EDIBLE FUNGI. More than 700 species have been found to be safe, and many are considered very nutritious. (See Musiiimom.) Perhaps the principal reason that fungi are not more generally eaten is not so much that their value is unknown, as that people are afraid even to touch the plants because certain species are known to produce illness and even death. In the interests of safety, therefore, every writer upon the subject of edible and poisonous fungi iterates the warning to avoid eating any fungus the edible qualities of which are not positively known to the would-be consumer beyond the slightest shadow of doubt. Since certain toad stools (especially Amanita phalloides and Amani ta muscaria, described below) are mistaken by the uninitiated for the common mushroom, all fungi found in the woods or in shady places (until they are proved to be wholesome) and all that have white or yellow gills should be avoided: the common mushroom grows in the open fields, and has pink gills which gradually turn to pur plish-brown or black. A safe plan for the novice to adopt, even on becoming familiar with the twelve edible species described and illustrated, after being satisfied with their identification, is to eat only a small portion of a fungus new to him, to note the results carefully, and to allow several hours to elapse before indulging more freely. In no case should he be guided by pleas ant taste alone, because some of the species con sidered unwholesome do not manifest any dis agreeable quality.
(1) Cha.ntrelle (Cantharellus eibarius) common in light woods and on high ground, grows from two to four inches tall, expands from two to three inches, and has an irregular lobed orange or yellow cap, which when young is dome-like, but with age becomes expanded, and depressed at the centre. The gills are thick, short, branching, and wide apart. The stem, at first white and solid, later beconies hollow. Since this species is rather tough and dry, only crisp heavy specimens should be selected for the table. A closely re lated poisonous species, Cantharellus aurantia cus, found in rank or decaying grass, closely resembles the above in color, but has thin, crowded gills of deeper tint than the cap. (2) The common field mushroom (Agatha:3 cam pes ris), which grows from two to four inches tall. is probably the commonest, best known, and most easily distinguished of all. It is the only one that is cultivated to any extent. (See Musii mom.) The cap is fleshy, from one and one-quar ter to four inches broad, usually white, but some times tawny or brownish above, and when in prime condition, pink below. With age, it changes to dark brown. Upon the stein is a collar, the remains of a veil, which in the young mushroom joins the margin of the cap to the stem. This mushroom has never been found growing in woods or shady places, but always in open pastures, fields, and lawns. (3) The edible pore mushroom (Boletus edulis), found most abundantly (luring the autumn in pine, oak, and chestnut woods, has a brown white-fleshed cap from four to six inches across, with convex tubes at first white. hut changing to yellow and then greenish. When in the pale-yellow stage the plants are most tender and edible. The two to six inch stem becomes light brown, with a net work of pinkish veins near the top. (4) The variable mushroom (Russula het eroph ylla), a com mon species found in woods from July to Novem ber. is usually some shade of dingy green, never reddish or purple. The stem is white, solid, and firm; the gills, white, narrow, crowded, forked. The fleshy cap when peeled is white, of firm texture, and mild, sweet, nutty flavor while young and fresh; wilted and old specimens are not desirable even when free from grubs, which are specially fond of the plant. (5) Oyster mush room (Agaricus ostreatus), common on moist, de caying tree-trunks throughout the United States. The cap is shell-shaped, three to five inches broad, dark when young, soon bleaching to brownish, and later yellow; stem white, short, or wanting, thickened upward; gills broad, rather distant, white or sometimes yellowish. Flesh tender, ex
cept in old specimens, of pleasant, but not pro nounced, flavor. Especially good when dipped in egg, and fried slowly like an oyster. (6) The fairy-ring (Marasmius oreades) grows in short grass of lawns, pastures, etc., but never in woods. Its common name is derived from its habit of growing in ring-like patches, which increase in diameter as the plants reach outward to new feeding ground. The mushrooms are small (one to two inches broad, and two to three inches tall), reddish at first, pale afterwards, solid, very tough, with broad, distant, free gills, alternately long and short. They have a weak but agreeable odor, and mild, sweet, and nutty taste, which is retained well when the mushrooms are dried by exposure to air or sun—the simplest way to pre serve them. It is one of the best and the most easily digested. The hairy-foot (Marasmius per sonatus) which grows in woods on dead leaves, etc., must not be mistaken for the fairy-ring, since it is unwholesome. This species has darker and narrower gills, and a hairy down at the base of the stem. (7) Morel (Morchella esculenta), common in spring in old apple orchards and in woods, especially under butternut trees and on burned-over surfaces or places where wood ashes have been scattered. The pale yellow, buff, or tawny cap is attached to the stout whitish hollow or stuffed stem by its base, is ribbed and pitted like honeycomb. The morel is one of the most easily recognized and the choicest species of edible fungi. Its near relatives (genus Morchella) , which more or less closely resemble it, are all edible. (8 ) Clavaria cincrea, a fungus without a cap, which may be found in the woods from June until frost, grows from one to three inches high, in tufts or colonies, and has thin or thick stems lighter than the numerous irregular, wrinkled gray branches. It is considered the best of the Clavarias, but is said to be injurious in large quantities and to be digested with difficulty by weak stomachs. (9) Horse-mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) is considered by some writers to be a variety of the common mushroom, which grows in similar places, but is slightly larger (two to five inches tall, three to five inches or more broad), has gills which turn from whitish to pink, and then dark brown, and a stem which is either hollow or stuffed with floccose pith. By some it is considered inferior and by others superior to the common mushroom. (10) Cortinarius cecrulescens, an almost odorless species found among moss in woods, has a convex or plane yellowish cap two to three inches across, slightly rounded, thin, closely crowded, blue or purplish gills, which change to a dull cinnamon with age; and firm violet, pale or whitish stems about two inches long, which rise from bulbs more than an inch thick. ( 11) Horse-tail fungus (Copri nus comatus) may be found after hard rains from August until frost, sometimes in spring, singly or in clusters, in a great variety of places, from rich soil to dumping-grounds. The cap is fleshy, at first oblong and white, but later a ragged bell-shape, and purplish black; the gills are crowded, broad, free from the stem, at first white, then pink, after which the plant becomes unfit for food, since it turns from purple to black, and dissolves into ink-like drops. The stem is hollow, often ten inches long, but mostly hidden under the cap. It is not of high flavor, but is of great delicacy when young. (12) Liver fungus (Fistulina hepatica)is a juicy red, fibrous fleshed, non-rooting fungus, which may be found upon decaying trees and stumps, especially on oak, beech, and chestnut, after rains in summer and autumn. Under the name of beefsteak fun gus it is highly esteemed everywhere for its rich nutritious flesh of acid flavor and agreeable odor.