REPORT ON THE EXHIBITION OF EDIBLE FUNGUSES 



AT THE 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, SOUTH KENSINGTON, Oct. 6, 1868. 

 Bt Dr. BULL. 



On the recommendation of oiir great mycologist, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, 

 with the object of bringing the subject properly before the public, two special 

 prizes of £3 3s. and £2 23. were offered by the Lady Dorothy Nevill and 

 Mrs. Lloyd Wynne for the best collections of Edible Funguses, shown at the 

 General Meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday last, and an 

 intimation was also given to exhibitors to bring with them Poisonous and 

 other kinds of funguses, but to keep them guardedly separate. Foiu' collections 

 were sent in, and that there were not many more was probably due to the 

 peculiarity of the season. For a week or ten days before the meeting the crop 

 of funguses had become less and less until but few could be found where they 

 usually grow in abundance, and to those who exhibited, knowing well this 

 fact, the surprise was rather that there were so many than that so few were 

 shown. 



The collection to which the first prize was awarded — the collection of the 

 ■Woolhope Club — consisted of very nvimerous species arranged in four classes : — 

 Ist, those confessedly Edible ; 2nd, those which were Edible but not usually 

 eaten ; 3rd, those Not Edible from a variety of causes ; and lastly, the 

 Poisonous. 



The Edible classes for competition were arranged in moss. In the first 

 class were tliree specimens of Fistiilina hepatica ; Hydnwn repandum in ex- 

 cellent growth ; several specimens of CanHiarellvs ciharius ; and two of Lactarius 

 delieiosus, but not in good condition — none of these appeared in the other 

 collections. There was a fine group of Goprinus comatus ; and another of 

 Agaricus (Lepiota) Procemts, but chiefly of the smaller variety; two varieties 

 of the Ag. campestris ; and shewn in rings were the Ag, (Clitopilus) prunulus, 

 Marasmius oreades,a,nA Ag. (Psalliota) arvensis. 



In the second class of Funguses Edible, though not usually employed as 

 food, a very beautiful group of Lepiotas, Ag. Excoriatus, in admirable condition 

 occupied the centre, and were sent by the President from Abergavenny. On 

 each side, standing back, were gi-oups of Ag. (Armillaria) melleus in several 

 Sorms, and Goprinus atramentarius ; and in front were Ag, (Lepiota) rachodes ;. 



