213 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EDIBLE FUNGUSES OF 

 HEREFORDSHIRE. 



BY DK. BULL. 



(Continued from, the Volumes of the Transactions for the years 1867-8 and 

 9, and concluded J. 



" Beneath the open sky She (Nature) spreads the feast, 

 Tis free to all : 'tis every day renewed : 

 Who scorns it, starves deservedly at home." 



Cowper.— The Task I. 



The present year has again been most unfortunate for the production of 



Funguses. The want of moisture has quite prevented their appearance in their 



usual abundance. Hitherto the driest year on record for this part of England 



•was the year 1S64, but the present year has been still more dry. The following 



table shows the amount of Rainfall during the months of June, July, August, 



and September this year, as compared with that for the two last years, and for 



1864 :— 



Total ... 5-639 10399 8110 3"869 



The total for the first nine months of the year in 1864 was only 13140 

 inches, but this year the total for the period has been so low as 10869 inches. 

 Though the weather was thus so dry in England, we know that during the 

 two last of these months— August and September— great quantities of rain fell 

 on some parts of the Continent. The field operations of the great armies of 

 France and Prussia, in Alsace and Lorraine, were greatly inconvenienced by 

 it at this time, and the fact is mentioned here for the clear inference that the 

 continued rain must also have produced a great abundance of the Edible 

 Funguses, which are so well known and so much esteemed by the peasantry. 

 Boletus cdulis, described and figured in this paper, Agaricus procerus, Lactarius 

 deliciosus, Marasmius oreades, and many others, form a large and important item 

 in the food of the people of those provinces during the autumnal months. The 

 territory is notably celebrated for one fungus of great size, Polyporus intybaceus. 

 " The ancient forest districts of the Vosges and Ardennes," says Mr. Hussey, 



{Note : The Rainfall for the whole year in 1864 was 19 32 inches, that for this year— 

 1870— 18731, and the general average Kainfall is about 27 inches.] 



