The Beneficial and Injurious Influences of Fungi. 187 



describes between 500 and 600 plants, chiefly medicinal ; in 

 it is the first mention of the word Agaricum, which word has 

 been adopted by modern mycologists for the large group of 

 gilled Fungi of which we have in Britain over a thousand 

 species. Dioscorides says : ' Fungi (fivKpqes) have a twofold 

 difference, for they are either good for food or poisonous,' and 

 indicates one species as being useful for ' imparting a sweet 

 taste to sauces,' also recommending that the edible fungi 

 be cooked in oil and with much honey. 



Pliny (b. A.D. 23) tells us in his ' Natural History ' much 

 about the preparation of the dishes of Boleti which was one 

 of the luxuries of the wealthy Romans. The Fungi were to be 

 prepared by the epicures themselves with amber knives and 

 silver service, and were never to be trusted in the hands of 

 servants, for he says it would be safer to send silver or gold by 

 a messenger than to trust him with Boleti. ' Argentum atque 

 aurum facile est laenamque togamque mittere : Boletos mittere 

 difficile est.'— Ep. XIII. 48. 



The correct description given by Pliny of several of the edible 

 Fungi enables us to recognise some well-known species. 



The death of Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54) by poisoning was 

 attributed to a dish of his favourite Boleti prepared by the 

 Empress Agrippina, but whether the poison was originally 

 in the Fungi or introduced by Agrippina (as Pliny asserts), 

 we are not in a position now to determine, but the case will 

 suffice to show that the eating of Fungi by the wealthy Romans 

 was prevalent, and by them esteemed a luxury, notwithstanding 

 the constant warnings against the possibility of poisoning. 



These warnings, which were so frequently given by the 

 ancient writers, might serve as an argument against the use 

 of Fungi as an article of diet, but we must bear in mind the 

 crude state of botanical knowledge, especially in mycology, 

 which the ancients had, and their ignorance of structure, 

 affinities, classification and chemical properties which the 

 mycologists of the twentieth century possess. The number 

 of species of Fungi named and recognised by the ancient bot- 

 anists would probably not exceed a score and these were the 

 large species considered to be suitable for food. The absence 

 of proper descriptive characters would lead to mistakes being 

 made, often with serious consequences. 



It may be of interest to state what a very distinguished 

 Selby botanist wrote three hundred years ago. This Selby 

 born man, Thomas Johnson by name, wrote an amended 

 edition of Gerard's Herbal in 1633, and in the chapter on Fungi, 

 he says :— 



' Some mushrumes grow forth of the earth, other upon the 

 bodies of old trees, which differ altogether in kindes. Many 

 wantons that dwell neere the sea, and have fish at will, are 



1917Junel. 



