SAC FUNGI CONTINUED 1 53 



fruit body in the subfamily Eutuberinea; is found in Geiua //ispidula 

 where it forms a hollow sphere with definite opening. Generally, it is 

 provided with a system of tubes, passageways or galleries, which vary 

 in their arrangement in the different genera. These galleries are hollow 

 in some, in others filled with hyphae, constituting the vena exlerncB. 

 The sterile supporting hyphae between these passageways constitute the 

 venas interncR. In the subfamily Balsamjnace^, the fruit body has a 

 single, hollow chamber, or numerous hollow closed cavities. The 

 ascigeral layers constitute the walls of these chambers. 



The fungi of the genus Tuber (Fig. 52) are of the most interest 

 economically, as several species, such as T. csstivum (Spring), T. 

 brumale, T. melanosporum (, Winter), T. uncinatum (Autumn), T. rufum 

 are edible, and are known as truffles (Fig. 52). These species occur in 

 deciduous woods of north Italy, France and Germany and elsewhere 

 in Europe. They are gathered for food by men (rabassier), who make 

 a livelihood by selling the truffles for immediate use, or for canning 

 purposes. As the fruit bodies emit a characteristic odor, they are 

 located by the aid of specially trained dogs, and pigs, whose keen scent 

 enables them to find the underground fruit bodies. As they are dug 

 up, the animal is rewarded by his master with some other attractive 

 morsel of food, and the newly discovered truflBe is placed in a leathern 

 pouch slung over the shoulder of the rabassier. The tin cans in which 

 the trufiBes (Ttcber melanosporum in Perigord mainly) are preserved 

 for shipment to all parts of the world are usually labeled with a state- 

 ment as to the contents of the can, and with a hunting scene, where the 

 man and his truffle dog prominently figure. 



Near here should be placed the family Myriangiaceae repre- 

 sented, by the genus Myriangium with three species of wide distribu- 

 tion. This family has been monographed by von Honel.* 



'VON Honel: Sitzungsber. Math. Naturw. Klasse k. Akad. Wiss. Wien., 

 118, Abt. i: 349-376, 1909. 



