1836 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



1689 



are the eatable boletus and the truffle (the latter of which 

 we shall treat of under the art. .Fagus), both of which are 

 excellent in cookery. The eatable boletus, or cepe, or ceps, 

 comprises three species, viz. : boletus edulis Bull. t. 60. 

 and t. 495., Dec. Fl. Fr., p. 330., Sow., t. 111., Roqucss Hist, 

 des Champ., p, 61. t. 4. f. 2. and t. 5. f. 1, 2, and 3., and our 

 fig. 1689., syn. B. esculentus Pers. Obs. MycoL, i. p. 23., 

 the ceps ordinaire of the French markets ; B. ae v reus Bull., 

 t. 375., or ceps noir ; B. aurantiacus Bull., t. 236., the gyrole rouge, or roiissite, 

 of the French, a variety of B. scaber Bull., t. 132. Besides these names, 

 the different kinds of ceps are called, in the different provinces of France, 

 bruquet and potiron ; and in Italy, porcino and ceppatello 

 buono. The ceps resembles a mushroom in appearance, 

 with a large pileus, or cap, covered with a yellowish or 

 brownish skin ; and the lower surface consisting of slightly 

 attached half-round tubes, in the same situation as the 

 gills are in the common mushroom. These tubes, which 

 are, in France, vulgarly called lefoin, are removed with the 

 skin and stalk, and only the solid part of the cap is eaten. 

 (See Diet. Classique d'Hist. Nat., torn. ii. p. 390.) The 

 flesh of the solid part is white, firm, and extremely de- 

 licate, particularly when young; and it is applied in cookery, 

 not only to all the purposes of the common mushroom, but it is eaten raw 

 with salt and pepper, or made into soup. In Roques's Histoire des Champignon,'!, 

 4to, several receipts are given for preparing it ; and the following observations 

 are added on its history and culture : 



All the varieties of ceps are delicate. The flesh is fine, of a delicious 

 flavour, an agreeable smell, and snowy whiteness ; particularly in the voung 

 plants, which ought always to be preferred. A great quantityof this fungus 

 is consumed in the south of France, particularly at Bordeaux and Bayonne, 

 where it is frequently called champignon Polonais, the Polish mushroom ; 

 " because it was the Poles in the suite of Stanislaus Leczinski who taught 

 the French that it might be eaten without danger." It is also much used in 

 Hungary, and other parts of central Europe, and in Russia. " The best ceps 

 grows on the banks of copse woods, planted with the oak or sweet chestnut; 

 or on heathy ground, rather hilly, and shaded with oak trees. In the south 

 of France, the first gathering of this fungus is in May, when the skin of the 

 ceps is yellowish, and the flesh white, with a faint tinge of rose colour, and 

 extremely delicate. The second gathering is in July, August, and Septem- 

 ber, when the skin becomes of a dark brown, and the flesh acquires a 

 higher flavour. The last gathering is in November and December, if the 

 weather continues open ; but the flesh has then become soft, and nearly 

 insipid. These fungi, which are extremely wholesome and nutritious, grow 

 sometimes so large, that one or two will suffice for the repast of several 

 persons." (Hist, des Champ., p. 61.) The Rev. M. J. Berkeley, speaking 

 of this fungus, in the fifth volume of the English Flora, says': "Though 

 neglected in this country, it appears to be a valuable article of food. It 

 resembles in taste the common mushroom, and is quite as delicate ; and it 

 might be used to much advantage, as it abounds in seasons when a mush- 

 room is scarcely to be found. Like that, it can be cultivated, but by a 

 much more simple process; as it is merely necessary to moisten the ground 

 under oak trees, with water in which a quantity has been allowed to ferment. 

 The only precaution requisite is, to fence in the portion of ground destined 

 for the production of the fungus, as deer and pigs are very fond of it." 

 (Eng. Fl., v. p. 153.) 



Several fungi grow on the leaves, some of the most remarkable of 

 which are: ^garicus r/ryophyJlus Sow., t. 127., very fragile, and difficult to 

 gather without breaking, or rubbing off the skin ; A. ^6rreus Fr., syn. 

 A. alliaceus Sow., t. 81., remarkable for its strong and abiding smell of 



