228 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [June 



been unduly neglected. The great difficulty always felt in 

 advocating the claims of the class to more extensive use has 

 arisen from the want of some definite rules, some formula at once 

 simple in expression and universal in application, by which to dis- 

 tinguish the noxious from the innocent members. Pliny, in his 

 Natural History, goes so far as to say that the first place amongst 

 those things which are eaten with peril must be assigned to 

 agarics, and he expresses his surprise at the pleasure which men 

 take "in so doubtful and dangerous a meat." But his observa- 

 tions show that fungi of all sorts, including even such growths as 

 the Fistulina hepatica, were known to his countrymen and 

 eaten by them without scruple. Indeed, in one particular the 

 wisdom of the ancient Komans seems to have been superior to 

 that of their descendants, for, while Horace lays down the 



rule : — 



Pratensibus optima fungi 

 itfatura est ; aliis male creditur — 



the modern j^diles of the Roman market condemn to instant 

 destruction every specimen of the meadow mushroom ( A. cam. 

 pestris) which comes within their reach. Although, however, it is 

 not always easy to distinguish the wholesome from the unwhole- 

 some fungus, and the organs of sight and smell require some 

 training before they can be wholly trusted in the matter, yet the 

 dangers have been greatly exaggerated, and, as a matter of fact 

 hogweed is more often mistaken for parsnip and aconite for horse, 

 radish than are Boletus satanas and Amanita verna for their 

 innocent brethren. No better opportunity for engaging in the 

 study of this branch of natural history could be found than that 

 which the present season affords; and if the treatises of Mr. 

 Berkeley, Dr. Badham, or Mr. Worthington Smith be not at 

 hand, the following notes on the chief edible fungi which are now 

 to be met with may prove acceptable to some of our readers.-'' 



With the ordinary meadow mushroon (J.. Campestris) and its 

 near relative the horse mushroom (J., arvensis), every one is 

 familiar, and both of them have occurred in profusion this autumn. 

 Against the latter an unfounded prejudice prevails in some 

 districts, but its larger size and coarser texture require only a 



* At the conclusion of " Mushroom Cultm-e, its Extension and Im- 

 provement " (London : "Warne, 1870), Mr. TV. Eobinsou gives some 

 useful information, derived chiefly from the above authorities, and from 

 The Proceedings of the "Woolhope Field Club. 



