135 
THE “FUNGUS FORAY.” 
(Daily News.) 
The Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, one of the oldest and largest of the 
local societies established for the practical study of natural history, has its head- 
quarters at Hereford, and is especially distinguished for the attention it pays to the 
mysteries of mycology and mycophagy. Every autumn its members meet together 
for what is termed ‘‘ A Foray among the Funguses,” and the enthusiasm displayed 
on these occasions is apt to excite no little amusement in the district where the 
search is carried on. The humorous features of the meeting were delineated last 
year in the pages of the Graphic by the skilful pencil of Mr. Worthington Smith 
—himself a philagaric of high repute—and it is therefore only fair to add that the 
picture has also a serious side. By “‘serious” we do not mean disastrous, for we 
are bound to say that as yet no ill result has followed either the foray or the feast 
where its spoils are discussed ; we simply mean that mycology is a science of some 
practical importance, and that in modern England it has hitherto been unduly 
neglected by the botanist, the epicure, and the domestic economist. Still, in spite 
of the assurance that our edible fungi contain all the elements of nutrition, and are 
specially rich in osmazome, we doubt whether they wil ever supplant, or even 
supplement to any large extent, the animal food which the soul of the Englishman 
craves. Somehow or other, the evil name which Nero’s devilish deed attached to 
the boletus clings to the whole genus of agarics, and no one can scarcely lift an 
unaccustomed morsel to one’s lips without fearing lest it might be 
Qualem Clandius edit 
Ante illum uxoris post quem nil amplius edit. 
Of course, at the Woolhope Club dinner, which took place on Thursday, 
such alarms were absent, and the members freely partook of several edible varie- 
ties (Hydnum repandum, Coprinus comatus, Ag. arvensis, &c.), not merely snatch- 
ing a fearful joy from the repast, but deliberately criticising its characteristic 
features. It was unfortunate that the chilly summer had checked the growth of 
mycelium, and consequently the show of fungi was below the level of previous 
years. The common mushroom (Ag. campestris) was very rarely seen throughout 
the Foray, and the preponderance of poisonous or suspicious agarics in the Exhibi- 
bition was encouraging to those who take an alarmist view of the matter. In 
truth, the difficulty of laying down any rules by which the edible varieties may be 
distinguished from those that are noxious seems insurmountable. Even the 
Horatian maxim— 
Pratensibus optima fungis 
Natura-est ; aliis male creditur. 
is not altogether admissible, and there is absolutely no test of universal application, 
Perhaps the best thing for most people to dois to acquaint themselves with the 
external characteristics of the few varieties which are really useful additions to the 
cuisine, and leave the remainder to the professional mycologist. First in the list 
of edible fungi we are disposed to place the parasol mushroom (agaricus procerus), 
