424 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
water, 12.50.” The following remarks relative to the Tuckahoe are fur- 
nished by Dr. John Torrey: 
It was first brought to the notice of the public by Dr. Clayton, who sent it to Gro- 
novius, under the name of Lycoperdon solidum, and, as such, described it in the Flora Vir- 
ginica about one hundred and twenty years ago. Next it was described by the late Dr. 
Von Schweinitz, in his Synopsis of the Fungi of North Carolina, under the name of 
Scleroticum cocos. About the same time Dr. Macbride, of Charleston, South Carolina, 
sent to the Linn:ean Society of London his observations on that fungus. Without 
being aware of having been anticipated by Schweinitz, I described it in the New York 
Repository about the year 1819, under the name of Sclerotium giganteum. I gave also 
a chemical analysis of it, showing that it is chiefly composed of a singular substance, 
which I named sclerotine. Braconoet, some years after this, described the same prin- 
ciple, which he called pectine. In the Synopsis Fungorum of Fries the fungus is called 
Pachyma cocos. In the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London is an account by 
Rey. M. J. Berkely of a large subterranean fungus that is sold as food in the streets of 
Shanghai, undoubtedly the same as the Tuckahoe. ; 
Sand food, (Ammobroma Sonora.)\—From ammos, sand, and broinos, 
food. This herbaceous and fleshy plant is of a dull orange color, para- 
sitical on the roots of an unknown shrub, which grows in the State of 
Sonora, Mexico, in sandy wastes, near the head of the Gulf of Califor- 
nia. The root upon which it livesis composed of thick, tortuous fibers, 
dilated near the extremity. This is the point of attachment to the 
plant from which the parasite draws its nourishment. The stems are 
two to four feet long, and three-fourths of an inch to an inch in diame- 
ter. The Papajo Indians are very fond of this rcot, which is eaten 
after being roasted upon hot coals ordried inthe sun. It is often ground 
on a metate, (curved stone,) with mesquite beans, forming pinole. The 
fresh root, when gathered and cooked, is very luscious, and resembles 
in taste the sweet potato, though far more delicate. Rain seldom falls in 
the arid region producing this plant, and consequently it becomes both 
food and drink-to the traveler, its roots being very watery when fresh. 
For description see Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History, New York, 
Vol. 8, June, 1861, by Dr. John Torrey. ‘ 
Bearded inoss, ( Alectoria jubata.)—The Indians residing on the Colum- 
bia River, according to Dr. Morse in his report on Indian affairs to the 
War Departinent for 1822, subsist in summer on a kind of bread made 
of the long, hair-like lichen which grows on the spruce fir;tree, and which 
resembles spiders’ webs in fineness. To prepare it for food, it is gath- 
ered from the tree, laid in heaps, sprinkled with water, and then left for 
some time to ferment. It isnext rolled up into Dalls as large as a man’s 
head, and baked for an hour in ovensin the earth. When taken out it is 
fit for use, but it is neither palatable nor nutritious. 
Wheat, (Triticum vulgare.\—This grain was first introduced by the 
Spaniards among the Pueblo Indians, and forms one of their principal 
articles of food. Se fond are the Apaches, Papajos, and Utahs of it that 
they will pick up individual grains which may have been teft by animals 
on old camp-grounds, and will enter wheat fields, after white men 
have cleared oif the crop, and glean the seattered kernels. The patient 
manner of the squaws, who prostrate themselves on the ground day 
after day to pick up the loose grains, shows plainly how highly they 
estimate them. The Indians of the Rio Grande, New Mexico, of the 
Gila and Colorado Rivers, of Arizona, with the tribes of California and 
Utah, are the principal wheat-raisers among the aborigines. The Pimds 
grow the largest crops in Arizona. In addition to what is retained for 
their own use, as food and for planting, they sell annuaily large quantities 
to the traders who have Government contracts for flour and grain, 
wheat being often fed to animals in this section. A lively grain trade 
is carried on by the whites with these Indians. Their wheat and 
