22 JOURNAL OF THE 



increased, under the guidance and assistance of Mr. Berkeley, a 

 confidence to discriminate species grew up with it. and a curiosity 

 to test the qualities of these much-lauded articles got the better of 

 timidity, and at the time he wrote (1869) he could safely say that 

 he had eaten a greater variety of mushrooms than any one on the 

 American continent. He introduced several species before untried 

 and unknown. From the beginning of his experiments he exercised 

 great caution even with the species long recognized as safe and 

 wholesome. In every case he began only with a single mouthful, 

 ]S^o ill effect following, he made a second essay upon two or three 

 mouthfuls, and so on gradually until he made a full meal of them. 



Fortunately he did not blunder upon any kind that was mischiev- 

 ous, although he ate freely of forty species. This, he says, was due 

 to the fact.'tiiat his general acquaintance with species which have 

 been long used in Europe, and his experiments were only with 

 species bearing some affinity or analogy to them. 



Mycophagy was an art and a science with Dr. Curtis, and in a 

 letter to Mr, Berkeley he thus describes some of his experiences: 



"Of the Merisma group of Polypores, having already tried P. frondosus, 

 confluens, and sulphureus, I ventured, after some hesitation, ^nd with more 

 than usual caution, to test the virtues of the new American species, (P. Berkelei, 

 Fr.,) notwithstanding the intense pungency of the raw material, which bites as 

 fiercely as Lactarius piperatus. When young, and before the pores are visible, 

 the substance is quite crisp and brittle, and in this State I have eaten it with 

 impunity and with satisfaction, its pungency being all dissipated by stewing. 

 I do not, however, deem it comparable with P. confluens, which is rather a 

 favorite with me, as it is with some others to whom I have introduced it. P. 

 sulphureus is just tolerable; safe, but not to be coveted when one can get better, 



" When I say safe, I mean not poisonous. I cannot recommend it as a diet 

 for weak stomachs, which should be said of some other fungi of similar texture, 

 I am here reminded of an experience I had three or four years ago with this 

 species, which would have greatly alarmed me had it happened at an early date 

 in my experiments, and which would probably have deterred any one unused to 

 this kind of diet from ever indulging in it again. I had a sumptuous dish of it 

 on my supper table, of which most of my family, as well as a guest staying with 

 us, partook very freely. During the night I became very sick, and was not 

 relieved until relieved of my supper. xMy first thought on the accession of the 

 illness was of Polyporus sulphureus ; but as I remembered that inflammation 

 was one of the symptoms of fungus poisoning, and I could detect no indications 

 of this in my case, I soon dismissed the rising fear, did not send for the doctor, 

 nor take any remedy. Others who had partaken of the fungus more freely than 

 myself, were not at all affected ; and I presume my sickness was no more in- 

 duced by the Polyporus than by the bread and butter I had eaten. And yet 



