1 8 OMENSETTER : 



hold flame for a long time, these fungi were used as tinder, and 

 were often carried in a state of ignition by rustics, for the 

 purpose of lighting their cottage fires. 



One more noted species, as 3'^et undiscovered in America, 

 may close our very imperfect account of edible fungi. The 

 truffle is found growing in clusters in clayey or sandy soil 

 some inches under the ground, likewise in chalk, and is 

 common on the Wiltshire downs, as well as in woods both in 

 England and Scotland. The form of truffles is nearly spher- 

 ical, and their color approaching black. They are studded 

 with pyramidal tubercles, and their spawn is phosphorescent. 

 In England ihey seldom exceed a few ounces, but on the Con- 

 tinent a weight of several pounds is said to have been attained. 

 As there is above ground no sign by which truffles may be 

 located, discovery is difficult ; but so keen have men been in 

 their appetite for this delicacy that thc}^ have hit on the plan 

 of having dogs to scent them out. When the animals nose 

 the prize, they stand and whine and scratch on the spot until 

 their masters dig and take possession of the tubers. It is 

 reported that there was known a man capable of exercising 

 this extraordinar)'- function, detecting truffles in the earth by 

 sense of smell. 



The expansive growth of fungi may next call for a few 

 remarks. An account has been given of a paving stone, 

 twenty-one inches square and weighing eighty-five pounds, 

 which was raised an inch and a half from its station by a 

 cluster of toadstools growing beneath. Many other facts, 

 that attest the rapid growth of fungi, have been related by 

 different authors. One of these peculiar plants was known 

 in three weeks to reach a girth of seven feet, five inches and 

 the weight of thirty-four pounds, and others the weight of 

 twelve pounds in a .few da3's. 



But none of these statements, remarkable as they seem, 

 are so wonderful as one made by Sir Joseph Banks, of a cir- 

 cumstance which occurred under his own roof. He avers that 

 a friend having sent him a cask of wine which was too new 



