The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-19
UTILIZING TOADsToOLs.
The Africans Worship Them and Asiat-
les set Drunk on Them.
From Lippincotfs Magazine.


From Lippincotfs Magazine.
The Ostiaks, the Kaimtchadales, and other
inhabitants of Asiatic Russia find in one
of the gill-bearing family-the Amanita
muscarius-the exhilaration and madness
that more civilized nations demand and re-
ceive of alcohol, and enjoy a narcotism
from its extract as seductive as that of
opium. The FIJI islands are indebted to
toadstools strung on string for glrdles,
which alone prevent them from being
classed among the poor and naked, and
their sole esthetic occupation lies in or
namenting their limited wardrobe. The
FIJI fishermen especially value them highly
because they are waterproof(N
Cerdier tells us that the negroes of the
west of Africa exalt certain kind of bole-
tus TO the sacredne-s of a god and bow
down in worship before it. For this rea-
son AfzeliuS has named this variety boletus
sacer.
A French chemist has extracted wax from
the milk-giving kind, but has not stated the
price OF candles made from it, Others of
this delving fraternity have shown that
toadstools may be used in the manufacture
of PruSsian blue, instead OF blood, for, like
certain animal matter, they furnish prussic
acid. As fungi after the manner of all
animal life, breathe oxygen and throw off
carbonlc acid gas, their flesh partakes of
animal rather than vegetable nature.
In their decomposition they are capt. al
fertilizers of surrounding plants, and in
seasons when they are plentiful it will re-
pay the agriculturist to make use of them
as manure.
According 10 Linn9us the Laps delighted
i'll the perfume of some species and carried
them upon their persons that they might be
the more attractive. Linunus exclaims:
80 Venus thou that scarcely sufiicest thy
self in other countries with jewels da-
monds, precious stones, gold, purple, music,
and spectacle, art here satisfied with a SIN
pie toadstool"
A variety of boetus-a tube bearing
species-is powdered and used as n protect
or Of clothing against insects. The agari-
GUS muscarluS constitutes well-known
poison to the common house-hy. 1t intoxi-
Gates them to such degree that they can
be swept up and destroyed.
Certain polyporei-thOse large, dry. corky
growths found upon logs and trees-wheu
properly seasoned sliced, and beaten, en-
gage large manufactures in producing from
them the punck of commerce, used by the
surgeon for the arrest of hemorrhage, the
artist for his shading-stump, ami the
Fourth of July urchin for his pyrotechnic
purposes.
Aspecies of polyporous is used in Italy as
scrubblng brushes. In countries where fire
producing is unknown or Iab0ri9us and the
luxury OF lucifers denied, the dried fungus
enables the transportation of fire from one
place to another over great distances. The
inhabitants of Francona used them in ham
mered slices instead of chamois- skin for I'M
derclothing.
Another polyporous takes its place among
manufactures as the highly necessary razor
strop. Northern nations make bottle-stop-
pers of them, as their corky nature su,-
gestS. The polyporous Of the hirch tree
(polyporus Detulinus) increases the delight
of smokers by its delicate flavor wheu mixed
with tobacco.