454 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 332 



cidents through the inadvertent eating of poisonous species, fungi 

 are largely consumed, both by savage and civilized man, in all 

 parts of the world ; and, while they contribute so considerable a 

 portion of the food-product of the world, we may be sure their 

 value will not be permanently overlooked in the United States, 

 especially when we consider our large accessions of population 

 from countries in which the mushroom is a familiar and much- 

 prized edible. 



In France mushrooms form a very large article of consumption, 

 and are widely cultivated. Mushroom-beds are cultivated in caves, 

 frequently miles in extent. A cave at Mery is mentioned as con- 

 taining, in 1867, twenty-one miles of beds, and producing not less 

 than three thousand pounds daily. Another at Frepillon contains 

 sixteen miles of beds. The catacombs and quarries of Paris and 

 vicinity, and the caves of Moulin de la Roche, Sous Bicetre, and 

 Bagneux, produce immense quantities of mushrooms They are 

 all under government supervision, and are regularly inspected, like 

 the mines. 



The mushroom which is cultivated in these quarries and caves, 

 almost to the exclusion of all others, is the " Snow-Ball " {Agari- 

 cus arvensis). The truffle is held in high esteem, and is largely 

 exported. In 1872 the quantity of truffles exported from France 

 was valued at over 3,000,000 francs ; in 1879, at nearly 10,000,000 

 francs. Immense quantities of the Agariciis deliciosus are sold in 

 the Marseilles markets. The Fzstidina hepatica is also in great 

 demand, and many other varieties appear from time to time in the 

 markets throughout France. The natives of Australia use largely 

 a truffle which attains a weight of more than two pounds, and is 

 known under the name of " native bread." The Chinese, who are 

 noted for the care bestowed on their esculent vegetation, consume 

 large quantities of edible fungi, importing largely from Japan and 

 Tahiti. The trade in edible fungi from Tahiti to China com- 

 menced about the year 1 866 ; in 1 868 only seventy tons were shipped ; 

 in 1873 o"^ hundred and thirty-five tons were exported to China; 

 and in 1874 one hundred and fifty-two tons were exported. 



The value of mushrooms imported by Shanghai from Tahiti in 

 1872 was 107,000 taels ; and in 1873, 138,800 taels (the tael is 

 worth about six shillings sterling). The fungus shipped, Exidia 

 auricula Inda is said to be very rich in fungine and nitrogen. It 

 is a very bulky freight : ten tons will occupy the room of thirty 

 tons ordinary freight. 



A very laudable practice of the Chinese Government alluded to 

 in an English journal, and which might perhaps be advantageously 

 adopted in this country, is the publishing, for annual gratuitous 

 distribution, of numerous treatises describing the different herbs 

 which can be utilized in whole or in part for food-purposes. One 

 of these treatises is called the " Anti-Famine Herbal," and consists 

 of six volumes, containing descriptions, with illustrations, of over 

 four hundred plants which can be used as food. These volumes 

 are of inestimable value in districts where the ravages of insects, 

 drought, etc., have destroyed the grain and rice crops, and famine 

 is imminent. For some years past New Zealand has exported 

 large quantities of an edible fungus to San Francisco and Hong 

 Kong for the use of the Celestials. A full account of this industry 

 may be obtained from the United States consular reports. The 

 gathering and drying of the fungus gives profitable employment to 

 large numbers of colonial children, as well as to the Maoris. The 

 species grows abundantly in the wooded regions of New Zealand, 

 and when dry is worth from fourpence to tivepence a pound. The 

 Chinese, who are singularly free from prejudice in the matter of 

 food, use it, as they do the edible swallow's nest, as a chief ingre- 

 dient in their favorite soup. They also employ it as a medicine, 

 and, stranger still, for making a valuable dye for silk. Another re- 

 markable edible fungus of New Zealand is the Sphaeria Robertsii, 

 which grows out of the body of a large caterpillar, practically con- 

 verting the latter into vegetable substance. The caterpillar lives 

 under ground, and the fungus springs upwards through the soil 

 till it reaches a height of eight or ten inches. It is eaten by the 

 Maoris, who employ it also, when burned, as a coloring-matter. 



The Japanese grow several species of edible fungi in logs of de- 

 caying wood in a manner peculiar to themselves ; and, aside from 

 the home consumption, they in one year exported to China mush- 

 rooms to the value of $60,000. In 1879 mushrooms were exported 



from Japan to the value of 243,440 yens. The yen is equal to 99^5 

 cents. Among the north-eastern tribes of Asia, fungi are largely 

 used as food. One species, when pounded, forms their snuff ; 

 while another, the Fly Agaric, which is utilized in Europe as a 

 fly- killer, and is regarded as one of the most poisonous forms, is 

 used by them as a substitute for ardent spirits, one large specimen 

 being sufficient " to produce a pleasant intoxication for a whole 

 day." In many parts of Europe fungi are a favorite food, being 

 eaten fresh, and also preserved in vinegar for winter use. For 

 pickling purposes, all kinds, it is said, are gathered, the vinegar 

 being supposed to neutralize the alkaline poison of the noxious 

 species. The common mushroom, the morel, and the truffle, are, 

 however, the favorite edible fungi. In Italy the value of the mush- 

 room as an article of diet has long been understood and appre- 

 ciated. Pliny, Galen, and Dioscorides mention various esculent 

 species, notably varieties of the truffle, the boletus, and the puff- 

 ball. At Rome it has been the custom of the government to ap- 

 point inspectors to examine all the mushrooms brought into mar- 

 ket, and to reject such as are poisonous or worthless, which are 

 thrown into the Tiber. It was required also that no mushrooms 

 should be hawked about the streets, but that all should be sent 

 to the central depot for inspection. 



The yearly average of the taxed mushrooms sold (all over ten 

 pounds being taxed) in the city of Rome alone, for the past decade, 

 has been estimated at between sixty thousand and eighty thousand 

 pounds weight. Large quantities of mushrooms are consumed in 

 Germany, Hungary, Russia, and Austria, and in the last country a 

 list is published, by authority, of those mushrooms which, upon 

 official examination, may be sold. Darwin speaks of Terra del 

 Fuego as the only country where cryptogamic plants form a staple 

 article of food. A bright yellow fungus allied to Bulgariti, forms, 

 with shell-fish, the staple food of the Fuegians. In England the 

 common meadow mushroom, Agariciis cainpcstris, is quite well 

 known, and used to a considerable extent among the people, but 

 there is not that general knowledge of and use of other species 

 which obtains on the Continent. Much has been done of late 

 years by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, Dr. Curtis, Dr. C. D. Badham, 

 Dr. M. C. Cooke, Worthington G. Smith, Professor Charles Peck, 

 and others, to disseminate general knowledge on this subject. 

 That America is no less rich in the quantity and variety of esculent 

 fungi is readily seen by the fact that one hundred and eleven spe- 

 cies of edible fungi have been described by the Rev. Dr. Curtis, 

 State botanist of North Carolina, as indigenous to that State alone, 

 and late investigations show that nearly all the species common to 

 the countries of continental Europe are found in different localities 

 in the United States. Dr. J. J. Brown of Sheboygan, Wis., writes 

 that edible mushrooms are found in his neighborhood in great 

 abundance. 



Many methods of cultivating the common meadow mushroom 

 have been presented by different growers, but all agree as to the 

 value of the general methods in practice. Nearly every farm and 

 nursery affords the conditions necessary to cultivate the ordinary 

 field-mushrooms ; such as sheltered sheds, stables, and small hot- 

 beds for winter cultivation, and melon-patches, cucumber-pits, etc., 

 for summer culture. 



Mushroom spawn in " bricks " can be easily obtained from the 

 seedsmen. Natural or virgin spawn, which is considered by many 

 experienced growers as preferable to the artificial, can be obtained 

 in most places where horses are kept. It is found in half-decom- 

 posed manure-heaps, generally where horse droppings have accu- 

 mulated under cover. It is readily distinguished by its white fila- 

 mentous character and by its mushroom odor. When dried, it 

 can be kept for years. 



Mushroom-beds are easily formed on the floors of sheds by 

 carrying in the fresh stable-dung, adding to it about one-fourth of 

 good loam, mixing both together, pressing firmly down, and letting 

 the mass remain about two weeks untouched. By this time the 

 teiriperature will be on the decline ; and when it falls anywhere 

 between 50° and 60° F., break the spawn bricks into pieces two 

 inches square, and plant twelve inches apart, three inches below 

 the surface. By means of any suitable instrument, beat the mass 

 down firmly, then add three inches of good soil, and beat again. 

 For culinary purposes, mushrooms should generally be allowed a 



