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the delicate flavour of which is superior even to that of the champignon (maras- 
miius oreades). The maned agaric (coprinus comatus) and the hedgehog mushroom 
(hydnum repandum) come next in order of merit, and from their peculiar appear- 
ance are easily identified. To these may be added the so-called vegetable sweet- 
bread (agaricus orcella), in whose praise M. Roques becomes ecstatic, and the 
chantarelle (cantharellus cibarius), which happens to be particularly abundant at 
this present season. The Puffball (Lycoperdon giganteum) meets with general 
approval throughout the continent of Europe ; but the specimens we have eaten in 
England have invariably been insipid and deficient in nourishment. Much has 
been said in praise of the liver fungus or vegetable beefsteak (fistulina hepatica), 
the red fleshy fungus which one often sees attached to the decayed stump of an oak 
tree. Dr. Badham says that ‘‘ when grilled it is scarcely to be distinguished from 
boiled meat,” and no doubt, when gathered at maturity, it possesses a distinctly 
meaty flavour, and yields a juice which might be mistaken for gravy. We should 
be glad to think that its use might help to keep down the price of butcher’s steaks, 
but for ourselves we must confess that we prefer the animal to the vegetable 
variety, and would consign the latter to the stock-pot, where it will prove a valu- 
able ingredient. Almost all agarics, it must be remembered, are rather rich, and 
should therefore be eaten in moderation. To eat them as accompaniments to meat 
is an obvious error ; they ®hould form a separate course, and Burgundy will be 
found the most suitable wine to drink with them. With regard to their cooking, 
it may be laid down as a maxim that they should never be boiled, but either 
stewed gently, and for a long time, or broiled, with salt, pepper, and butter, before 
a quick fire. This branch of the subject, however, is one which has nowhere 
received, nor can it here receive, adequate treatment. We commend it to the 
attention of the School of Cookery at South Kensington. The Council of that 
learned body might readily adopt some means by which a discriminating know- 
ledge of fungi might be disseminated, and the edible varieties rendered most pala- 
table. The crop of agarics is too partial and precarious to be worth regarding as 
a contribution to the food supply of the country; but that is no reason why it 
should be so totally neglected as is now the case. The Fungus Foray at Hereford 
has this year been fully attended, and all the leading mycologists of Britain, 
including Dr. Cooke, Sir William Guise, Bart., Rev. W. Houghton, Messrs. 
Broome, Rennie, Plowright, Dr. Bull, &c., have taken part init. The papers 
read by Mr. Worthington Smith are not merely valuable additions to our know- 
ledge of funguses, but seem to promise a solution of one of the great scientific 
questions of the day—the identity of animal and vegetable life. 
