SESSION 1895-96. xxxix 



"The collection," Mr. Massee remarks, "although numerically 

 small, contained some very interesting forms. Agaricus excelsus, 

 a very beautiful fungus, is everywhere rare. Agaricus eliwnsis, 

 an edible fungus closely allied to the common mushroom but far 

 superior in flavour, is also rare, having only pre%dously been 

 recorded from three localities. And Agaricus violaceo-ater is new 

 to the British Flora, having hitherto been known to occur only in 

 France. 



"The collection also included characteristic examples illus- 

 trating the range in odours and flavours from those of a highly 

 agreeable nature to the very opposite extreme. Amongst species 

 possessing a very decided odour may be mentioned Agaricus 

 spermattcm, in which the smell is very pronounced and equally 

 disagreeable. Agaricus fragrans, on the other hand, has a strong 

 and agreeable spicy smell, which remains after cooking, that is 

 if properly conducted, the specimens being placed in a closed 

 vessel, stewed gently for twenty minutes, and the vessel opened 

 only when placed upon the table. Agaricus purus smells exactly 

 like radishes, whereas Agaricus pyriodorus, as the name denotes, 

 smells like ripe pears. Other British species, such as Agaricus 

 odortis, have a very pleasant aroma, whereas Hygrophorus fcetidus, 

 as would be expected from its specific name, is the reverse of 

 pleasant, to say the least. 



"There is a strong tendency on the part of some people to 

 argue that there is a definite use for the presence of every product 

 in the organic kingdom, a statement which would, of course, 

 include the odours of fungi. Such statements are in a sense safe, 

 even if nothing in support of the assertion is offered, inasmuch as 

 our knowledge of the ways and means of life is yet very limited. 

 1^0 one has demonstrated that the odours possessed by the fungi 

 named above, and many others, are of any service to the species 

 emitting them. Fungi, in common with all other living organisms, 

 require food, which when taken into the system is not of the 

 exact chemical composition of the fungus itself. The food contains 

 all the chemical elements required to form fungus flesh, with 

 other chemical elements not required by the fungus. During the 

 process of metabolism the elements of the food are separated, 

 those useful to the fungus are retained, and the surplus elements 

 rearrange themselves to form a new chemical substance, which 

 may result in a brilliant colour, or a substance possessing a marked 

 taste, smell, etc., which need not be of any further use to the 

 fungus, but, as the organism is low down in the scale of life, and 

 has no special arrangements for getting rid of by-products, they 

 are retained in its structure. The common yeast-plant — Saccharo- 

 myces cerevisia — is a fungus, and, in common with other fungi, 

 requires food ; and it so happens that in assimilating its food the 

 rejected elements are in those proportions which forai alcohol 

 and carbonic acid. Nevertheless, no one has shown that either of 

 these products are of the slightest service to the fungus, although 

 respectively utilized by the brewer and baker. 



