June i, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



S61 



as the mushroom. Cases of fatal poisoDing are rare — • 

 at least we do not hear of them very often — but 

 indisposition attended with acute suffering is of 

 frequent occurrence. Mushroom collectors are generally 

 women and children, some of whom, from long 

 practice and an observant eye, c^u detect a whole- 

 some from a noxious variety — but these experienced 

 bauds are sometimes accompanied in their excurhions 

 by novices, who gather promiscuously whatever comes 

 to hand, and the result is that some gourmet falls 

 a victim to excruciating stomach-ache, or to one of 

 the numerous forms of iudigestiou, and while still 

 sullering the consequences of an irritant poison in 

 the digestive organs, vows he will never touch a 

 niusJiroom again ; a pledge violated on the very first 

 occasion the appetising fungus is again* put before 

 him. 



Edible fungi are everywhere distinguished empirically, 

 but the botanical characteristics of both the poison- 

 ous and the harmless kinds are so well marked, 

 generally, that little difficulty is experienced in trac- 

 ing them in a basket of mixed mushrooms by an 

 observer of ordinary inteUigence, although it would 

 prove no easy task, even for an accomplished botanist, 

 to trace the numerous and it-sensible gradations by 

 which the 29 edible species whch science has classi- 

 fied and named, are distinguished from the 'M poisonous 

 sorts. Fortunately, mushroom collectors, in this coun- 

 try, have to de-^l with a limited^ number of varieties 

 only, and these iu a few well-known localities, to which 

 they resort year after year. It seldom happens that 

 a poisonous variety, like a parasite, overpowers an 

 edible kind, and forces it out of existence from a 

 particular spot. More frequently a harmless mush- 

 room acquires deleterious properties from some change 

 iu the conditions of growth, and then there is reason 

 to fear consequences as the collectors gather these 

 mushrooms from habit, without suspecting the change 

 of character, which, however, is not altogether un- 

 disclosed, for in appearance, odour, and flavour the 

 mushroom tells an inteUigent observer whether it 

 can be safely consumed or not. As in the best 

 regulated families, so with the genus Jt/aiU".^ 

 accidents will sometimes happen, and it behovt'S 

 cverj lover of the mushroom to take c;ire of himself, 

 aud make himself acquainted with the salient features 

 of the edible and the poisonous sorts. On the hills, 

 as in England, we have the true meadow mushroom, 

 Agai'icH:^ campestris, and the horse mushroom, A'jario'i 

 arvcJistf^. The former is not often, or abundantly found, 

 and atfects open pastures, where it frequently gets 

 trampled down by grazing cattle. The hor.se mushroom 

 is the most common and most abundant, and is the 

 variety usually offered for sale. It is very plentiful 

 on recently manured coffee estates, and iu open sholas 

 where the sun-light can freely penetrate. 



It is a generally accepted truism that mushrooms 

 which grow under trees iire dangerous, because they 

 are supposed to feed on decayed roots ; but the mush- 

 rooms of the Nilgiri sholas are an exception to this 

 rule, for some of the best and most delicate sorts 

 are gathered under the shade of the forest. In the 

 absence of reliable or scientific information on the 

 ^ubject, consumers of mut-hrooms arc content to apply 

 the vulgar ttjsts of wholesomeness. namely, cooking 

 them with a bright silver coin, or an oriioD, the discolor- 

 ation of which is supposed to indicate danger. But 

 these are perfectly worthless tests, and nothing but 

 the recognised botanical peculiMrities are to be relied 

 upon. Edible mushrooms, in form, size, color and 

 habit are distinguishable from the noxious congener. 

 aud when once these features are pointed out and 

 understood, they cannot be forgotten or overlooked. 

 The small white^topped, j>ink-gilled mushroom of the 

 open, is of course the most delicate of the fungus 

 order, but the jellow-toppcd, and grey-gilled, though 

 coarser in flavour, is not to be despised or rejected 

 as of doubtful character. In both the cap is fleshy 

 and the gills quite free from the stem, round which, 

 on the under-side, an open channel runs. This is a 

 salii-nt feature of an edil)le nnisliroom, as all the 

 poi.sonuus sorts have the gills touching the stem. The 

 (;ap at tbv outer circuuifereucu, further laps over the 



gills and is pendulous, which is not the case with 

 the cap of a pois(>nous mushroom, which terminates 

 at its juncture with the gills. The stem shouldj 

 moreover, be solid, when cut through, and have a 

 collar round midwaj- bftweeu the cap and the root. 

 No poisonous or doubtful mushroom will possess this 

 collar. The cap is sometimes silky, sometimes hairy, 

 and sometimes sealy, all points perfectly consistent 

 with wholesomeness, aud should be dry, never viscid, 

 which is an uumistakeable indication of noxiousness. 

 The colour may he white, or smoky, or tawny, or 

 dark brown. The color of the gills may be wliite 

 or pink, or salmon or brown, or even black, aud the 

 spores of tlie gills purple, or brown, or black. The 

 gills of poisonous mushrooms never grow black, bow- 

 ever long they may be gathered, and the flesh of 

 the cap never changes color. The horse mushroom, 

 as its name suggests, is of large size and springs 

 up in clusters, a condition ot growth which is said 

 to be peculiar to the harmful varieties, but not always 

 so. This variety affects the neighbourhood of trees 

 and hedges, and woods, but cannut for this reason 

 be rejected as doubtful. Indeed, the horse mushroom 

 is the natural as well as the cultivated article, with 

 peculiarities developed by scientific treatment. A 

 mushroom presenting ajl the salient features of an 

 edible variety, which we have described, may be safely 

 eaten either in a raw state or cooked, hut if the con- 

 sumer will neglect what has been said, and partake 

 of wh:itt'vcr is otf*-red to him as a mushroom, he 

 may pay .the penalty, sooner or later, of his want 

 of caution. — Ltoder, 



SUGAR-REFINXXG WOKKS AT FIJI. 



Fiji is now enjoying the proud prc-cmineuce of this 

 one distinction — ishat of having the larii'est sugar-mill 

 in the world. The Khedive of Egypt has until very 

 recently had the honour of possessing the great- 

 est cane-crushing aud caue-juice-boiling apparatus 

 in the universe, but now an Australian company has 

 taken the cronn from him; and of the many fields 

 occupied by that rich Is'ew South "Wales proprietary, 

 our colony hws been selected to possess the site of 

 the Champion Mill. As the C. S. 11. Company is far 

 and away the most important of the financial con- 

 cerns and developing enterprises- of this country, I 

 have proposed ^,0 give it a special (if necesf^arily brief) 

 notice iu this letter, aud for the purpose have just 

 made a personal visit to the head establishment on 

 the Kewa. 



The work referred to are on that part of Fiji's 

 chief river, known as the Middle Kewa, and the site 

 bears the Fijian name, spelt *' Xausori," and i)ron(>unc- 

 ed Now-soe-ree, with the accent on the second syllable. 

 This place is about 12 miles fruni that mouth of the 

 Kewa which opens into Lauthala Bay, where the large 

 ships come. Nausori is where the liills begin, that 

 roll on until they grow into highly picturesque mountain 

 ranges that form a strinkingly fine background to the 

 river scenery. Down the river right to the sea the 

 country is one immense flat, a superb delta covered 

 with trees, or reeds aud jungle, and strongly exciting 

 the imagination of "sugar men" coming from the 

 Mauritius or from the "West Iiuliaji Fosscssious. I5e- 

 tween the river and the Lau coast is a large extent 

 of fertile country, walking across which one sees what 

 a reserve of producing capacity is here for future use, 

 and what facilities exist for getting at the produce 

 by easily-laid tramways. A study of the district 

 clearly shows why such an immense mill is erected 

 liei-e. Coming upon the worl.s themselves from the 

 landward side affords a great surprise. Emerging from 

 the ^'tiol gieen forest, where iialure is in an almost 

 primcvial stute, >ou come suddenly upon a great space, 

 with buildings crowtUd together in parts of it; cottages 

 on every hand, with lanes and streets; a two-storied 

 residence crowning a hill, with three large hospitals 

 past that again; and in the foreground an immense 

 factory) ironclad, tuwers before the sight, with the 

 highest chimneys in the Soutlieru hemisphere. You 

 aimnst expect to find the institutions of a city close 

 at hand, to see the inevitable telegraphic UisuUtorS; 



