1831- 



ARBORETUM AND FKUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



P. fomentarius 



edije, wliicli arc sonietiines <;hitinous. 

 Jl^lfel-^u^ (i-'/ij. Fl; V. p. 144.) It was from this 



mI^mI^^ species tliat Braccoiiet ol)tainecl the ho- 



|^^^R:J,'^>v iL'tic acid. (See Eiin/c. of Plants, p. 1007.) 

 P. f'oincntarius i'V/V.«, sjn. /y. fomentarius 

 L., and our Jii^A (yl 2.; and }^ igniarius 

 Fricn, syn. li. igniarius L., and our Jig. 

 1071. ; are both used for making amadou, 

 or vegetable tinder; the former being considered the best, 

 is also the ngnric de clicnc, or agaric dcs cliirurgiens, of the French drug- 

 gists. To make the amadou, tlie outer covering is peeled oft', and the 

 interior part, which is soft and full 

 of fibres, is boiled in a lie of wood- 

 ashes. It is then dried, and beaten 

 with a hannncr till it becomes fiat ; 

 after whicli it is again boiled in a 

 solution of saltpetre. In this state, 

 it makes excellent tinder, igniting 

 with the slightest spark. The agaric 

 des chirurgicns is prepared in the same 

 manner, l)ut not boiled in the solution 

 of nitre. (See Mnrquiss Es.iai, Sec. ; Did. Classique d'Hi.st. Nat.; Thickness'' s 

 For. Vcg.) The Laplanders are said to cure a violent pain in any part of the 

 body by laying a piece of P. fomentarius on the part, and igniting it. (E7ig. 

 FL, vol. V. p. 4.) P. vulgaris Fr. and P. moUuscus Fr. are common on 

 fallen branches. An account of a curious deformed fungus (Jig. 1673.), 

 apparently a species of Polyporus, was sent to us in the year 1828. This 

 fungus grew for 10 years on the oak 

 g^«^|^^- >?; from which it was taken, and was 

 W^^'^^^ composed of an aggregate mass of 

 'tfM^^f tubercles, disposed in an irregular 

 form : the pores were oval. (2Iag. 

 Nat. Hist., i. p. 289.) Fistulina 

 hepatica With., Grev.Cryj)t.,t.2\()-, 

 and our fig. 1674., is an eatable 

 fungus ; and it is much esteemed in 

 Austria as an article of food ; though the taste is rather acid, and the texture 

 tough. It is sometimes found of enormous size. Mr. Graves found a specimen 

 upon an ash pollard that weighed .SO lb. On the oak it 1677 

 is generally very small, i/ydnum 

 £rinaceus Bull., t. 34., and our 

 Jig. 1675., is found occasionally 

 upon the oak ; but it is rare in 

 Britain. Tiielephora rubiginosa 

 Schrad., syn. Auricularia lerru- 

 iirr; ginea Sow., t. 26. ; T. spadicea 



Pers.y syn. Auricularia tahucina Sow. T. lyuercina Pers. Si/n., p. 573., 

 Grev. Cri/pt., t. 142., and our^i^. 1676., syn. Auricularia corticalis 5m//., 

 ear. It is generally foimd on fallen oak branches, ^ ^ .,,^j,i^ hiso 



in woods, and is very common. T. hirsuta W. 



Ui'H 167!» '-^z?-- 



t. 436. f. 1., was formerly called oak ear, or oak- _^*: - 



bark car, from some fancied similarity to the human "^ 



( fig. 1677.) is an allied species, and is equally common. Peziza aurantia Pers. 



Si/}i., p. 637., Grev. Fl. Ed., p. 418., syn. P. coccinca Sow., t. 78., and our 



