whetlicr in a fresh state or in the form of ketchup. The extent
to which this latter article is prepared is quite astonishing. A
single kctchup-merchant has, at the moment at which I write,
in consequence of the enormous produce of Mushrooms during
the present season, no less than eight hundred gallons on
hand, and that collected within a radius of some three or four
miles. The price of Mushrooms for ketchup in country districts
varies very greatly in different years. In the present
year it has not reached, at least in the district in which I
write, one penny per pound, while in some years as much as
fivepence is readily given. In years of scarcity, almost any
species that will yield a dark juice is without scruple mixed
with the common Mushroom, and it should seem without any
had consequence, except the deterioration of the ketchup.
The best ketchup, however, is made undoubtedly from the
common Mushroom {A. campestris), and especially from that
variety which changes to a bright red when bruised. That
from A. arvensis (Plate 10, fig. 4) is far inferior. Good ketchup
may be made from A. procerus and some others, and that
from the Champignon is excellent, but so strong that it requires
to he used with caution. Morels also, when abundant,
yield, treated iu the same way as Mushrooms for ketchup, an
admirable condiment.
An important use is made of a particular condition of certain
species of Mould in the preparation of fermented liquors,
under the form of yeast. This consists, as is well knowm,
of more or less oval bodies, which continually give off joints,
so as to produce short, branched, necklace-like threads. These
joints soon fall off, and give rise rapidly to a new generation,
which is successively propagated till the substance is produced
known under the name of yeast. When placed under proper
conditions, the joints undergo a further change, and give rise
to two or three species of Mould. The effect of yeast seems to
depend upon the fact that whenever there is an interchange
of fluids on two sides of a living membrane, chemical change
takes place, and thus there are millions of points, when the
yeast-globules are diffused in the wort, at which fermentation
is carried on. The same observation applies to bread. The
difterent kinds of fermentation depend upon the degree of
temperature to which the fermenting body is exposed. The
globules of which yeast is composed retain their power of vegetation
for mouths, and are capable of being preserved in a
dry state, in which form they are largely imported under the
name of German yeast. This compound is, however, somewhat
capricious in its deportment. A sudden blow, for instance,
is said to destroy its powers of germination. The
spawn of Moulds assumes sometimes a fleecy form, and instead
of globules consists of matted threads. In this state
it is the well-known Vinegar-plant, which has an extraordinary
effect in promoting acetic fermentation under proper
conditions of temperature. Little at present is known of
putrefactive ferments, hut there is reason to believe that a
third condition of Moulds, consisting of extremely minute
bodies endowed with molecular motion, is conducive to the
process.
The other uses to which Fungi are put are few, and mostly
of little importance. The German tinder, or Amadou of
commerce, so familiar to cigar-smokers, is made from the
pileus of Polyporus fomentarius, beaten out and steeped in
a solution of saltpetre. The pieces are often of considerable
size, and when sewn together are sometimes fashioned
into coarse garments. I t is also used for Moxa. Polyporus
officinalis was once extensively used in medicine as a purgative,
but it is seldom employed now. The Jew’s-ear (Plate