Thomas Taylor

“ Notwithstanding the occurrence of occasional fatal accidents through the inadvertent eating of poisonous species, fungi are largely consumed both by savage and civilized man in all parts of the world, and while they contribute so considerable a portion of the food product of the world we may be sure their value will not be permanently overlooked in the United States, especially when we consider our large accessions of population from countries in which the mushroom is a familiar and much prized edible.
In France mushrooms form a very large article of consumption and are widely cultivated. ”

“ 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 making a valuable dye for silk. Another remarkable edible fungus of New Zealand is the Sphccria Eobertsii, which grows out of the body of a large caterpillar, practically converting the latter into vegetable substance. ”

“ The common mushroom, the morel, and the truffle are, however, the favorite 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 puftball. 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. ”