ij6 THE PLANT WORLD. 



ordinary diet, and, consequently, no great need for this constituent of 

 the mushrooms. 



Although mushrooms and other edible fungi can not be considered 

 as highly nutritious foods, they are undoubtedly useful condiments or 

 food accessories. They add to the palatability of many food ma- 

 terials when cooked with them, and may be served in many appetizing 

 ways. Their use can undoubtedly be extended by skillful growing 

 and careful marketing. The principal edible fungus raised by market 

 gardeners is the common field agaric [Agaric its cainpestris)., and the 

 term " mushroom " is generally understood to mean this variety. 



Although the number of wild edible fungi is comparatively large, 

 there are many poisonous varieties and too great care cannot be exer- 

 cised in gathering fungi for food. Edible fungi are usually considered 

 most desirable when quite young. In this condition expert botanists 

 find some difficulty in distinguishing some of the poisonous from the 

 edible varieties. The popular directions for distinguishing edible 

 fungi which appear from time to time are not safe guides. Nor can 

 such tests as the blackening of a silver spoon be relied upon. The 

 poisonous and the more important edible fungi have been described 

 in a recent circular of the Division of Botany' of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and in an earlier publication" of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture a number of native mushrooms were de- 

 scribed. The growing and marketing of mushrooms has also been 

 described in a recent bulletin of the Department* and a bibliography 

 of mushrooms has been issued by the Department Library.* 



Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 



•U. S. Dept. Agr., Division of Botany Circular 13. =U. S. Dept. Agr., Division of Micro- 

 scopy, Food Products, I. ^U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui 53. *U. S. Dept. Agr., Library Bui. 20. 



Dr. A. F. Woods, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, has an 

 account in 6V/V;/<:t^ of April 7th of some interesting results he has re- 

 cently obtained relative to a so-called disease of the vine. It appears 

 that some years ago two French investigators, Viola and Sauvageau, 

 discovered what they supposed to be a new parasitic organism causing 

 much damage to the vine. Dr. Woods has conducted a similar inves- 

 tigation, and reaches the conclusion that their results are due entirely 

 . to the reagents employed in the study. That is, by using certain 

 staining fluids, the contents of vegetable cells maybe made to assume 

 at will the form described by the French authors as their new organism. 

 Dr. Woods was able to produce precisely similar results in Lilium, 

 Tobacco, Tomato, Rose, Hyacinth, and even in Spirogyra cells. The 

 complete report will soon be published by the Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



