218 



Conservation of Natural Resources, [june, 



Edible Boletus, Boletus edulis (Fig. 16). 



A large fungus differing from the mushroom in not having 

 gills on the under surface of the cap, but a compact mass of 

 slender tubes arranged side by side, the surface of which 

 looks as if it was crowded with pin-holes. The cap has aptly 

 been described as resembling a penny bun in size and colour, 

 4 to 6 inches across ; flesh white, not changing colour when 

 broken ; tubes greenish-yellow when old. Stem stout, three 

 or four inches long. 



It is found on the ground in woods during late summer 

 and autumn. 



The tubes should be removed, as they impart a somewhat 

 viscid consistency to the dish. 



Great interest has lately been aroused in the United States 

 in the subject of the waste of the natural resources of the 

 country. A Commission * appointed 

 Conservation of by Pres ident Roosevelt to inquire into 

 Natural Resources / t . . r 



• n t ^ e the conditions ol country hie stated 



United States. that wastage of soil resources through 

 poor farming was a general feature of 

 American agriculture, a decline in fertility being marked in 

 every part of the United States, even in the richest lands of 

 the prairies. 



A Conference of the Governors of the United States was 

 held at Washington in May, 1908, and another Conference 

 met at Washington in February, 1909, to which delegates 

 were sent by the United States, Canada, Newfoundland, and 

 Mexico. 



This Conference recognised as the natural resources which 

 they had under consideration "all materials available for the 

 use of man as means of life and welfare," such as (1) land, 

 that is the soil available for the production of crops; (2) 

 forests; (3) water, whether for domestic use, irrigation, 

 navigation, or power; and (4) minerals. They agreed that 

 those resources which are necessaries of life should be 

 regarded as public utilities, that their ownership entails 

 specific duties to the public, and that as far as possible effec- 



Jonrnal, May, 1909, p. 132. 



