32 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



vum. They are roundish in outline, of the size of a black walnut, 

 having the surface black and much wrinkled, as if by pressure. 

 The interior is quite solid, of a brownish color, and eshahng when 

 cut a very agreeable odor. Their habit of growth is peculiar, as 

 they are subterranean during their whole life, being buried beneath 

 the soil to the depth of several inches. The condition most favora- 

 ble for the growth of truffles is a soil of a calcareous nature, perme- 

 ated by the roots of the oak ; and the method pursued in France, 

 the only country where the culture has proved successful, is to se- 

 lect the required quality of soil and sow it with acorns. When the 

 saplings have attained a few years' growth the truffles begin to 

 grow. Owing to the subterranean habit of the truffle, the difficulty 

 of finding them, when growing in the wild state, is great, and to 

 this end several processes are in vogue, one of which is quite effect- 

 ual, and at the same time unique. Dogs and pigs are very fond of 

 these delicate bits of vegetable growth, and being endowed with a 

 sense of smell far superior to that possessed by man, are enabled 

 to seek out the truffles in their hiding places. When the dog, or 

 pig, as the case may be, has found the locality of the plants, he is 

 repaid by a more available, though less palatable morsel from the 

 truffle-hunter's hand. 



Besides those already mentioned, there are many other species of 

 fungi which have won a general acceptance into the list of those 

 that are fit for food. 



Among the poisonous toadstools the Amanita muscaria holds a 

 leading place, receiving its specific name from the fact that it is 

 sometimes steeped and the solution used in the destruction of the 

 house fly. The pileus is raised on a long stalk, and often attains 

 the diameter of four to six inches, having its upper surface studded 

 with large white protuberances, making the plant, if richness of 

 color and beauty of outline are considered, better fitted for the 

 throne of a fairy than the stool of an ugly toad. Though so tempt- 

 ing in its beauty, its poisonous effects have become well understood 

 through the sad experience of many who have eaten freely of its 

 tender tissue, to suffer the severest pain, sometimes only relieved 

 by death. A variety of this species grows to some extent in North- 

 ern Asia, and especially in Kamtchatka, where it is highly prized 

 by the natives for its exliilarating effects, possessing, as it does, 

 the power of producing a peculiar intoxication. The fungus is 

 gathered and dried with great care, and when a state of inebriation 



