AN EDIBLE FUNGUS. 57 



"During the last twelve years no less that 1,858 tons of this 

 fungus have been exported, valued at £79,752, as is more particularly 

 shown in the following return, which I have compiled from sources 

 published in the Government statistical papers : — 



Skaes. 



Quantity. 



Declared Value. 





1'ons. Owt. 



£ 



1872 



58 



1927 



1873 



95 



1195 



1874 



118 



6226 



1875 



112 



5744 



1876 



132 



6224 



1877 



220 



11318 



1878 



103 



5178 



1879 



59 5 



2744 



1880 



183 12 



6123 



1881 



187 11 



8192 



1882 



339 17 



15581 



1883 



250 6 



9300 



1,858 11 79,752 



"I should observe that the official entries show that those 

 exports are confined to the Northern island, and only from two 

 ports there — viz.,Auckland and Wellington — except some small lots 

 amounting to 7 tons, exported from Poverty Bay and Napier in the 

 last two years, 1882 and 1883. The fungus, however, may have been 

 extensively collected in the districts containing those two larger 

 ports." 



In order to test the value of the New Zealand fungus as an 

 article of food, a supply of it was recently obtained for Kew, by Mr. 

 Thomas Kirk, Chief Conservator of State Forests, Wellington, N.Z. 



. A portion of this supply was submitted for analysis to Professor 

 Church, F.R.S., who has been good enough to furnish the following 

 interesting note : — 



Hirneola polytricha. 

 " A sample of this fungus, in the air-dried condition as received, 

 was prepared for analysis by careful brushing and the removal of a 

 few fragments of obviously foreign substances. It gave the following 

 percentages : — 



Water ... ... ... ... 17-0 



Albuminoids (calculated from total Nitrogen) .. ... 6'8 



Carbohydrates, digestible ... ... ... 70 '5 



Carbohydrates, indigestible ... ... ... 1*9 



Fat (Ether extract) ... ... ... 1"5 



Ash ... ... ... ... 2-3 



A few remarks as to these figures will prove useful in appreciating 

 the food-value of this fungus. First of all the nitrogen present does 

 not all exist in the form of albuminoids. The coagulable albuminoids, 

 as estimated by the phenol method, amount to 5-4 per cent. ; the 

 remainder of the nitrogen occurring chiefly as amides, is not nutritive. 

 If this result be accepted, the proportion of albuminoids to digestible 

 carbohydrates plus the starch — equivalent of the fat, becomes 1:13-7 

 instead of 1 : 10 9, as shown by the per-centages recorded above. 

 Anyhow, this fungus is singularly poor in albuminoid or muscle- 

 forming substances, and differs remarkably in this respect from the 

 numerous edible fungi of which analyses have been previously made. 

 In these analyses we find at least twice or thrice as much albuminoid 

 matters, often more. 



