7 
industry may be obtained from tlie United States consular reports. 
The gathering and drying of the fungus give profitable employment 
to large numbers of colonial children, as well as to the Maoris. The 
species grows abundantly in the wooded regions of New Zealand, and 
when dry is worth from 4 to 5 pence a pound. The Chinese, who are 
singularly free from prejudice in the matter of food, use it, as they do 
the edible nest of their swallow, as a chief ingredient in their favorite 
soup. They also employ it as a medicine, and, stranger still, for mak¬ 
ing a valuable dye for silk. Another remarkable edible fungus of New 
Zealand is the >S 'phwria Bobertsii , which grows out of the body of a 
large caterpillar, practically converting the latter into vegetable sub¬ 
stance. The caterpillar lives under ground, and the fungus springs 
upward through the soil till it reaches a height of 8 or 10 inches. It is 
eaten by the Maoris, who use it also, when burned, as a coloring matter. 
The Japanese grow several species of edible fungi in logs of de¬ 
caying wood in a manner peculiar to themselves, and, aside from the 
home consumption, they in one year exported to China mushrooms to 
the value of $00,000, In 1879 mushrooms were exported from Japan to 
the value of 243,440 yens. The yen is equal to 99.7 cents. Among the 
northeastern tribes of Asia fungi are largely used as food. One species, 
when pounded, forms their snuff, while another, the Fly Agaric , which 
is utilized in Europe as a fiy killer, and is regarded as one of the most 
poisonous forms, is used by them as a substitute for ardent spirits. 
One large specimen is sufficient “to produce a pleasant intoxication 
for a whole day,” the alcohol being obtained by the usual method of 
fermentation. In many parts of Europe fungi are a favorite food, 
being eaten fresh, and also preserved in vinegar for winter use. For 
pickling purposes, all kinds, it is said, are gathered, the vinegar being 
supposed to neutralize the alkaline poison of the noxious species. The 
common mushroom, the morel, and the truffle are, however, the favor¬ 
ite edible fungi. In Italy the value of the mushroom as an article of 
diet has long been understood and appreciated. Pliny, Galen, and 
Dioscorides mention various esculent species, notably varieties of the 
truffle, the boletus and the puffball. At Rome it has been the custom 
of the Government to appoint inspectors to examine all the mushrooms 
brought into market and to reject such as are poisonous or worthless, 
which are thrown into the Tiber. It was forbidden also to hawk mush¬ 
rooms about the streets, and all were required to be sent to the central 
depot for inspection. 
The yearly average of the taxed mushrooms sold (all over 10 pounds 
being taxed) in the city of Rome alone, for the past decade, has been 
estimated at between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds weight. Large quan¬ 
tities of mushrooms are consumed in Germany, Hungary, Russia, and 
Austria, and in the latter country a list is published, by authority, of 
those mushrooms which upon official examination may be sold. Dar¬ 
win speaks of Terra del Fuego as the only country where cryptogamio 
