142 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[July, 1904. 



to powder, forming' humus in wliich other plants can 

 grow and find food. 



Finally, fungi are responsible for the hollow trunks of 

 trees. The fungus first gains an entrance into the tissue 

 of the trunk tlirough the end of a broken branch, care- 

 less pruning, the hole made by a woodpecker, or some 

 other accidental wound. Once in the tissues the mycelium 

 spreads quickly, and in the course of time the heart-wood 

 is rendered brittle, and eventually becomes resolved to 

 powder, wliicli is removed by wind ;md rain through any 

 openings that may exist, and a hollow trunk is the 

 result. 



Tlie almost constant presence of moisture, and vary- 

 ing temperature, are the main factors that admit O'f 

 fungi effecting the rapid disintegration of dead vege- 

 table matter in woods, etc. As is well known, wood 

 that has been properly seasoned remains sound for 

 centuries, but if allowed to^ become damp, then fungus 

 scavengers, under the guise of " dry rot "' {MeruUus 

 lacrvmans), or other forms, at once commence the work 

 of disintegration. 



.A.S an article of food, the nutritive properties of fungi 

 have been much over-rated in the past. It was [x>inted 

 out that owing to their nitrogenous nature they stood on 

 a par with animal food, whereas in reality modern 

 analysis proves tliat the comf)osition of fungi varies 

 very much in different kinds; and fromi a nutritive stand- 

 point the common mushroom (Agaricus campesiris), the 

 kind most generally eaten in this country, ranks with 

 cabbage rather than with beef. 



This fact, howe\er, by no means proves that fungi 

 are comparatively useless as food; in fact, the oyster, 

 from the purely nutritive standpoint, ranks little above 



fungi and cabbage, nevertheless it is considered a 

 luxurj^; and in the same sense, fungi may be regarded 

 rather as luxuries than otherwise, and are of use in 

 rendering more pleasant to the palate substantial 

 articles of food. 



Tliere are in Britain at least fifty different kinds of 

 fungi that have been thoroughly tested as to their edible 



2. Veasts: a, beer yeast \>iacrh^ro>iiyc(i rerevisiiF) , x, single plants; w 

 showing reproduction by buddinfr ; 7), wine yeast iS/tfcharomin;:.^ 

 €tilip.muU:uii), X .single plants; tt showing reproduction by budding. 

 Mag. 800 times. 



3. Ergot iChiTicepd luri.uu'ii]; a, growing on an ear of rye; ''. ergot 

 removed from its host-plant; c, ergot producing its second form 

 of fruit after lying on the ground throughout the winter. Nat. size. 



properties, and from amongst these the great variety 

 presented, so far as taste and aroma are concerned, is 

 undoubtedly sufficient to meet the requirements of the 

 most fastidious. 



Aroma is most pronounced in the subterranean fungi, 

 which include several edible kinds of truffle. The use of 

 the strong smell to these fungi is to indicate their pre- 

 sence to various animals to whom they serve as an 

 article of food ; by this means the spores are dispersed. 



From among tfie number of species eaten in England 

 by mycologists, the one we consider best of all is a fun- 

 gus which, although by no means uncommon, and during 

 certain seasons very abundant on the ground in woods, 

 is probably quite unknown to the majority of people. 

 It is known as the " horn of plenty " {CraicrcUus 

 cornucopioidcs), on account of its resemblance to the 

 allegorical Cornucopia, as represented in pictures. The 

 general form is that of a long, narrow funnel with a 

 wavy mouth, two to four inches high, inside blackish- 

 brown, outside grey. This fungus cannot possibly be 



