Fugacious funguses, growing in rich dungy places or on rotten wood.
Esculent species:Ag. comatusandatramentarius.
No esculent species.
Bot. Char.These are distinguished from Agarics, which at first sight they resemble, by having veins in place of gills; that is, by having the prolongations of the fibres of the pileus invested in anundivided, in place of a divided hymenium, as occurs in Agarics and in the genusBoletus. These veins are prominent, ramifying, seldom anastomosing; central, eccentric, or wanting; no investments; dust white.
Esculent species:C. cibarius.
[In the next three genera,Merulius,Schizophyllum, andDædalea, there are no esculent species.]
Bot. Char.Hymeniumconcrete with the substance of the pileus, consisting of subrotund pores with thin simple dissepiments.
Esculent species:P. frondosus.
Bot. Char. The wordBoletus, which has at different times, and under different mycologists, been made to represent in turn many very different funguses, is now restricted to such as have a soft flesh, vertical tubes underneath, round or angular, slightly connected together and with the substance of the pileus, open below, and lined by the sporiferous membrane; the cap horizontal, very fleshy, the stalk generally reticulated, some have an investment; the flesh of many changes colour.
They are all innocuous, according to Vittadini, which is not strictly the case, though many species hitherto reputed unwholesome, or worse, appear to lose their bad properties by drying. The kinds generally eaten areB. edulisandscaber.
Bot. Char.Hymeniumformed of a distinct substance, but concrete with the fibres of the pileus;tubesat first wart-like, somewhat remote, radiato-fimbriate, closed; at length approximated, elongated, open.
Esculent species:F. hepatica.
Bot. Char.In this genus the under surface presents a series of conical teeth or bristles of unequal length, solid, continuous with the flesh of the pileus and covered entirely by the sporiferous membrane. The species composing it have no investments; thefleshis dry, frequently corky or coriaceous; thepileusirregular in shape, and its margin arched and undulated. There are no dangerous species, but which to eat must depend upon the united consent of the stomach and of the teeth.
Esculent species:H. repandum.
[In the last five genera of this tribe, namely,Sistotrema,Irpex,Radulum,Phlebia, andThelephora, there are no esculent species.]
Hymeniumabove, smooth;receptacleclub-shaped or cylindrical, with no distinct margin;substancefleshy.
Bot. Char.Receptacleerect, homogeneous, smooth, not distinguishable from the stalk, simple or entirely covered by the hymenium.
All the species in this genus are good to eat.
[In the remaining six genera of this tribe there are no esculent species.]
Receptaclebullate, pileiform, margined;hymeniumsuperior, never closed.
Bot. Char.Receptaclehollow and confluent with stalk, club-shaped, or, like the pileus, fissured above with lacunæ more or less deep, limited by thick folds, anastomosed with reticulations, entirely covered with sporiferous membrane;fleshwaxy in texture;stalkconstant.
There are two esculent kinds,M. esculentaandsemilibera; theesculentaandhybridaof Sowerby.
Bot. Char.Substancefleshy;marginssinuous; only the upper portion of the pileus sporiferous.
Esculent species:H. crispa,lacunosa, andesculenta.
[In Genera 24 to 26 there are no esculent species.]
Hymeniumconcrete, superior, smooth, shut in while young by the margins of the receptacle;sporulesdisseminated with elasticity or otherwise;receptaclebowl-shaped, flat or concave; some of this tribe when young have an involucrum.
Esculent species:P. acetabulum.
[In Genera 28 to 45, which conclude the first great division,Hymenomycetes, there are no esculent species.]
Bot. Char.Thereceptaclea close cavity with or without a hymenium;sporesat last free and variously disseminated.
[In Genera 46 to 73 there are no esculent species.]
Bot. Char.Peridiumpapyraceous, furnished with a distinct back, which at length peels off altogether, fertile within;capillitiumequal.
Esculent species:B. plumbea.
Bot. Char.A sessileperidium, membranaceous; at first filled with a white, consistent, homogeneous substance, which after a time is converted into a dust of various hues, and is interspersed with copious filaments. The funguses of this genus are invested in two membranes; the innermost of which, orperidium, is tough and smooth on the outside, shaggy with floccose threads within. The external membrane, which is very fragile and tender, frequently falls off during the maturation of the seed, which then escapes through the peridium by an irregular orifice at the apex.
Esculent species:L. plumbeumandBovista.
Plate I.Fig. 1.
SubgenusTricholoma,Fries. SubdivisionPersonata,ibid.
Agaricus mouceron,Bulliard.Cæsalpinus, p. 617.
Mouceron gris,Paulet,Persoon.
“Cogitatione ante pascuntur succineis novaculis aut argenteo apparatu comitante.”—Pliny.“Tout ce qui fait l’ornement des festins s’embaume du parfum de ces cryptogames.”—Persoon.
“Cogitatione ante pascuntur succineis novaculis aut argenteo apparatu comitante.”—Pliny.
“Tout ce qui fait l’ornement des festins s’embaume du parfum de ces cryptogames.”—Persoon.
Bot. Char.Gregarious, or growing in rings[153]on the ground;pileusthick, convex, irregular in shape, more or less tuberculated, sometimes lobed;[154]margin not striate, wavy, expanding unequally;epidermiscream-coloured, grey, reddish, or of a dirty nankeen hue, paler towards the circumference, soft to the touch like kid, minutely tomentose, fragile, dry, firmly attached to the flesh; flesh firm, compact;gillswatery, white, very numerous, irregular, with many smaller ones (from 5-11,Vitt.) interposed, lying over each other like the plaits of a frill, adnato-emarginate,[155]the imperfect gills rounded off at their posterior end.Stemwhite, robust, firm, solid, somewhat irregular in form, generally thickened at the base, constantly so in young specimens, but in older ones,though occasionally bulging, it presents not unfrequently an equal cylinder throughout, and sometimes tapers slightly downwards. The fibres are effused into the pileus, spreading out like a fan through its substance;smellstrong,tasteagreeable;sporeswhite, elliptical, adhering firmly to the body on which they fall. The dried plant retains much the same form it had when fresh.
On tracing this fungus to its origin, (spring is the only time, and the borders of the woodlands the proper place, to look for it,) if we dig up the earth where it grows, this will be found mouldy to a considerable depth beneath the surface, and strongly impregnated with the peculiar odour which thePrunulusexhales; this apparent mouldiness being, in fact, the spawn, amidst the white filaments of which many minute Agarics, in various stages of their development, may be found; some, in the earliest, presenting merely white cones destitute of heads, whilst in others a slight protuberance indicates the future pileus forming or already formed. The pileus is at first almost spherical, and involute in its borders, the gills whitish, very minute, and so thickly set as to press one against the other, each communicating to the membrane that lines the next the impressions of its own fibres, which remain in the form of transverse striæ, and furnish a characteristic to this fungus retained during all its subsequent growth (Vitt.). The greatest size which I have known thePrunulusattain has been in England, where I have picked specimens measuring six inches across, and weighing between four and five ounces; as to the fecundity of this fungus, I collected this spring, from a single ring on the War-Mount at Keston (Kent), from ten to twelve pounds, and in the one field from twenty to twenty-five pounds. In this neighbourhood they are generally destroyed, as injurious to his grass-crops, by the over-carefulfarmer, quite ignorant, of course, of their value; to which the following extract from a letter of Professor Balbi to Persoon bears testimony:—“This rare and most delicious Agaric, theMouceronof Bulliard, and theAg. prunulusof other authors, abounds on the hills above the valley of Stafora, near Bobbio, where it is called Spinaroli, and is in great request; the country people eat it fresh in a variety of ways, or they dry and sell it for from twelve to sixteen francs a pound.” Vittadini says, truly enough, that the fresh is better than the driedPrunulus, the substance of the latter being rather coriaceous, but the gravy prepared from it in this state, being very rich and well-flavoured, is largely used by those who reject the body of the mushroom; three or four thrown into a pot of the lighter broths or of beef-tea render them more savoury. To dry thePrunulusit is usual to cut it into four or more pieces, which are exposed for some days to a dry air and then threaded: it acquires an aroma by the process, and communicates this to any dish of which it is afterwards an ingredient.
It would be extremely difficult to confound this Agaric with any other; its mode of growth in circles, the extreme narrowness of its gills, which are moreover striate, the thickness of its pileus, and the bulging character of its stalk, would render a mistake almost impossible, even did it grow in autumn when other funguses abound, in place of appearing only in spring when few species comparatively abound.
The best mode of cooking theAg. prunulusis either in a mince or fricassee it with any sort of meat, or in avol-au-vent, the flavour of which it greatly improves; or simply prepared with salt, pepper, and a small piece of bacon, lard, or butter, to prevent burning, it constitutes of itself a most excellent dish. It has the great advantage of appearing in spring, at a season the common mushroom never occurs. I have placedit first in the series of Plates, as being the most savoury fungus with which I am acquainted.[156]
When eaten alone, Sterbeck’s white mustard will be found an excellent condiment for it; this is prepared as follows:—Bruise in a mortar some sweet almonds with a little water, then add salt, pepper, and some lemon-juice, rub together till the whole is of the consistence of common mustard.
Plate II.
SubgenusLepiota,Fries.
“Elle est d’une saveur très-agréable et d’une chair tendre, très-délicate et très-bonne à manger. Les amateurs la préfèrent même au champignon de couche, comme ayant une chair plus fine et étant beaucoup plus légère sur l’estomac.”—Paulet.
“Elle est d’une saveur très-agréable et d’une chair tendre, très-délicate et très-bonne à manger. Les amateurs la préfèrent même au champignon de couche, comme ayant une chair plus fine et étant beaucoup plus légère sur l’estomac.”—Paulet.
This, which is one of the most delicate funguses, fortunately is not rare in England. In Italy it is in equal request with theAmanita Cæsarea; in France it is also in high esteem,—“servie sur toutes les tables, elle est bonne à toute sauce” (Thore); and were its excellent qualities better known here, they could not fail to secure it a general reception into our best kitchens, and a frequent place among our side-dishes at table. The beauty and remarkable appearance of this Agaric have procured for it a variety of names:colubrinus, from the snake-like markings on the stem;clypeatus, fromits umbonated top; ‘fungo parasole,’ from the orbicular form of the wide-spread pileus; andGambaltiemorFonz de la gamba lunga, from the extraordinary height of the stalk. Autumn is the time of its greatest abundance, but individual specimens occur occasionally throughout the summer.
It grows solitary or few together in hedgebanks and pasture-grounds.
The pileus, which is commonly from four to four and a half inches across, sometimes attains a width of six or seven. At first it is concealed in a volva, but breaking from this it goes through a variety of forms, from that of an ovoid cone to that of a flattened disk. It is umbonated at the centre, and covered with scales, which are formed by the breaking up of the mud-coloured epidermis, and are large, raised, and persistent at the centre; thin, regular, and lighter in hue at the circumference, “the whole surface resembling a delightfully soft, shaggy-brown leather” (Purton). The flesh of the pileus is white and cottony, that of the stalk fibrous and somewhat brittle, with a subrubescent tinge, the whole plant turning to a rufous-orange when bruised; the gills are of a pale flesh-colour, occasionally forked, ventricose, denticulate, remote from the stalk, and having a circular pit between it and their central extremities, which are fixed into a kind of collar. The stalk tawny, striped circularly with bands of white, formed by the breaking up of the epidermis; is bulbous at the base and attenuated upwards; its apex rounded, and penetrating deeply through the flesh of the pileus (which receives it as in a socket), gives rise to the central umbo on the upper surface of the cap. The ring moveable, like that of an umbrella-stick, broad, compact, membranaceous immediately round the stalk, and fibrous towards its free margin, is white above and tawny or of the same colour as the stalk on itsunder surface. The smell is like that of newly-ground meal; the taste is pleasant; the spores are white and elliptic.
TheAg. excoriatusresembles theAg. procerusvery closely, but is easily distinguished from it by its smaller size, the absence of the bulb at the base of the stalk, and the ring being often attached instead of free.
Being equally esculent, the following receipts will serve for both:—
“Comme il est très-léger et très-délicat, il faut le faire sauter dans l’huile fine après l’avoir assaisonné d’un point d’ail, de poivro et de sel; en quelques instants il est cuit. On le mange aussi en fricassée de poulet, cuit sur le gril ou dans la tourtière avec de beurre, de fines herbes, du poivre, du sel, et de la chapelure de pain; on ne mange point la tige, elle est d’une texture coriace” (Roques).
The ketchup from both kinds is better than that procured from theAgaricus campestris, or common mushroom.
N.B.—I have in the above notice described one variety ofAgaricus procerus; there is, however, if not another, at least a remarkable modification of this, in which the pileus is thinner and much less shaggy, the gills less broad but similar in shape, the stalk more slender and elongate. This variety is also nearly void of odour,and its flesh does not change colour on being bruised: for culinary purposes this distinction is without importance, as both are equally good.
Plate III.Figs. 1 and 2.
SectionCortinaria,Fries.
“Atto sovra ognun altro fungo al commercio, forma da questo lato, per non pochi paesi della Lombardia, una delle principali risorsi della povera gente.”—Vitt.
“Atto sovra ognun altro fungo al commercio, forma da questo lato, per non pochi paesi della Lombardia, una delle principali risorsi della povera gente.”—Vitt.
The ancient Romans were well acquainted with this trulydelicious fungus, and in general appear to have done it justice; the strings of dried Suillus, which his countrymen, on the testimony of Pliny, were in the habit of fetching from Bithynia, were in all likelihood the same as those similarly-prepared strings of the modern Porcino which are sold during the winter in every market-place throughout Italy.[157]Vittadini mentions a curious fact respecting them, viz. that though they are composed of many different Boletuses, no mischief was ever known to originate from their indiscriminate and very extensive consumption; whence he concludes thatallthe species of this genus are innocuous, or, at least, that drying and cooking will extract any deleterious principles which they may have originally contained;—an inference, he thinks, supported by the daily use among the peasantry of certain districts of theB. luridus, which of all bad Boletuses commonly passes for the worst, and by his having experimented with it in large doses upon animals, who did not suffer in consequence. I have eaten in England a small quantity both ofB. Grevilleiand ofB. granulatus, which have much of the flavour of theB. edulis; of theB. subtomentosus(though, on the authority of Trattinick, it is eaten in Germany) I have no personal experience, nor do I recommend to the amateur any species beyond the two universally eaten and approved of on the Continent, viz.:—B. edulisandB. scaber.
B. edulis.—Bot. Char.Pileusfrom six to seven inches across, pulvinate, smooth, with a thick margin, varying in colour from light brown or bronze, to bay, dark brown, orblack, or a mixture of all these colours. The epidermis firmly adherent to the flesh, that firm, and except the part in immediate contact with the skin, which has a slight brown tint, white; the under surface of the cap nearly flat, often presenting a circular pit or depression round the stalk;tubesat first white, then yellow, lastly of an olive or yellow-green tint, in the earlier stage of development (their free extremities then lie against the side of the stalk) closed; afterwards, as the cap expands, stopped up with a waxy-looking material of a dirty pearl colour.Stemvarying much in shape at different periods of the growth of theBoletus, always thick and solid; at first white, but soon changing to fawn colour, beautifully meshed or mapped (especially on its upper portion) with reticulations characteristic of this species. As the period for casting its seed advances, the inferior surface of the cap swells out, the waxy matter is absorbed, the tubes present deep and rounded orifices to the eye, and presently emit an abundant seminal dust, of an ochraceous green hue (sometimes difficult to collect, from the quantity of moisture exhaled with it), after which both cap and stalk become flaccid, the tubes turn to a dirty green, and the whole fungus falls rapidly into a state of decomposition. The favourite sites for thisBoletusare woods, especially those of pines, oaks, and chestnuts; it abounds in autumn, but occurs in spring and occasionally in summer. There is one variety, thepinicola, whose name gives its whereabouts, which differs from the foregoing, in having a moist, somewhat sticky cap, a watery flesh changing near the tubes to a light yellow-green when bruised; the reticulations are ill-marked in this species.
TheBoletus eduliscannot be mistaken for any otherBoletusbecause it alone presents all the following characters united, viz. a cap of which the surface is smooth; tubes the colourof which varies with each period of its growth, beautiful and singular reticulations of the stalk, especially towards the upper portion, and a flesh which is white and unchanging.
TheBoletus castaneus, which bears, some little general resemblance to it, is at once distinguished by having a cottony fibrillose stem without reticulations, a downy cap and dirty yellow dust: neither can it be confounded with theB. subtomentosusnorB. luridus, because in addition to many other points of difference, both these change colour on being cut or bruised.
As to the best manner of cookingB. edulis, this must be left to the taste of the gourmet; in every way it is good. Its tender and juicy flesh, its delicate and sapid flavour, render it equally acceptable to the plain and to the accomplished cook. It imparts a relish alike to the homely hash and the dainty ragout, and may be truly said to improve every dish of which it is a constituent. “Nihil tetigit quod non ornavit.” “Though much neglected in this country, it appears to be a most valuable article of food. It resembles much in taste the common mushroom, and is quite as delicate; it abounds in seasons when these are not to be found.” (Berkeley.)
It may be cooked in white sauce, with or without chicken, in fricassee broiled or baked with butter, salad oil, pepper, salt, chopped herbs, and bread-crumbs; to which some add ham or a mince of anchovy. It makes excellent fritters: some roast it with onions (basting with butter), but as these take longer to cook than theBoletus, this must not be put down till the onions have begun to soften.
Having dried someBoletusesin an oven, soak them intepid water, thickening with toasted bread, till the whole be of the consistence of apurée, then rub through a sieve, throw in some stewedBoletuses, boil together, and serve with the usual condiments.
SectionPratella. SubdivisionPsaliota,Fries.
Agaricus campestris,Linn.
“Où croît ce champignon, délice des festins,Que l’art fait chaque jour naître dans nos jardins.”—Castel.
“Où croît ce champignon, délice des festins,Que l’art fait chaque jour naître dans nos jardins.”—Castel.
“Où croît ce champignon, délice des festins,Que l’art fait chaque jour naître dans nos jardins.”—Castel.
“Où croît ce champignon, délice des festins,
Que l’art fait chaque jour naître dans nos jardins.”—Castel.
There is scarcely any one in England who does not feel himself competent to decide on the genuineness of a mushroom: its pink gills are carefully separated from those of a kindred fungusAg. Georgii, which are of a flesh-coloured grey, and out of the pickings of ten thousand hands, a mistake is of rare occurrence; and yet no fungus presents itself under such a variety of forms, of such singular diversities of aspect! the inference is plain; less discrimination than that employed to distinguish this, would enable any who should take the trouble, to recognize at a glance many of those esculent species, which every spring and autumn fill our plantations and pastures with plenteousness. Neither is this left to be a mere matter of inference; it is corroborated in a singular manner by what takes place at Rome; here, whilst many hundred baskets of what we call toadstools are carried home for the table, almost the only one condemned to be thrown into the Tiber, by the inspector of the fungus market is our own mushroom:[158]indeed, in such dread is this held in the PapalStates, that no one knowingly would touch it. “It is reckoned one of their fiercest imprecations,” writes Professor Sanguinetti, “amongst our lower orders, infamous for the horrible nature of their oaths, to pray that any one may die of aPratiolo;” and although it has been some years registered among the esculent funguses of Milan and Pavia (on the authority of Vittadini), it has not yet found its way into those markets. Besides the general botanical characters which apply to all varieties ofAg. campestris, almost every writer has felt the necessity of pointing out several peculiarities, belonging to each. Common to all are a fleshy pileus, which is sometimes smooth, sometimes scaly, in colour white, or of different shades of tawny, fuliginous, or brown; gills free, at first pallid, then flesh-coloured, then pink, next purple, at length tawny-black; the stem white, full, firm, varying in shape, furnished with a white persistent ring; the spores brown-black, and a volva which is very fugacious.
This, which is our button mushroom, lies at first concealed in the earth, at which period it presents the appearance of a puff-ball; at a second stage of its growth, it exhibits a white, smooth, and continuous epidermis; gills rounded off at their posterior end; a large, somewhat funnel-shaped,doublering, free, and somewhat moveable on the stem, which is short and thick. This, according to Vittadini, is the most sapid variety of any.
This differs from the last in the duskier hue of its pileus, which is moreover scaly, and has ragged margins; the gills are ventricose; and the ring, which is subfugacious, is cortinarious,i. e.of a cobweb texture, and reflexed; the stalk islonger than in the last species, and tapers towards the base; the colour of the flesh in this variety is vinous or even sanguine.
This differs from the two former in the following particulars; the gills arepallid, taperequallyat both ends, and come off at a considerable distance from the stalk, which is surrounded above by a very delicate ring, and isbulbousat the base, the bulb showing traces of the volva.[159]
Suchuncultivatedmushrooms as when eaten even in small quantity, produce violent derangement of the stomach and intestinal canal, belong to a variety which, since it grows under hedges, is sometimes called “the hedge mushroom;” this, to which, for distinction’s sake, I have given the name ofanceps, is by no means of rare occurrence. In order to discriminate it properly from the wholesome varieties, the first point to notice is its extreme lightness as compared with its bulk, that the gills are of a deeper and of a more lurid red than those ofvar. edulis, and in age less purple; they are also less deliquescent. The flesh is more tough and not so juicy. The stem, as in thevar. silvicola, is curved and bulbous, but also fistulose throughout. The ring complete, firm, broad, reflexed, andpersistent; the odour disagreeable, and the taste insipid. The form of the pileus that of an obtuse cone in young specimens; extremely flat in the middle state; and more or less concave in age. It seldom grows solitary. The mushroomproper, like other funguses, should be eaten fresh; a few hours making all the difference between its wholesomeness or unwholesomeness: nor need this surprise us when we consider how many principles enter into its composition, how short is the period of its existence, and how liable it must be to enter into new combinations in consequence. Vauquelin found in its flesh fat, adipocere, osmazome, an animal matter insoluble in alcohol, sugar, fungine, and acetate of potash. What a medley! and what wonder, if the changes induced during decomposition should cause the indigestions suffered by those who have eaten them in this state! The mushroom, having the same proximate principles as meat, requires, like meat, to be cooked before these become changed. TheAg. campestrismay be prepared in a great variety of ways: they give a fine flavour to soups, and greatly improve beef-tea;—where arrow-root and weak broths are distasteful to the patient, the simple seasoning of a little ketchup will frequently form an agreeable change. Some roast them, basting with melted butter and white (French) wine sauce.[160]In patties andvols-au-ventthey are equally excellent; in fricassees, as everybody knows, they are the important element of the dish. Roques recommends in all cases the removal of the gills before dressing, which though it secures a more elegant-lookingentremet, is only flattering the eye at the expense of the palate.
This variety differs from theAg. Georgiiand the type of the species in size and other particulars. There are specimens which measure fifteen inches across the pileus, with a stalk of corresponding dimensions. The pileus is shaggy, like that oftheAg. procerus, with epidermic scales, which are at first nearly white, but in fully developed specimens, of a rich tawny colour, like thePolyporus squamosus; and sometimes of a red-brown. The scales more depressed than inAg. procerus, the gills not ventricose, equal at both ends, separated from the stalk by a fossa or groove which runs round its apex; the stalk solid, attenuated at the very base, but thickened just above it, a slightly vinous hue when bruised; flesh of ring perfect, persistent, and hanging round the stalk like a sheet of thin white kid; into which a number of delicate silver threads may be traced proceeding from the apex of stem. The smell is powerful but agreeable, as also is the flavour; no part of the surface ever turns yellow. This variety is both wholesome and well-flavoured; as it is commonly known by the peasants under the name of the “Ox-Mushroom,” I have called itbovinus.
Steep for two hours in oil, with some salt, pepper, and a little garlic: then toss up in a small stewpan over a brisk fire, with parsley chopped and a little lemon-juice.
Take large mushrooms, full-grown, but not black; remove the gills, and place in lieu of them the following stuffing:—bacon shredded, crumbs of bread, chopped herbs, and a little garlic or eschalots (as for omelettes), salt, pepper, and a taste of spice. Broil in paper as a Maintenon cutlet, moistening with butter when necessary.
Take button mushrooms; put to them a very small quantityof garlic, finely chopped; toss up over a brisk fire with a little butter; add some lemon-juice; give them a few turns; then add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a wine-glassful of the richest brown gravy (Grande Espagnole); when the mushrooms are warmed through in this, add a couple of glasses of Sauterne, simmer for ten minutes, and serve.
A homely mode of cookingAg. campestrisin Bucks. is to cut up the buttons with pieces of bacon the size of dice, and then to boil them in a dumpling.
The following method of cultivating mushrooms is given in Paxton’s ‘Botanical Dictionary:’—
“Collect a sufficient quantity of fresh horse-droppings, as free from straw as possible; lay it in an open shed in a heap or ridge; here it will heat violently, and in consequence should be now and then turned for sweetening; after this has subsided to moderation, it will be in a fit state for forming into a bed. In the process of making the bed, the dung should be put on in small quantities and beat firmly and equally together, until it is the required size; in this state let it remain until the highest degree of heat to which it is capable of coming is ascertained, which may be readily done by inserting a heat-stick, and pressing it with the hand; if not found violent, the spawn may be broken up into pieces of two or three inches square, and put into holes about three inches in depth by six inches asunder, over its surface; after this, throw a very small quantity of well-broken droppings over the whole. In this state let it remain for two or three weeks, when a loamy soil may be put on about an inch or an inch and a half thick, and gently patted with the spade. If the temperature of the house be kept about sixty or sixty-fivedegrees, mushrooms may be expected in six weeks. It is not well to water the beds much, particularly when bearing; it is much better to throw a little water over the path and flues, which will both improve the colour and the flavour of the mushrooms, without being attended with those bad effects frequently resulting from watering, viz. that of destroying the young stock, and turning browner those already fit for table.”—Paxton’s Bot. Dict.
With regard to the spawn, it may be collected as recommended in the French work cited by M. Roques, and kept in a dry place till wanted; or by digging about the roots of growing mushrooms, and carrying away the earth which contains it. Thedébrisof a former mushroom-bed will always furnish spawn for a new.
Plate IV., Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
SectionPsaliota,Fries. SubdivisionPratella,ibid.
Agaricus Georgii,Withering.
“L’Agarico esquisito è un fungo sano, oltremodo delicato e di facilissima digestione.”—Vitt.“Its flavour is far inferior to that of the common mushroom.”—Berkeley.
“L’Agarico esquisito è un fungo sano, oltremodo delicato e di facilissima digestione.”—Vitt.
“Its flavour is far inferior to that of the common mushroom.”—Berkeley.
This fungus, called also the Horse Mushroom, from the enormous dimensions[161]to which it sometimes attains, is for the most part shunned by the English epicure; it is also this species from which many persons report themselves to havesuffered indigestion attended with violent colicky pains, when they have eaten it by mistake for theAg. campestris. It is sold, under the name of White Caps, for making ketchup; but, notwithstanding its foreign name and reputation, most persons will agree with Mr. Berkeley, in holding both its flesh and its juices as greatly inferior to those of theAg. campestris. Our other name for it, that of St. George’s Agaric, can have no reference to the time of its appearance, as it is seldom met with in England till after that saint’s day; it has, moreover, the same name in Hungary, where the inhabitants look upon it as a special gift from Saint George.
Its botanical characters are the following:—
Pileusat first conico-campanulate, covered with floccose shreds, which are very fugacious; when fully expanded, minutely squamulose, of a beautiful white, shining and smooth; turning yellow when bruised, and sometimes exuding a yellow juice (Sibthorpe).Gillsnumerous, broad, attenuated both ways, but most so behind, free, of a pallid hue (grey flesh-colour), during the growth of the fungus; later, clouded brown-black; the imperfect gills obtuse behind.Stemlong, subcylindrical, slightly thickened at the base, white without, stuffed within.Ringtumid and reflected over the stalk.Fleshof both pileus and stalk compact, fibrous, and fragile. Flavour and smell strong, and, according to Vittadini, agreeable, but according to English perception generally the reverse. Persoon pronounces this fungus to besuperiorto the common mushroom in smell, taste, and digestibility, on which accounts, he says, it is generally preferred in France. It is to be cooked in the same way as that, and, if eaten in moderation, will seldom be found to incommode the stomach or offend the palate.
Locality.—Pastures, amidst thickets, under trees, generallyin large rings, reproducing itself every year in the same situations.
Plate V., Fig. 4.
Orange Milk Agaric.
SubgenusGalorrheus.
Bot. Char.Gregarious.Pileusfrom three to four inches across; colour dull orange-rufous, frequently zoned with concentric circles of a brighter hue, fleshy, firm, full of red orange milk, which turns green on exposure to the air (as does the whole plant when bruised); the margin at first involute and downy, then expanded, afterwards depressed.Gillsdecurrent, forked at the base, always of the same colour as the pileus, rather distant, substantial.Stemfrom two to three inches high, slightly bent, stuffed in part, scrobiculate (i. e.marked with little superficial pits); at the base strigose (i. e.covered with short pointed hairs).
This is one of the best Agarics with which I am acquainted, fully deserving both itsnameand the estimation in which it is held abroad. Its flesh is firm, juicy, sapid, and nutritious. It grows under old Scotch firs and pines, and occasionally in considerable abundance, and is well worth the trouble of searching for from September to the beginning of November, when it is in season. There is but one fungus which it in any way resembles, and as that one (Ag. torminosus) is acrid and poisonous, the gatherer must pay particular attention to the following characteristic difference between the two, viz. that the milk of theAg. deliciosusisred and subsequentlyturns green, while that of theAg. torminosusiswhiteandunchangeable.
Mr. Sowerby thus speaks in praise of this species:—“I had one dressed; it was very luscious eating, full of rich gravy, with a little of the flavour of mussels.”
Sir James Smith, in his ‘Tour,’ says:—“The market of Marseilles exhibited a prodigious quantity ofAg. deliciosus, which really deserves its name, being the most delicious mushroom known.”
TheAgaricus deliciosusmay be served with a white sauce, or fried; but the best way to cook them, after duly seasoning with pepper and salt, and putting a piece of butter upon each, is to bake (in a closely-covered pie-dish) for about three-quarters of an hour.
Plate VI. Figs. 1, 2.