The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-10-04
NUMBER AZ.


we n'eiy mao occasion 10 comment on the ad-
vice which Professor Mantegazza gave to the
Italians on the subject Of eating. "Italians,r he
said, IN your eating and drinking, In the choice
Of your succulent meats, in tossing of bumpers Of
your generous wine, in the quality Of your tea,
your coffee, and your tobacco, follow as closely
as you can the example of the English.n There
! is, however, one matter in which We English may
learn useful lesson from the Italians. There II
an article of food which they utilize and which
we upaccountaby neglect. or use but as an article
Of lsxury. In Italy, and in some other contineu-
tai lands, edible mushrooms are regularly culti-
waited. Each autumn there Is Q mushroom harvest,
furgi, or dry and pickle them for consumption
through the year. In England, on the contrary,
mushrooms are not eaten at all except by the up
per and middle classes. Many varieties which are
wholesome and nutricious are wholly neglected.
and thus every year an enormous quantity Of
cheap food is suffered to rot in our woods and
fields.
The loss is all the more important that the kind
Of food supplied BY the edible fungi is precisely
and that also which is becoming daily dearer and
desrer. Men is like steam engine; he requires
q continual supply of heat and continual supply
of force material-one to preserve life, the other
to produce work. There is no fear that men will
neglect the heatsuppying portion Of their diet;
but the great difculty of the day 10 the due sup.
The Shrine Of our muscles the albumen Of our
nerves, daily waste away, as our work-bodily or
mental-continues and they must daily be re-
newed, or this work will sooner or later como to
an end. Man must not have only sufficient sup
ply of food but bis food must contain the requisite
element of force--materisl. Flesh-formiEg or nj
trogenous food, to the extent of at least twenty
eight ounces week, must be consumed by every
man who has to work daily, either with his body
with his brain. 1t Is vain to expect either
brain or muscles to do efficient work." says DR..
Lancaster, when they are not provided with tho
proper material" 81. t.
Meat is probably the best form of flesh forming
food. In a pound of beef there is the same
amount of heterogeneous food az In two pounds of
eggs, five pounds of rice or sixteen pounds Of po-
scarcely ever makes its appearances on the tables
of the working classes; bread and cheese and po-
tatoes-all excellent in their way-form the main
portion Of the poor mans diet. But although
cheese is essentially flesh forming article of food
its cnier constituent, coseine, being Identical IN
composition with fbrine and albumen, IL Is an In
digestble and unsatisfactory substitute for meat,
Bread and potatoes contain indeed flesh forming
material, the former in fair proportion. But 1t Is
not easy for the poor man to obtain sufficient
quantity of these articles Of food to supply
the daily drain which work makes upon his
strength. In fact, despite the, compliments of
Prof. MentegaZza upon the superior feeding Of
the English no one who has traversed our rural
districts can doubt that in many parts of Eng.
land the workingman is underfed.
II becomes important, therefore, to notice that
in mushrooms We have form OF food which is
principally nitrogepous, or fesh-forming, and
which is at the same time easily digestiDle agree
able to the palate and cheap. Between two and
three thousand species Of fungi are now recog.
nized, and there are about one hundred genera.
of these, is well known, only one specious, the
dgdTicus cdsDpest5'is. is commonly eaten, though
the cbampignon (dgGricns prdtensis) and the
trLffie (t,lte. cibdriun) are also recognized
edibles. But as matter of fact by far the larger
number of species are safe articles of food, and
considerable proportion are very agreeable to the
palate. In China, India and Africa mushrooms
have for long time been consumed 10 very large
nd mo tlv man
been used on the continent Of Europe. In Italy,
as we have stated, mushrooms are regularly cuiu-
waited, one layer succeeding another, so as TO
We need hardly point out the fact that when
mushrooms are regularly cultivated in this way,
all danger that poisonous fungi might be mistaken
for wholesome varieties is avoided. IL would be
az likely that by some accident one OF the poison
ous varieties of that vegetable family to which the
potato belongs should be cultivated In our English
belds by mistake for the wholesome varieties, as
that poisonous mushrooms should make their ap-
pearsnce among the products Of the Italian mush-
room beds. But, in reality, even among wild
mushrooms, the poisonous sorts form but q snail
minority. They may also be readily distinguished
by their appearance, their offensive smell, and
their bitter, astrngent, or stypuc taste. If per-
sons who gather mushrooms follow the simple
plan of avoiding all those which grow In caverns
and subterrsnean places, or on putrefying animal
of odor or favor, there is absolutely no danger
whatever that unwholesome varieties will be
made use OF. One other circumstance must also
be mentioned. Even wholesome mushrooms will
become unft for food IL not eaten fresh, or care
fully dried and picked while still 10 that condtion
Mushrooms should in fact be treated much AZ
flesh would be. They closely resemble fesk in
taste and odor, and they putrefy like flesh, only
much more quickly.
We are led to make these remarks by noticing
that In one part Of Great Britain the sale Of
mushrooms has become q recognized part of tho
operations Of the year. Near Whtland, Car
msrthepshire. mushrooms are gathered In the
fields during summer, and sold in the neighboring
towns, thus forming o considerable addition To
the means of the peasantry. This year, owing
to the heavy rains which followed q long.coD-
tinued drouth the mushroom harvest has been 80
considerable that the fields have been crowded
with men, women and children employed In
gathering the common edible species. Shopmeu
are giving Sd. and Id. for every Alb. weight, and
eendpg them by rail to every part OF England.
Yet the working classes Of England would reject
with derision the notion of making mushrooms q
regular article Of their own food, though those
which they gather for moderate price, and num-
berless other species which they leave TO rot on
the fields, would serve 10 supply their tables with
food at once more nutritious, more agreeable to
the palate and cheaper than any which their
means at present enable them TO procure.
NR. DELNAR's FINANCIAL REPoRr:-ErcteD,ent