374 FIRST FORMS OF VEGETATION. 
of green foliage that overshadow it. It is exceed- 
ingly abundant in some parts of Kamtschatka and 
the northern districts of Siberia; the ground, in 
nearly every wood and thicket, being almost con- 
cealed by its scarlet sheen. By the natives it is 
collected during the brief summer months, which 
in that climate are intensely hot. Sometimes it is 
plucked and hung up in the air outside their dwell- 
ings to dry, and sometimes it is allowed to wither 
and die untouched in the place where it grows, in 
which case its narcotic properties are better pre- 
served than when it is gathered and artificially 
dried. When steeped in the expressed juice of 
the native whortleberry, it forms a very strong in- 
toxicating kind of wine, which is much relished. 
But the more common way of using the fungus is 
to roll it up like a bolus, and swallow it without 
chewing, which, it is said, would disorder the 
stomach. Dr. Greville gives some curious par- 
ticulars regarding this fungus in the fourth volume 
of the Wernerian Transactions. He says: ‘One 
large or two small fungi are a common dose to 
produce a pleasant’ intoxication for a whole day, 
particularly if water be drunk after it, which aug- 
ments the narcotic action. The desired effect 
comes on from one to two hours after taking the 
fungus. Giddiness and drunkenness follow in the 
same manner as from wine or spirits. Cheerful- 
