Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1888-10-04
UTILITY OF TOAoSTOOLS.
Africans Worship Them and Asiatics Get
Drunk ON Them.


Drunk ON Them.
The Ostiaks. the Kamtchadales and
other inhabitants of Asiatic Russia find
in one of the gild bearing family-the
manita muscarius-thc exhaliratioh and
madness that more civilized nations de-
mand and receive of alcohol, and enjoy
a narcotism frou its extracts as seduct-
i've as that of opium.
The hi Islanders are indebted to toad.
stools strung on a string for girdles,
which alone prevent them from being
classed among 1.-The poor and naked"
and their sole aesthetic occupation. lies in
ornamenting their limited wardrobe.
The Fiji fishermen, especially, value
them highly because they are water
proof!
Cerdier tells us that the negroes of the
west of Africa exalt a certain kind OF
boletus to the sacredness of god and
bow down in worship before it. For
| this reason Afzeltus has named this va
riety 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 tho 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 prlissic acid. AS fungi,
after the manner of all animal life,
breathe oxygen and throw off carbonic
acid gas, their flesh partakes of animal
rather than vegetable nature.
In their decomposition they are capital
fertilizers Of surrounding plants and in
seasons when they are plentifulit will re-
nav the agriculturist to make use of them
as manure.
according to Linnmus, the Laps de-
lighted in the perfume Of some species
and carried them upon their persons so
that they might be the more attractive.
Linneus exclaims: 20, Venus! thou that
scarcely sufficest thyself in other coun-
tries with jewels, diamonds, precious
stones, gold, purple, music and spectacle,
are here satisfied with a simple toad
stool"
A variety of boletus-a tube bearing
species-is powdered and used as pro-
tector of clothing against insects. The
agaricus muscarius constitutes a well
known poison to the common housefly.
1t intoxicates them to such degree that
they can be swept up and destroyed.
Certain polyporei-those large, dry,
corky growths found upon logs and
trees-when properly seasoned, sliced
and beaten, engage large manufactures
in producing from them the punk Of
commerce, used by the surgeon for the
arrest Of hemorrhage, the artist for his
shading stump, and the 4th of July
urchin for his pyrotechnic purposes.
A species of polyporus is used in Italy
as scrubbing brushes. In countries where
fire producing is unknown or laborious
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
Franconia use them in hammered slices
instead OF channels skin for underclothing
Another polyporus takes its place
among manufactures rs the highly neces-
sary razor strop. Northern nations make
bottle shoppers of them, as their corky
nature suggests. The polyporus of the
birch tree (polyporus betulinus) increases
the delight of smokers by its delicate
flavor when mixed with tobacco.-Lip-
pincott's Magazine.