98 A PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT 



the past generations as a sovereign remedy for a cut 

 ringer. The use of the spongy portion as a tinder 

 must also be reckoned amongst the achievements of 

 the past. When burnt, the fumes of this fungus are 

 said to possess a stupefying narcotic property ; in this 

 form the Lycoperdon is still occasionally employed to 

 stupefy bees, so that their hives may be robbed of the 

 honey without danger. Lately these fumes have been 

 proposed and recommended as an anaesthetic in the place 

 of chloroform. But the most important of all uses is 

 that of food, to which we have already alluded. 



Lycoperdon codatum is another common species 

 scarcely attaining so large a size, and occasionally found 

 growing in rings. The spores in this species are yel- 

 lowish, whilst in the great puff-ball they are of an 

 olive-colour. When this puff-ball is dried, it may 

 be employed as amadon, first soaking it in a solution 

 of nitre, and afterwards drying it. It is questionable 

 whether in any stage it is wholesome as food. 



The pear-shaped puff-ball (L. pyriforme), to which 

 allusion has already been made, may be found in clus- 

 ters on almost any old decayed stump. It is small 

 and pear-shaped, as its name implies. If good for 

 food at all, it must be during its young state. 



The remaining genera, Scleroderma, Polysaccum, 

 and Cenococcum, contain no species of general interest. 

 It has been stated that the powder from some of the 

 Sclerodermce is irritating to the eyes and nose, and that, 

 taken inwardly, they are poisonous ; but for neither of 

 these statements are we prepared to vouch. 



