like a sponge. We also received from different persons scores of specimens, somewhat similar, 
and from one of these we have made the engraving. 
There are many kinds of edible fungi commonly called Mushrooms, and two freely used in 
this country. The one we first illustrated is Agaricus compestris , and this is found in meadows 
in the autumn, and is the one artificially grown, being propagated by spawn, as we have described. 
The other is commonly called the Morel (Morchella escu- 
lenta). It is an excellent variety and may be dried and 
kept for any length of time without the least injury to its 
flavor. The Morel, we think, is only found in the spring of 
the year in thin woods or near them where the ground is 
light. We do not know that it has been cultivated. I he 
following note from Marcellus, N. Y., gives some interesting 
facts regarding this variety: 
Mr. Vick : — Your artist did not make a mistake in the first engrav¬ 
ing of Mushrooms. Nor has M. C., in the third number of the Guide, 
made a mistake, as there is growing in this region a fungus that is pear-shaped, of which your engraving in Num¬ 
ber 3 of the Guide is a very good representation. This Mushroom is found from the first of May to the middle of 
June, and grows in and on the sides of the forests, around stumps of elm, butternut and apple trees, If an elm tree 
is cut down, the first summer there will be a few Mushrooms found around the stump, as far as the roots extend; 
the second summer more ; the third summer less; and less and less every year until none are found. 'J he same is 
true in reference to apple and butternut trees, only that they never grow so abundantly around apple and butternut 
trees as around elm. And they will not grow at all under either if the ground is trouden on, so as to make it hard, 
which seems to be necessary to the kind that grows naturally in the fall. They are yellow generally, but when 
growing around apple tree stumps, the raised part of the body of the Mushroom is almost black, quite dark colored. 
I am trying to raise the spawn of this kind in my cellar, but fear it will be of no use. I have raised Mushrooms 
from the spawn I obtained of you one year ago, and am growing them now. — R bv. '1'. H. Y. 
An aged correspondent of North Caro¬ 
lina was anxious to learn all about the 
Tuckahoe, having “ frequently plowed up a 
vegetable or fungus in that State, and which 
was called Tuckahoe , but which I think is 
called in the books Truffle. They grow 
in globular form from four to six inches in diameter.” We knew but little of this curious pro¬ 
duction, but felt quite sure that the celebrated Truffle of Europe, so popular with epicures, did 
not grow in North Carolina. Having learned that Prof. Thurber, of the Americau Agricul¬ 
turist , had given some attention to this fungus and published the results of his investigations, we 
wrote the Professor, who kindly furnished us with all the facts in his possession. 
The Tuckahoe is of a globular or flattened oval shape, from the size of a walnut to that of a 
man’s head. It is found sometimes near the surface, but more commonly several feet below it, 
and without any attachment or stem connecting it with anything else above or below the surface. 
The larger specimens appear somewhat like a loaf of coarse corn-bread, and it is said that the 
name Tuckahoe means Indian bread. It is probably nutritious, though we are not aware that it 
has been used as food. Externally it is of a dark brown color, and is somewhat wrinkled, but is 
white within. When recently taken from the ground the substance can 
be readily cut with a knife, but upon drying it shrinks and becomes 
hard, and can be broken or powdered without difficulty. When fresh it 
has an earthy odor and an acrid taste, but when dry it has but little 
smell or taste. Hogs are said to readily detect the presence of the Tuck¬ 
ahoe by its odor, and to be fond of hunting for it. The Tuckahoe is 
remarkable for not possessing any organized structure, the most careful 
examination with the microscope failing to show any cells or organs of 
any kind. This absence of the structure which characterizes vegetables 
and animals, makes it a puzzling object, and botanists are at a loss where 
<kl (morschfli \ 7:scu- to l^ ace ft* It has been suggested that it is the root of some plant that 
lenta.) has undergone a transformation into pectine. The study of the develop¬ 
ment of this production is difficult, as it is only found underground, and a great puzzle to 
naturalists. The engraving represents a small and rather elongated specimen, with a portion cut 
away, showing the interior, which has become cracked by drying. Dr. Tiiurber further writes: 
12 
