

 mycetes. They begin with a fairly long list of Goprini, one of which, 

 C. sderotianns, is a new species ; the specimens were developed from 

 sclerotia collected under cow-dung Other genera are also dealt with — 

 Thelephora, Stereum, Glavaria, etc. A number of species were identified 

 for the writers by C. G. Lloyd. 



Nutritive Value of Edible Fungi.§ — In a paper on this subject it 

 is concluded that the available protein in fungi is less than has been 

 frequently estimated, and mushrooms can in no case be regarded as flesh- 

 forming foods, such as meat. The total nutritive value of the mush- 

 room which is richest in proteid substances is no higher than that of 

 cabbage or potatoes, and really inferior to the latter on account of the 

 poorer carbohydrate content. The value of mushrooms is more one of 

 flavouring, by which other food is rendered more palatable. 



New Japanese Fungi. || — Tyozabriro Tanaka has begun a series of 

 notes and translations of newly discovered and described fungi from 



* Trans. Brit. Myeol. Soc, v. (1917; pp. 364-78 (12 figs.). 



t Mycologia, ix. (1917) pp. 129-37 (1 pi.). 



X Proc. Linn. New South Wales, xli. (1916) pp. 853-70. 



§ Journ. Board Agric, xxiv. (1917) pp. 416-9. 



II Mycologia, ix. (1917) pp. 167-72. 



