BOLETUS LURIDUS.

“Fungo innocente e che non può cagionare alcun danno, non molto ricercato a motivo, senza dubbio, del cambiamento di colore in cui va soggetto la sua carne allorchè viene rotta o compressa.”—Vitt.

Bot. Char.This fungus presents itself under two distinct forms; in the first, theB. aurantiacusof Bull., thepileus(generally rather downy, but sometimes rough) is of a beautiful deep orange hue; in the other it is cinereous.

In both cases its shape is that of a hemisphere of from three to seven inches across, the surface of which becomes viscid when moist, and is minutely downy. In the first variety, thestemis rough with black, in the second with orange scales.

Half a foot is its average height; it is attenuated upwards. While young, it is very thick in proportion to the pileus, and exhibits frequently the traces of a floccose veil. The flesh is thick and flabby, of a dingy white, not greatly changeable in young specimens, but deepening in colour when old, and acquiring a vinous tint;[162]thetubesare of a dirty white, those that surround the stem being shorter than the rest.

The odour of this fungus is slight; the taste subacid; the seminal dust copious, and tawny-ferruginous. It may be cooked like theB. edulis, and has an agreeable flavour; but being more viscid in substance, it requires when stewed to be thinned with water; when dried, it loses all odour, and is then insipid and unfit for food.

Plate VI. Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

Nothing can be more accurate than Mr. Berkeley’s description of this species, which I therefore subjoin:—“Woods. Summer and autumn. Common.Pileustwo to six inches broad, convex, expanded, minutely tomentose, olive, brick-red, pinkish, cream-coloured, or ferruginous-brown.Fleshmore or less yellow, changing to blue.[163]Tubesfree, yellowor greenish; their orifices of a beautiful red or bright orange, quite simple, round.Sporesolivaceous-ochre.Stemvery variable in length, bulbous, tomentose, sometimes quite smooth, red with ferruginous or the brightest yellow shades, solid, generally more or less marked or reticulated with crimson-red,very deleterious”(?[164]).

Plate I. Fig. 2.

SubgenusTricholoma,Fries.

Blewitts.

I never met with this fungus in Italy; it has not been described by Vittadini, nor, that I am aware of, by any Italian mycologist; neither is it mentioned by Cordier or Roques, in their treatises on the esculent funguses of France. Extremely common in England, this species has already found its way to Covent Garden, where, according to Sowerby, it is sold under the name of “Blewitts.”[165]The favourite haunt of the Blewitt is amidst grass, where it grows in clusters, or in large rings, seldom appearing before October.

The botanical characters, as given by Mr. Berkeley, are as follows:—“Pileusfrom two to six inches broad, fleshy, firm; pale bistre or purple-lilac, occasionally violet; convex, obtuse, very smooth, and shining, as if oiled, but not viscid; margin involute, pulverulento-tomentose.Gillsrounded; free, narrow in front, paler than the pileus, sometimes violet, turningto a dirty flesh-colour, especially when bruised;stemfrom one to three inches high, three-quarters of an inch thick, firm, bulbous, solid, mottled within towards the apex, with watery spots; clothed more or less with villous fibrillæ, tinged with violet; odour like that ofOreades, but rather overpowering; taste pleasant.” As the “Blewitt” is apt to imbibe in wet weather a great quantity of moisture, it should not be gathered during rain; when not water-soaked it is a fine firm fungus with a flavour of veal, like which it is to be dresseden papillotteswith savoury herbs and the usual condiments, and the more highly seasoned the better.

Plate VII. Fig. 4.

SubgenusClitocybe. SectionScortei,Fries.

Scotch Bonnets.

Every one knows the Champignon,—that little buff fungus which during so many months in the year comes up in successive crops, in great profusion after rain, and generally in rings. These Champignons abound everywhere: this summer (1847) Hyde Park was full of them; amid the seared and much-trodden grass they were continually tracing their fairy rings, and in some instances they reached the very border of the gravel walks. Independent of the excellent flavour of this little mushroom, which is as good as that of most funguses, two circumstances give it an additional value in a domestic point of view, viz. the facility with which it is dried, and its very extensive dissemination. When dried (two or threedays’ exposure to the air is generally sufficient to effect this), theAg. oreadesmay be kept for years without losing any of its aroma or goodness, which on the contrary become improved by the process, so as, in fact, to impart more flavour to the dish than would have been imparted by the fresh fungus; though it is not to be denied that the flesh then becomes coriaceous and less easy of digestion.[166]From the sad accidents occasioned by persons mistaking other small and poisonous Agarics growing in the neighbourhood of the Champignon for the Champignon itself, this species is frequently looked upon with suspicion, and not often eaten in England. The Agaric the least unlike and most commonly found growing in company with theAg. oreades, is theAg. semilobatus, which is nearly allied to, if it be not the same as theAg. virosusof Sowerby. But as I have also heard of a gentleman who intending to gather Champignons, and taking home someAg. dryophilusby mistake, was rendered very ill by his repast, to prevent the recurrence of such mistakes for the future, I here add the botanical characters, marking what is peculiar to each in italics.Ag. dryophilusis represented inPl. VII. fig. 5.

Solitary or tufted. Pileus from one to two inches broad, whitish, pinkish, yellowish, or yellow-brown, flat, sometimesdepressed, fleshy, thin,fragile,when moist easily injured, of a tougher substance when dry. Gills soft, tender, numerous, white, or pale yellow straw-colour. Stem shining,hollow, of the same colour as the pileus, but towards the apex generally darker and of a redder tinge.

In dense rings, or gregarious. Pileus smooth,fleshy,convex,subumbonate, generally more or lesscompressed, orsinuate;tough, coriaceous,elastic,wrinkled, whenwater-soaked brown,bufforcream-colourwhen dry; the umbo often remainingred-brown, as ifscorched. Gillsdistant, ventricose, of thesame tint as the pileusorpaler. Stem equal,solid,twisted, verytoughandfibrous,pure, silky, white; base downy, somewhat rooting and attached to the roots of grass.[167]

Pileus hemispherical,viscidwhen moist,shiningandsmoothas if varnished, obtuse, fleshy. Gills very broad, perfectlyhorizontal to the stem, broadly adnate, with a little tooth, minutelyserrated, mottled with purple-brown sporules.Stalk very viscid, shining when dry with a closely-matted silkiness,fistulose, sometimes bulbous with a hollow bulb; ring generally complete, reflexed, often dusted with the dark-coloured spores.

Plate IV. Fig. 2.

SubgenusClitocybe. SectionDasyphylli,Fries.

Ag. pileolarius,Bulliard.

“Il est très-agréable au goût.”—Bulliard.

The following description was made from some among the more characteristic specimens of a large supply which I gathered this autumn (1847) near Hayes, from a spot where they are in the habit of re-appearing regularly in October.

Pileusfrom two and a half to five inches across; at first depresso-convex; when expanded nearly flat or broadly subumbonate, never depressed, margin at first involute and pruinose; occasionally somewhat waved and lobed, but generallyregular in form; smooth, viscid when moist, so that dead leaves adhere to it; grey, brown at the centre, paler towards the circumference.Fleshthick, white, unchanging;gillscream-colour, narrow, decurrent, close, their margins waved, unequal, generally simple.Stemfrom two to four inches long, from a quarter of an inch to an inch thick; incurved at the base, not rooting, but attaching by means of a floccose down, round its lower portion and for one-third of its length, a large quantity of dead leaves, by which the plant is held erect; subequal, more or less marked with longitudinal pits, firm externally, within of a softer substance. Theodourstrong, like that of curd cheese.

This Agaric appears to be local in Italy; otherwise it could scarcely have been omitted in Vittadini’s work, nor by the author of the article “Fungo” in the Venice edition of the ‘Dizionario Classico di Medicina:’ add to which that I have never met with it myself either at Florence, Pisa, Naples, or Leghorn. That it grows in the neighbourhood of Rome is certain, since I find it admirably delineated in a curious collection of very old drawings which I purchased there. Moreover Professor Sanguinetti, of that city, writes in terms of high commendation of this mushroom, which, he says, may be discernedinter alia, “by its peculiar odour and grateful taste: when properly cooked it is equal to any of our funguses, rivalling not only theAg. prunulus, but even theCæsareus: as few are aware of its good qualities, it seldom finds its way into the Roman market.” TheAg. nebularisrequires but little cooking; a few minutes’ broiling (à la Maintenon is best), with butter, pepper, and salt, is sufficient. It may also be delicately fried with bread crumbs, or stewed in white sauce. The flesh of this mushroom is perhaps lighter of digestion than that of any other.

Plate VIII. Fig. 1.

TribeMesopus. SubdivisionAgaricini,Fries.

“Sunt qui hunc perniciosum scripsere. Verum etiam latranti stomacho eum comedi; atque ex eo pulmenta parantur, quæ si aridis mortuorum oribus admovcantur peream ni reviviscerent!”—Batt.“Jure inter sapidissimos fungos numeratur.”—Fries.

“Sunt qui hunc perniciosum scripsere. Verum etiam latranti stomacho eum comedi; atque ex eo pulmenta parantur, quæ si aridis mortuorum oribus admovcantur peream ni reviviscerent!”—Batt.

“Jure inter sapidissimos fungos numeratur.”—Fries.

No fungus is more popular than the above, though the merits—nay, the very existence—of such a fungus at home is confined to the Freemasons, who keep the secret! Having collected a quantity at Tunbridge Wells, this summer, and given them to the cook at the Calverley Hotel to dress, I learnt from the waiter that they were not novelties to him; that, in fact, he had been in the habit of dressing them for years, on state occasions, at the Freemasons’ Tavern. They were generally fetched, so he said, from, the neighbourhood of Chelmsford, and were always well paid for. Of theCantharellus, this summer (1847), the supplies were immense! the moss under the beech-trees in Buckhurst Park in particular, was so lavish of them, that a hamper might soon have been filled, had there been hands to gather them. On revisiting the same park about five weeks later, they were still continuing to come up, but in less abundance.

The botanical characters of theCantharellusare as follow:—

When young, itsstalkis tough, white, and solid; but as it grows this becomes hollow and presently changes to yellow; tapering below, it is effused into the substance of thepileus, which is of the same colour with it. Thepileusis lobed, and irregular in shape, its margin at first deeply involute, afterwards when expanded, wavy. Theveinsor plaits are thick, subdistant, much sinuated, running some way down the stalk.Thefleshis white, fibrous, dense, “having the odour of apricots” (Purton), or of “plums” (Vitt.). Thecolouryellow, that of the yolk of eggs, is deeper on the under surface; when raw it has the pungent taste of pepper; thesporeswhich are elliptic, are of a pallid ochre colour (Vitt.).[168]TheChantarellegrows sometimes sporadically, sometimes in circles or segments of a circle, and may be found from June to October. At first it assumes the shape of a minute cone; next, in consequence of the rolling in of the margin, the pileus is almost spherical, but as this unfolds, it becomes hemispherical, then flat, at length irregular and depressed.

“This fungus,” observes Vittadini, “being rather dry and tough by nature, requires a considerable quantity of fluid sauce to cook it properly.” The common people in Italy dry or pickle, or keep it in oil for winter use. Perhaps the best ways of dressing theCantharellusare to stew or mince it by itself, or to combine it with meat or with other funguses. It requires to be gently stewed and a long time to make it tender; but by soaking it in milk the night before, less cooking will be requisite.

TheCanth. cibariusis very abundant about Rome, where it fetches, not being in great esteem, from twopence to twopence halfpenny a pound.

Plate IX. Figs. 1 and 2.

SubgenusCoprinus,Fries.

Bot. Char.Pileusfleshy, campanulate, margin uneven,colour greyish, then light brown, slightly hairy, often corrugated, sometimes scaly in the centre.Gillsnumerous, deep, with clear veins, light brown, black in age, the edges grey or white, free, obtuse behind.Stemabout four inches high, swollen at the base, piped, juicy, fibrous, marked with bands.

This is a common fungus in gardens, waste corners of fields, and lanes, and occasionally growing on stumps of trees in such situations: it is gregarious and cæspitose, and occurs both in spring and autumn. Young specimens afford a fine ketchup.

Plate VII. Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

SubgenusCoprinus,Fries.

“A fungus in great request about Via Reggio and Lucca.”—Puccinelli.

Bot. Char.Pileuscylindrical, breaking up into long scales, campanulate, epidermis thin, flesh thick in the centre, very thin and stringy at the margins.Gillsnumerous, quite free, leaving a space round the top of the stem.Stemfrom four to five inches high, rather bulbous at the base, stuffed with fibres, brittle, ring moveable.

This fungus may be found from early spring till late in the autumn, in meadows and waste places.

When used for making ketchup or for the table, only young specimens should be selected.

Plate III. Figs. 3 and 4.

SubgenusRussula,Scopoli.

“Non meno sicuro e gustoso del Cesareo e del l’orcino.”—Vitt.

It is of the utmost importance that those who gather funguses for the table, should be accurately acquainted with the different species composing this genus; its members are so abundantly distributed; some of them form so excellent and delicate a food, whilst others produce such deleterious effects on the economy, that they are well entitled to a diligent and careful attention. The limits of this work will not permit an accurate discrimination of all the species, which would require a long monograph to themselves; but I have endeavoured to point out amidst those of most frequent occurrence, the three which may be selected with profit for the table, and some others which are nearly allied, from which we must be careful to separate them.

The three mild-flavouredRussulæare theAg. heterophyllus,Ag. ruber, andAg. virescens; the botanical characters of the first are as follows:—

Pileussubirregular, from three and a half to four and a half inches across, at first convex, then more or less excavated towards the centre; for the most part smooth, the epidermis covering it, more or less moist, never scored or fissured, but exhibiting a continuous surface, marked by very small raised lines, radiating as from the centre, and frequently crossing so as to present a very minute finely reticulated meshwork, sometimesslightly zoned, adhering to the flesh of thepileus, which peels away with it in flakes resembling asbestos. It is very various in colour, being found of all shades of yellow, lilac, azure, green, and sometimes a mixture of these in different parts. The margin even,i. e.not striate, irregularly elevated and depressed. Thegillsare watery white, rather numerous and thick, ascending, tapering away at their stalk extremity, rather broader at the other, some simple but many of them forked at the base, in a few instances branched; the imperfect gills very few, irregular, occasionally broadly adhering to the side of a perfect gill; thestalknaked, variable as to length and size, equal or attenuated slightly at the base, white like spermaceti, externally rugulose, and meshed, like the pileus, with minute meandering lines, internally stuffed with a compact subfriable medullary substance, which, as the fungus grows old, breaks up here and there into sinuses which gradually coalesce, till at last the whole stem becomes hollow. The parenchyma is compact, but not thick, and does not change colour when cut. The spores white, round, and very abundant. Thetastesweet and nutty.Odournone.

This excellent fungus, which Vittadini pronounces to be not surpassed for fineness of flavour byAm. Cæsareaor byB. edulis, with either of which it is equally wholesome, has been introduced by Roques into the houses of many of his friends in the environs of Paris, some of whom prefer it toAg. campestris: an opinion shared by several of our own friends on this side the Channel. It grows in great abundance during the summer months generally, and this year nowhere more plentifully than under the Elm-trees in Kensington Gardens. There must be no delay in dressing it, otherwise insects, who are as fond of it as we are, appropriate it to their larvæ, which in a few hours will utterly consume it; the flesh, being very tender, requires but slight cooking.

“L’Agarico Rosso è uno dei funghi più delicati e gustosi che si conoscono.”—Vitt.

Bot. Char.Pileusrather fleshy, at first hemispherical, then obtusely convex, and, when fully expanded, more or less excavated towards the centre. The margins at first even, at length tuberculo-sulcate, that is, marked with lines similar to those left on the skin after cupping. The epidermis dry in dry weather, but very sticky in moist, of various hues, tawny-purple, olive-green, ochraceous-yellow, or several of these united, and generally darkest at the centre; peeling off readily without laceration of the flesh. The flesh white, when cut slightly rufescent, when dry cream-coloured. Thegillsfragile, cream-coloured, connected below by transverse plaits or veins, thick and broad, but tapering away towards the stalk, really simple, though a few imperfect gills interposed between the entire ones, and attaching themselves to their sides give these sometimes the appearance of being forked; thestalkequal, white, or blotched here and there with purple stains, stuffed, brittle, and Vittadini adds, “long,” which is not my experience of it; when young it is so short as to be entirely hid by the globose head of the unexpanded pileus. The flesh inconsiderable but compact;sporulespale-buff.

TheAg. ruber, theColombo rossaof the Tuscans, andRother Täublingof Schœffer, is a completewood-pigeon in its haunts; it grows very abundantly, may be gathered from July to a very late period in the autumn, and is as delicate and light of digestion as theRussulalast described. It may be readily distinguished fromAg. alutaceusby the different colour of its gills and spores, which in that species are buff, but in theAg. rubercream-coloured: moreover the greater thickness of thesubstance of the pileus ofAg. alutaceus, the margin of which is deeply sulcate, even at an early period of its development, and the pungent acrid taste, which is seldom wanting, are further means of distinguishing it fromAg. ruber.Ag. emeticusdiffers from it in having unequal snow-white gills, and in extreme acrimony of taste.

“La carne di questo Agarico è tenera e di sapore gratissimo.”—Vitt.

Pileusat first flatly convex; at length depressed towards the centre with an even margin; epidermis whitish, fibrous, continuous and firmly adhering to the flesh, dry, but coated over with a thick stratum of opaque meal, which gradually breaking as the pileus expands maps it in a singular and quite characteristic manner with a series of irregular polygonal figures, in greater or less relief according to the thickness of the coating; its colour varies slightly but is generally made up of some admixture of green and yellow, communicating to the surface, as Bulliard has remarked, a farinaceous or mouldy appearance. Thegillsof some thickness, very brittle, white, sublanceolate, generally simple, but occasionally forked, the imperfect gills interspersed without order amongst the entire ones; thestalkequal, short, its centre stuffed with cottony fibres: somewhat compact and elastic. According to Thore, as quoted by Persoon, this Agaric may be cultivated.[169]

It is an exceedingly delicate fungus, but not very common in England. The best way of cooking it, according to Vittadini, is on the gridiron; the peasants about Milan are in the habit of putting it over wood embers to toast, eating it afterwards with a little salt, in which way it has a savoury smell, and a taste like that of theCancer astacus; when fresh it is without odour, but acquires a very strong one while drying, which he compares to that of salt meat. Mr. Berkeley quotes Roques’ authority as to its being eaten in France; Vittadini, without giving any authority, states that it is eaten in England. It loses but little of its volume in drying.

Three acridRussulæremain to be described,Ag. alutaceus,Ag. emeticus,Ag. sanguineus; all three common, though not perhaps so common as the mild ones, and all to be avoided. The first,A. alutaceus, Fries, is ranked by Vittadini among the safe kinds, he even affixes a misplaced note of admiration after his epithet “esculentus!” and describes it even when raw as “a dainty food, possessed of a most agreeable flavour.”

Mr. Berkeley, who reports it esculent whenyoung, remarks that individual specimens occur, which prove almost as acrid as theAg. emeticusitself; my own experience of it in England is, that whether young or old, it is always acrid when raw.[170]I have never tried it dressed, which might possibly extractits noxious qualities, as Vittadini reports to have been the case with a caustic variety which he subjected to this test; but since even then, on his own showing, it proved indigestible, I would advise no one to try this species, especially when there are so many others, the good qualities of which are known.

It is easy to distinguishA. alutaceusfrom any of the foregoing species; to do this it is only necessary to look at the gills, which, in place of being, as in these, white, watery white, or cream-coloured, are of a rich buff;pileusabout three inches broad, pink or livid olive, smooth on the surface, and viscid in wet weather; the margin at first even, but in age striate; thegillsbroad, equal, slightly forked, ventricose, free, connected by veins; thesporulesrich buff; thestemone and a half inches long, blunt, surface longitudinally wrinkled or grooved, solid without, spongy within, varying from white to buff.

Reports concerning the qualities of this fungus differ widely, some asserting it to be a most deleterious species, of which the mischief was not to be removed by cooking, whilst others, on the authority of dogs whom they persuaded to eat some, pronounced it innoxious. In this state of uncertainty Vittadini, for the sake of science, and peradventure of adventure also, determined to test its effects upon himself; he had previously given at different times large doses, of from six to twelve ounces, to dogs, both in the crude state and also cooked; but without result. “Still,” says he,[171]“thinking that though dogs might eatAg. emeticuswith impunity, it might yetprove injurious to man, I took five specimens of fair dimensions, and having fried, I ate them with the usual condiments; but though pains were taken to have them delicately prepared (oltimamente cucinati), they still retained their acrid bitter taste, and were most distasteful to the palate.” The reader will be glad to learn, that the only inconvenience suffered by this bold self-experimentalist was a slight sense of præcordial uneasiness accompanied with flatulence,—effects attributable entirely, as he believed, to the rich mode in which his dish was prepared: though, more timid apparently for others’ safety than his own, he particularly adds, “though I have clearly established to my own satisfaction, the complete innocuousness of theA. emeticus; still, as there are, or are said to be, otherRussulæof highly deleterious properties and closely allied, the mistaking which for it might be paid for by the loss of life, the safer rule is to abstain from all such as have acrid juices.”

The botanical characters ofAg. emeticusare as follow:—

Pileus more or less rosy, flesh compact, margin striate, epidermis adherent;gillsvery brittle, arched in front, attenuated towards the stalk, connected below by transverse plaits, generally simple, a few forked, the imperfect gills rounded off behind; thestalk, which is compact, of equal dimensions, and white, is generally more or less stained with red spots of the same hue as the pileus; in the growing fungus, where the epidermis has been removed and the flesh eaten by insects, this soon acquires a tint as lively as that of the skin itself; generally I have remarked that the erosions of insects and slugs donotproduce any change of colour, even in the species notorious under other circumstances for manifesting such a change; thus the flesh of theAg. rubescens, which turns red when it is divided, may be frequently seen half eatenthrough, exhibiting a white flesh; and the same is the case with theBoletus luridus, the flesh of which, though eroded, remains white till it is broken through.

This fungus, of which the general facies and most of the botanical characters, as well as the taste and other qualities, are similar to those of the last-mentioned Agaric, differs from it in having its gills for the most part forked, many smaller ones being interposed between those that are entire, also innothaving its margin striate, as theAg. emeticuswhen moderately expanded always has. The smell of this fungus, which is only developed in drying, is, according to Vittadini, “most agreeable,” resembling that of fresh meal; to me its odour is unpleasant and like that of sour paste.

Pileusone or two inches across, sticky, of a light muddy-pink, theepidermispeeling off easily and entire from the flesh, margin not striate, flesh soft, white, and cellular;gillsadnate, white, forked, brittle, slightly ventricose; the margin subdenticulate; thestalkof spermaceti-whiteness and appearance, solid within, brittle, the internal texture looser than the external; the surface minutely rugulose, 1¼-1½ inch, by 2-4 lines thick, intensely acrid. In meadows, throughout the summer; abundant.

Plate X.

SubgenusPleuropus, Persoon. SubdivisionConcharia,Fries.

“L’Ag. ostreato viene giustamente per la sua bontà ed innocenza amesso tra i funghi commestibili, de’ quali è pure permessa la vendita sulle pubbliche piazze.”—Vitt.

Bot. Char.Cæispitose.[172]Pileusfleshy, smooth, blackish, then cinereous, at length paler; epidermis strongly adherent, flesh fibrous, moderately firm;gillsanastomosing behind, not glandular, white;stemsublateral or wanting. On dead trees.[173]Season, spring and autumn.

As there are some singular differences presented by this fungus in regard to development, odour, taste, and the colour of the spores, which seem almost sufficient to entitle it to be divided into two distinct species, I shall first describe the more ordinary form, as given by Mr. Berkeley, and then mention the variations from it.

“Imbricated, large;pileussubdimidiate, very thick and fleshy; flesh white, dusky towards the surface; one inch deep, the border at first fibrillose; margin involute, as the pileus expands the white fibrillæ vanish, and the colour changes to bistre; margin paler and rimulose, the whole surface shining and satiny when dry, soft and clammy when moist;gillsbroad, here and there forked,”[174]standing out sharp and erect like the fine flutings of a column, winding down the stalk to different lengths, and those that reach the bottom forming there a beautiful raised meshwork highly characteristicof this species, “dirty(pure?) white, the edge serrated, umber;tasteandsmelllike that ofAg. personatus, which it resembles somewhat in colour;” “sporeswhite like those of thePolyporus suaveolens.”[175]The points of difference in those which departed from the ordinary type were as follows:[176]—first, in specimens growing close together and all equally exposed to the light, the colour of all at the same period of growth was not the same, being a delicate waxy-white in some of the specimens, in others, a light-brown. Secondly, whereas this fungus is generally “invested during infancy with awhite lanugo or down,”[177]I observed the young Agarics, which presented themselves at first as small semitransparent eminences rising irregularly from a common stalk, and not unlike in appearance the blisters on a chalcedony, to be thickly coated with a light-blue varnish in place of it; the drydébrisof which varnish continued to adhere to the surface of the pileus for some time afterwards. Thirdly, the complexion of the spores, commonly described aswhite, was in these specimens pale-rose. Fourthly, they exhaled the strong and peculiar odour of Tarragon; and, finally, in place of being the delicate fungus at table which in July I had always found it, these specimens afforded a distasteful food. TheAg. ostreatusresists cold in a remarkable manner; the circumstance of its being found in winter has procured for it the trivial name of Gelon.Ag. ostreatusis found on the barks of many sorts of trees, and wherever it has once been it is apt to recur frequently afterwards. It may be dressed in any of the more usual ways; but as the flesh is rather over-solid and tenacious, it is all the better for being cooked leisurely over a slow fire.

Plate XI. Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

Subgenus 1.Amanita.

“Non altrimenti del Cesareo delicato e sano.”—Vitt.

Bot. Char.Pileuscovered with warts of different sizes; margins even, convex, flesh turns obscurely red when cut or bruised, slightly moist and shining;gillsattenuated behind;stemat first stuffed, in age becoming hollow, bulbous, sometimes scaly;ringwide, marked with striæ;sporesnearly elliptical;smellstrong;tastenot unpleasant.

This is a very delicate fungus, which grows in sufficient abundance to render it of importance in a culinary point of view. It makes excellent ketchup. Cordier reports it as one of the most delicate mushrooms of the Lorraine; and Roques speaks equally well of it. It generally grows in woods, particularly of oak and chestnut, both in summer and autumn. No fungus is more preyed upon than this by mice, snails, and insects.

Plate XII. Figs. 6 and 7.

Tribe 3.Mitrati.

Morell.

“Sommamente ricercata,”—Vitt.

Every one knows the Morell, that expensive luxury which the rich are content to procure at great cost from our Italian warehouses, and the poor are fain to do without. It is lessgenerally known that this fungus, though by no means so common with us as some others, (a circumstance partly attributable to the prevailing ignorance as to when and where to look for it, or even of its being indigenous to England,[178]) occurs not unfrequently in our orchards and woods, towards the beginning of summer. Roques reports favourably of some specimens sent to him by the Duke of Athol; and others, from different parts of the country, occasionally find their way into Covent Garden market. The genusMorchellacomprises very few species, and they are all good to eat. Persoon remarks, that though the Morell rarely appears in a sandy soil, preferring a calcareous or argillaceous ground, it frequently springs up on sites where charcoal has been burnt or where cinders have been thrown.

Bot. Char.Pileusvery various in shape and hue, the surface broken up into little sinuses or cells, made by folds or plaits of the hymenium, which are more or less salient, and constitute the so-called ribs. Theseribsare very irregular, and anastomose with each other throughout; the pileus hollow, opening into the irregular hollow stem.Sporespale-yellow.

Bot. Char.This may be known from theM. esculentaby being, as its name imports, half free,i. e.having the pileus for half its length detached from the stalk. Spores are pale-yellow.Odour, at first feeble, becomes stronger in drying. Occurring less frequently than the last, and much less sapid. Neither of these funguses should be gathered after rain, as they are then insipid and soon spoil.[179]

M. Roques says the Morell may be dressed in a variety of ways, both fresh and dry, with butter or in oil,au grasorà la crême. The following receipts for cooking them are from Persoon.

1st. Having washed and cleansed them from the earth which is apt to collect between the plaits, dry thoroughly in a napkin, and put them into a saucepan with pepper, salt, and parsley, adding or not a piece of ham; stew for an hour, pouring in occasionally a little broth to prevent burning; when sufficiently done, bind with the yolks of two or three eggs, and serve on buttered toast.

2nd.Morelles à l’Italienne.—Having washed and dried, divide them across, put them on the fire with some parsley, scallion, chervil, burnet, tarragon, chives, a little salt, and two spoonfuls of fine oil. Stew till the juice runs out; then thicken with a little flour; serve with bread-crumbs and a squeeze of lemon.

3rd.Stuffed Morells.—Choose the freshest and whitest Morells, open the stalk at the bottom; wash and wipe them well, fill with veal stuffing, anchovy, or any richfarceyou please, securing the ends, and dressing between thin slices of bacon. Serve with a sauce like the last.[180]

Plate VIII. Figs. 3 and 4.

SubgenusMesopus,Fries.

“The general use made of this fungus throughout France, Italy, and Germany leaves no doubt as to its good qualities.”—Roques.

Bot. Char.Pileusfleshy, tawny, red, smoothly tomentose, very irregular in shape, from two to five inches across, lobed or undulated; margin vaulted, acute, wavy; flesh white, turning yellow when cut, if bruised becoming brown-red;spinespale-yellow, unequal, thick-set, apices canino-denticulate or conical, straight or slightly ungulate; occasionally bifid; shorter and more obtuse towards the stalk, on the upper part of which they are somewhat decurrent, leaving small foraminules when detached;stemat first white, then tawny; two inches long, solid, of variable thickness (from half an inch to two inches) more or less flattened, papillated above with the rudiments of spines which have aborted;sporesround, white,tastewhen raw at first pleasant, but presently of a saline bitter, like Glauber salts, somewhat peppery, andsmelllike that of horse-radish.

This fungus occurs principally in woods, and especially in those of pine and oak; sometimes solitary, but more frequently in company and in rings. In Italy (where the spines have procured for it the name of “Steccherino,” or Hedgehog), it is brought into the market and sold promiscuously with the Chantarelle, to which in colour and in some other respects it bears a resemblance. There is no fungus with which this is likely to be confounded; once seen, it is recognized at a glance afterwards, and may be gathered fearlessly.

According to Paulet, Persoon, and Vittadini, theHyd. repandumshould be cooked for a long time, and with plenty of sauce, otherwise, being deficient in moisture, it is apt to become rather tough; when well stewed it is an excellent dish, with a slight flavour of oysters; it makes also a very goodpurée. Vittadini places it among the most delicate of the funguses of Italy.

Plate XII. Figs. 1 and 2.

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