110 THE WOODLANDS. 



comprehend it properly the pocket-knife must be 

 called into requisition, and the fungus divided into 

 two halves, splitting down the stem through its entire 

 length, and through the cap, so that each half shows 

 the outline of its form. By this means it will be seen 

 that the flesh of the cap is thick, through the whole 

 not less than an inch, but whilst the upper half consists 

 of the solid substance, the lower half will be seen to 

 be composed of little, slender tubes closely packed 

 side by side and that the mouths of these tubes cor- 

 respond to the pinholes which were observed covering 

 the under surface before it was cut in two. Here, 

 then, we have the gill plates of the mushroom replaced 

 by slender tubes closely packed side by side in a 

 compact mass. 



The special interest which attaches to this fungus 

 lies in the extensive use as an esculent which is made 

 of it on the Continent. The tubes under the cap are 

 scraped away, the fleshy substance is cut up into thin 

 slices and dried in the air, and in this form it is sold 

 for domestic use throughout the year. In Austria, 

 and some parts of Germany and France, it is exposed 

 for sale in all the shops where meal, haricots, and 

 other comestibles are retailed. In Vienna it appears 

 in all the smaller shops of the poor localities as one 

 of the regular articles of trade, and its consumption 

 must be enormous. In England it has never stood 

 in high repute as an esculent, probably the most ap- 

 proved mode of cooking has not been adopted, at any 

 rate hundreds and thousands of them flourish and 

 decay year after year, and no one advocates their 

 utilization. 



