'S88 TUCKAHOE, OR INDIAN BREAD. 



information upon the topics referred to. The very Uttle knowledge 

 thus procured, together with the curious shape of the substance, its 

 traditional use and mysterious propagation, at once suggested that it 

 be made the subject of a careful examination. But, as library facilities 

 were not then available, nor could a definite plan of procedure be deter- 

 mined upon, the investigation was deferred until the beginning of the 

 past year. In order to ascertain all that is now known on this subject, 

 -circulars of inquiry were sent, through the Smithsonian Institution, to 

 •every cryptogamic botanist throughout the United States, asking for in- 

 formation upon its botanical nature, also to curators of natural-history 

 museums, and a set of queries for publication sent to at least one news- 

 paper in every town along the Atlantic coast from Xew Jersey to 

 Florida, in the Mississippi Valley and in California, with a request that 

 all the readers who were able would favor me with answers to the ques- 

 tions asked. By these means a large number of specimens were ob- 

 tained, all of which were identical in their general appearance, showing 

 that wherever it is now found, the same substance bears the same name. 

 Its geographical distribution was also accurately ascertained, and much 

 valuable information relative to the character of its growth and the at- 

 tending conditions. In the mean time the literature of the subject re- 

 ceived especial attention ; the various libraries of this city were thor- 

 oughly examined, as well as those of Boston and Harvard. The differ- 

 ent theories concerning its use and i)roduction, the analyses obtained, 

 with a very elaborate one made especially for me, and the record of 

 observed facts, when brought together, gave a medley with so many 

 contradictory elements that it seemed impossible to either reconcile the 

 differences or deduce any satisfactory conclusions therefrom. 



The disagreement in the analyses could be accounted for by supposing 

 that either some were wrong, or that the specimens when examined 

 were in different stages of development. But when all (see future part 

 of this article) negatived tradition, as well as the statement made by 

 historians and botanists, that Tuckahoe was nutritious, the outlook 

 was far from cheery. 



The only solution then ai)parent was the supposition that the sub- 

 stance called Tuckahoe by these writers was not the same as the tuber 

 now loiown by that name. This surmise receives confirmation from a 

 comparison of the following quotations : '•'' Lycoperdon solidum, a very 

 large tuber of the ground, outside rough, white within. The Indians 

 use it for making bread, commonly called Tuckahoe" (Clayton, "Flora 

 Virginica," p. 176). By referring to the analysis it will be seen that a sub- 

 stance with less than one per cent, of nutritive properties could not 

 be used with any success as food, while the description given exactly 

 suits the tuber now called by the same name. So there is some reason 

 in thinking that the property belonging to one root known as Tuckahoe 

 has been ascribed to all roots having that common name. In Fries' 

 ^' Systema Mycologicum," vol. 2, p. 242, we read: " Pachyma cocos, oblong, 



