FUNGI AS FOOD 95 



tively soft, the fructifications can push their way through 

 soil without being damaged. The photograph on 

 Plate III. shows a group of Coprinus atramentarius, which 

 pushed its way through the metal of a garden path. It 

 had to negotiate about 9 inches of solidly compacted 

 ashes, and a top layer of blaes. Fungi have been 

 observed to lift paving- stones from their beds. Sir 

 Joseph Banks was responsible for recording an instance 

 of a wine-cask being lifted to the roof of a cellar by 

 Fungi which had developed from the wine that had 

 leaked out of it. 



From quite ancient times Fungi have been used as 

 articles of food. Some species are very poisonous, and 

 none should be eaten unless it is certainly known that 

 they are edible. Many kinds are eaten on the Conti- 

 nent, but in Britain the Mushroom is the only one that 

 forms a popular article of diet, and is cultivated for the 

 market. In a recent publication of the British Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries it is stated that poisonous 

 species are comparatively few in number, and there are 

 about fifty kinds that can safely be eaten. Of the edible 

 species, the following are described: Common Mush- 

 room (Agaricus campestris), Horse Mushroom (A. ar- 

 vensis), Tufted Mushroom (A. elvensis), Bleeding Agaric 

 (A. hcemorhoidarius), Shaggy Caps (Coprinus comatus), 

 Warty Caps (Amanita rubescens), Parasol Mushroom 

 (Lepiota procera), Sheathed Agaric (Amanitopsis vagi- 

 nata), Scaly Agaric (Lepiota rachodes), Chocolate 

 Agaric (L. emplastra), Blewits (Tricholoma personatum), 

 Funnel Mushroom (Clitocybe maxima), Amethyst Agaric 

 (Tricholoma nudum), Horn of Plenty (Crater ellus cornu- 

 copioides), Great Puffball (Calvatia gigantea), Edible 



