FERN.—­The rhizome of Pteris esculenta is used as food in Australia, and that of Marattia alata in the Sandwich Islands.  The trunks of the Alsophila, or tree fern, of the western side of Van Diemen’s Land, and of the common tree fern, Cibotium Billardieri (the Dicksonia antarctica, of Labillardiere), contain the edible pith or bread-fruit eaten by the natives.  Many other species of ferns are esculent.  Typha bread is prepared in Scinde from the pollen of the flowers of the Typha elephantina, and in New Zealand from another species of bulrush (Typha utilis).

“It must not be supposed, as some have believed, that the fern root, wherever it grows, is fit for food.  On the contrary, it is only that found in rich loose soils which contains fecula in sufficient quantity for this purpose:  in poorer ground the root contains proportionally more fibre.  We were now encamped on an alluvial flat in the valley of the river, thirty or forty feet below the general level of the plain; and I observed that, even in this favourable spot, a great deal of discrimination was used in selecting the best roots, which was discoverable by their being crisp enough to break easily when bent:  those which would not stand this test being thrown aside.  Here a quantity sufficient for several days was procured, and was packed in baskets, to last till another spot equally favourable could be reached.

“The process of cooking fern root is very simple; for it is merely roasted on the fire, and afterwards bruised by means of a flat stone similar to a cobbler’s lap-stone, and a wooden pestle.  The long fibres which run like wires through the root are then easily drawn out; and the remainder is pounded till it acquires the consistence of tough dough, in which state it is eaten, its taste being very like that of cassava bread.  Sometimes it is sweetened with the juice of the ‘tutu.’

“The natives consider that there is no better food than this for a traveller, as it both appeases the cravings of hunger for a longer period than their other ordinary food, and renders the body less sensible to the fatigue of a long march.  It is in this respect to the human frame, what oats or beans are to the horse.  They have a song in praise of this root, which I have once or twice heard chanted on occasions of festivals, by a troop of young women who carry baskets of the food intended for the guests.”—­("Shortland’s New Zealand.”)

I ought not to omit noticing the Tuber cibarium, a plant of the mushroom family, growing under ground, which furnishes the famous truffle, so celebrated in the annals of cooking, of which immense quantities are imported, chiefly from the South of France.  It is common also in Italy and Germany, and is often found in Northamptonshire, and some other of our own counties.  The “kemmayes,” a desert plant of the truffle kind, is a great favorite with the Arabs.

In Terra del Fuego the only vegetable food of the natives, besides a few berries of a dwarf arbutus, is a species of globular bright yellow fungus (Cyttaria Darwinii), which grows in vast numbers on the beech trees.  In its tough and mature state it is collected in large quantities by the women and children, and eaten uncooked.  It has a slightly sweet mucilaginous taste, with a faint smell like that of a mushroom.