1030 JOURS AL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



No. XXEV. -OCCURRENCE OF THE BUTTERFLY CHILARIA 

 OT FIONA IN SALSETTE. 

 On the 28th February lust I captured a fresh male of Chilaria othona, Hew., 

 in Salsette. This is another addition to the butterfly fauna of the Konkan as 

 given in Messrs. Comber and Aitken's list in Vol. XV of the Journal. 



I observe, however, that De Niceville gives Bombay as a locality, so it has 

 probably been taken in the neighbourhood before. 



Probably, it has been overlooked. Not many people do much collecting at 

 this season of the year. 



L. 0. H. YOUNG. 

 Bombay, March 1907. 



No. XXV —A NOTE ON AN EDIBLE FUNGUS FROM LAHORE. 



(Read before the Bombay Natural History Society on 7th March 1907.) 



At our Society's meeting held last January, when speaking of the edible 

 " Morel " fungus of Kashmir (Morchella esculenta), I promised to exhibit some 

 dried specimens. 



Description. — The pileus is ovate round, or oblong ; adnate to the stem at 

 the base ; ribs firm, anastomosing ; intervals forming pits ; stem even ; asci 

 cylindrical ; sporidia 8, elliptic, 20 — 22 + 10 p. ; paraphyses filiform, slightly 

 thickened above. The native name of the fungus is Guchbhi or Luchbhi. 



In LeMaont and Decaisne's " Descriptive and Analytical Botany", translated 

 by Mrs. Hooker, there is note at page 957 (edition 1873), which runs thus: — 

 " The Common Morel {Morchella esculenta) may be looked on as the harbinger 

 of spring, appearing (in France) with tolerable regularity in April, if this month 

 is rainy. It is eaten fresh or dried, as are all its congeners." Mrs. Hussey in 

 the first volume of her "Illustrations of British Mycology" (1847, London) 

 "ives an excellent plate with three coloured figures of Morchella esculenta, 

 Dillenius. From her account of it I find that this fungus is common all over 

 Europe. The name is from the German " Morchel ". 



When young, the Morel is a very delicate plant ; any obstruction, therefore, 

 to its growth, such as hard soil or stone, or even roots of grasses or weeds in the 

 ground where the fungus is growing, affects the final form which the fungus 

 takes after emerging and developing above ground. The fungus is noted for 

 its varied and irregular forms on this account. " It often appears lobed, twist- 

 ed in the stem, and contorted into monstrous shapes, and the size varies 

 extremely." (Mrs. Hussey.) With regard to the culinary use of this fungus 

 Mrs. Hussey further says thus : — " Morels should be gathered in dry weather ; 

 after rain or dew they have not much flavour. • • • • They may be 

 stuffed with bread crumbs, meat, chicken, shell-fish, &c, finely minced and 

 seasoned, then wrapped in slices of bacon and roasted, serving them in Italian 

 Sauce (?K. R. K.), or any piquant brown gravy with a little light wine in it, 

 and buttered toast may be placed beneath them.' 



