IS3I 



ARBORETUM AM) FRUTICETUM. 



I'ART III. 



or 



IIP 



P. fomentarius 



edge, which are sometimes glutinous, 

 {Fug. /■'/.. v. p. 14-1.) It was from this 

 Bpecies that Bracconet obtained the bo- 

 leticacid. (SeeEncyc. tf Plants, p. 1007.) 

 P. fomentarius Fries, syn. B. fomentarius 

 /,., and our Jig. 1672. ; and P. igniarius 

 J Fries, syn. Y>\ igniarius L. y and our fig, 

 1671. ; arc both used for making amadou, 

 vegetable tinder j the former being considered the best. 

 is also the agaric de chene, or agaric des chirurgiens, of the French drug- 

 gists. To make the amadou, the outer covering is peeled oft', and the 

 tntcrior part, which is soft and full 

 o( fibres, is boiled in a lie of wood- 

 ashes. It is then dried, and beaten 

 with a hammer till it becomes Hat; 

 after which it is again boiled in a 

 solution of saltpetre. In this state, 

 it makes excellent tinder, igniting 

 with the slightest spark. The agaric 

 des cktrurgietu is prepared in the same 

 manner, but not boiled in the solution 

 of nitre. (See Marquis* Kssai,Sm.; Diet. Classiquc iVHist. Nat.; Thickness'* 

 For. Veg.) The Laplanders are said to cure a violent pain in any part of the 

 body bv laying a piece of P. fomentarius on the part, and igniting it. (JEng. 

 /•'/., vol. v. p. 4.) P. vulgaris Fr. and P. molluscus Fr. are common on 

 fallen branches. An account of a curious deformed fungus {fig. 1073.), 

 apparently a species of Polyporus, was sent to us in the year 1828. This 

 fungus grew for 10 years on the oak 

 from which it was taken, and was 

 composed of an aggregate mass of 

 tubercles, disposed in an irregular 

 .; form : the pores were oval. (Mag. 

 1 Nat, Hist., i. p. 289.) Fistulina 

 hepatica With., Grev. Crypt., t. 240., 

 and our fig. 1074., is an eatable 

 fungus ; and it is much esteemed in : 

 Austria as an article of food ; though the taste is rather acid, and the texture 

 tough* it is sometimes found of enormous size. Mr. Graves found a specimen 



1073 



upon an ash pollard that weighed .'JO lb. On the oak it 

 is generally very small. 7/ydnum 

 AYinaeeus Bull., t. 34., and our 

 Jig. 1075., is found occasionally 

 upon the oak ; but it is rare in 

 Britain. Thelephora rubiginosa 

 Schrad^ syn. Auricularia ferru- 

 ginea Sow., t. 26. ; T. spadfcea 



/'/ 1 ., syn. Auricularia talmeina Sow. 



Grev, Vrypt., t. 142., and our rig. 1676, 



tar. It u generally found on fallen oak branches, 



iii woods, and is very common. T. hirsuta W. 



1677 



T. yuercina Pen. Syn., p. 573., 



syn. Auricularia corticalis Bull., 



1680 



1070 



,. f. I., was formerly called oak car, or oak- - 

 bark <ar, from vnni: fancied similarity to the human 



1 677.) is an allied ipe< ie i, and is equally common 

 p. 637., Grev. Fl Ed., p. H8., syn. / 



Peziza aurantia Pert, 



:a Sow., t. 78., and our 



