FoTR - A Short Cut To Mushrooms: Bk I, Chapter IV

[Philipa]

He seems to provide glimmers of hope that the quest will not fail.

That of course is the whole theme isn't it hope. Without hope there is failure.

[Merry]

I've been rereading C. S. Lewis' autobiography of the first part of his life, Surprised by Joy, and I'm finding it even better than the first time around. This is just about a line or two, but I read last night about the walks he liked to take and why, and one line was that, in his day, mushrooms were free to all for the taking, "like the air", he said. So I started wondering about the economics of mushrooms. Here in Iowa, the local wild mushrooms are morels, and they are quite the delicacy and quite expensive. One can't usually find them for sale in grocery stores, but rather at farmers' markets and road-side stands. I'm pretty sure, though, that they are considered the property of the people who own the land, and not free like the air.

What are the customs about mushrooms where you live?

[Iolanthe]

Anyone can go mushroom hunting as long as they are not trespassing on someone's land, and I know that a lot of people like to do this and that there is growing interest in it. I'm surprised that Lewis used 'in his day' as though it was something that had been stopped. There are a lot of people that like berry picking along hedgerows too. But only a few weeks ago some young women were nearly killed when one picked a fungi she had identified wrongly and fed it to her friends!

[Merry]

My apologies: 'in his day' is my own addition. CSL was talking about his youth. I'm not sure if he was implying that things were different when he wrote.

But isn't all land 'owned' by somebody now? How can one not trespass?

There is also growing interest in 'shrooming in the States, too. But I have to admit that eating morels took some getting used to, and I still like my mushrooms more domesticated!

[Iolanthe]

Ah - I see! There's always been mushrooming - which is becoming increasingly popular with a lot of TV Chefs including it in their programmes. There are lots of public open spaces and woodlands owned by the National Trust all over Britain. Four in fact within a 10 minute drive from me. Plus a huge number of public pathways and bridleways that cut through privately owned land. They have hedgrows, grass banks and trees full of fruit and fungi if you know where to look and are confident about what to pick (I'm most definitely not!).

I see the National Trust even have a mushrooming feature linked from their homepage !