IZ2

* Plin. N; H.i. xxii. c. rz.

t Apitius, lib.vii. cap. 13 .

II Philof.Transast.Nam. 89 . 202 .Journey toParis.

* Pratensibusoptima fun-gu Naturaest aliis malecreditur,

Hor. Sat, 1. 7 ,Vat. 4

ACET ARIA.

that brave Commander Annæus Serenus, and several other gallantPersons with him, who all of them perilhed at the same Repast, wouldbe apt to ask with the * Naturalist ( speaking of this suspicious Dain-ty) Quœ voluptas tanta ancipitis cibi? And who, indeed, wouldhazard it ? So true is that of the Poet, he that eats Mujhroms, manytimes Nil amplius edit, eats no more perhaps all his Life after. Whatother deterring Epithets are given for our Caution, BaV» wfiev'n*/juuxM-mv, heavy and choaking , (Athenæus reporting of the Poet Eu-ripides's finding a Woman and her three Children strangled by eatingof them) one would think sufficient Warning.

Among these comes in the Fungus Reticularis, ( Porostus, or Ho-ney-Comb, the French ) to be found about London, as at Fulham andother Places ; whilst at no small Charge we send for them into France;as we do also for Trufles, Pignuts, and other subterraneous TuberaTerra, which in Italy they fry in Oil, and eat with Pepper: Theyare commonly discovered, scented and rooted out ( how deep in theGround soever) by a nastute greedy Swine, purposely brought up;being of a Chess-nut Colour, and heady, rank, and Hercline Smell,and not seldom found in England, particularly in a Park of my LordCotton's , at Rujbton or Rusbery in Northamptonshire, in the Wil-derness adjoining to the Viscount Cullen's Garden there ; and doubtlessin other Places too, were they fought after : By many believ'd to haveoriginally been brought thither out of France , when by a very surpri-zing Accident, they were first discover’d by the almost incredible Vora-city of Swine , allur’d by the Scent of the Trufles of the adjacentFields, and could scarce be kept off with the Spades and Dogs of theLabourers, who, in order to plant the TVildernests y were digging up apiece of Ground, in which some Trees sent out of France had beenplanted, with the C^/e-Earth adhering to the Roots, flung into theHoles. If this be the Origin of the Rujhton Trufles, 'twill confirmthe Opinion of Trufles being no Natives of England, unless sprung herefrom those brought from Foreign Parts. In the mean while, onebrought from Abroad, is, with its small fibrous Roots , delineated inthe Philof, Tran stall. ( N°. 202. ); which doth fully demonstrate theError of the Ancients and Moderns, who assert, that they have noRoot; when probably they were rubb’d off when they were Dug outof the Ground, and being so very small, not heedfully minded or per-ceived. How these rank and provocative Excrescences are to be f treat-ed ( of themselves insipid enough, and only famous for their kindlytaking any Pickle or Conditure ) that they may do the less Miichief>we might here set down. But since there be so many ways of dressingthem, that I can encourage none to use them, for Reasons given (be-sides that they do not at all concern our safer and innocent Sallet Fur-niture) I forbear it; and refer those who long after this beloved Ra-gout, and other Voluptuaria Venena (as Seneca calls them ) to whatour learned Dr. Lyster || lays of the many venomous Insteffis harbour-ing and corrupting in a new found-out Species of Mujhroms had latelyin delieiis. Those, in the mean time, which are esteemed best, andless pernicious, ( of which fee the Appendix ) are such as rife in rich,airy, and dry * Pasture-Grounds, growing on the Staff or Pedicule otabout an Inch thick and high ; moderately swelling ( Target- like )round and firm, being underneath of a pale flelh-colour’d Hue, curi-ously radiated in parallel Lines and Edges, which becoming either yel-1 low.

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