24 
THE LARGER F1XG1 
THE LARGER FUNGI EATEN BY MAMMALS, INSECTS, 
AND OTHER ANIMALS. 
Till' fungi, such as mushrooms, deliberately eaten by man as food, or perhaps 
more correctly as a food relish, have already been considered. The present section 
deals with those eaten by grazing mammals, with those searched for and consumed 
on account of their possessing a smell attractive to certain animals, and with 
fungi visited by slugs, eaten by beetles and bugs, or forming a breeding ground 
for insect larvae or a suitable situation for the concealment or protection of 
minute forms of animal life. 
Do Farm Animals eat Mushrooms or other Fungi? — To ascertain whether man's 
domesticated animals ever fed upon mushrooms or toadstools as found in our 
pastures, and if so with what after-effects (if any), an inquiry directed to 
farmers and others was instituted at my suggestion by the Agricultural Bureau 
of South Australia. A number of replies were received from various branches 
and, as might have been expected, the answers supplied were diverse. The ques- 
tions asked were whether mushrooms or toadstools were eaten by cattle, horses, 
sheep, oi- swine, and if so, whether they sought them out and ate them with 
relish. Inquiry was also made as to any ill-effects attributed to such eating. 
In the majority of cases no information was available, from which it may be 
inferred that the eating by sueli animals of mushrooms or toadstools was at 
least not a common or usual event. Occasional animals had been seen to ingest 
them, apparently accidentally. Now and again certain cattle had been seen to 
eat them with relish and even to seek mushrooms out. In the case of a cow that 
used to eat mushrooms, the milk was said to be unfit for drinking. A dairyman 
at \\ oudside, after collecting a number of mushrooms, put them under a fence; 
during his absence collecting more, a cow ate the lot without ill-effects; he had 
often seen the remains of mushrooms that cows had been at. Sheep have been 
seen eating mushrooms. One observer had noted sheep eating both mushrooms 
and toadstools when small, and stated that when too many were eaten a “break” 
in the wool occurred. Large numbers of mushrooms have been gathered where 
sheep have been pastured, showing that the mushrooms are not usually eaten by 
sheep. Mushrooms when plentiful had in two cases been fed to pigs 'with other 
food, and eaten without ill-effects, though one observer said without relish. 
Other recorders say that pigs refuse to touch them. Fowls had also been seen 
eating- mushrooms occasionally. An answer from the MacGillivray branch stated 
that wild (feral) pigs and kangaroos arc very fond of toadstools and will root 
or scratch them up before they are through the ground. As MacGillivray is on 
Kangaroo Island, where an underground “puff-ball ’ (MesBphellia) is common, 
is highly scented, and is scratched for by small marsupials, the reference is 
probably to this species. In one instance only had a liorse been seen eating 
mushrooms, which it did, apparently, with relish. 
The following possible ill-effects were recorded. Between Naraeoorte and 
Lucindale some 10 or 12 years ago, 40 or 50 sheep were lost in a paddock, in 
which ware many toadstools. A dog was noticed in an adjacent, paddock eating 
a toadstool. It died not very long afterwards. The sheep were moved to a 
piaddoek free from toadstools and no more deaths occurred. 
Ja one instance five pigs ate toadstools and died. The Honorary Secretary of 
the Allendale East Branch had seen cattle eating toadstools and later found one 
of his best cows dead with her paunch distended and froth coming from her mouth, 
which result he attributed to such toadstools. These were the only examples of 
possible injurious results elicited by these inquiries. 
From time to time unexpected deaths in horses and other animals have had 
to be investigated, and when such occurrences have taken place in autumn, the 
possibility of their being due to the accidental eating of some poisonous agaric 
has been suggested, but not seriously entertained. It might be thought that 
such species as Striipharia semifflobata, Paibacol'Us retirugis, and -members of 
the genera Psilocybe and Coprinm, that grow on cow-dung and horse-manure, 
would be frequently eaten accidentally by animals cropping the surrounding grass. 
I have not seen evidence of this, but it seems almost certain that the spores 
from such species, produced by the million, become deposited on the surrounding 
vegetation and so get ingested. They probably pass through the alimentary canal 
intact — it is quite likely that their germinating power may be increased during 
the passage — and so the dung is already seeded by the spores when it is passed. 
