Part 20

Manner of growth caespitose, generally on decayed tree stumps, although the group figured in the plate was found growing on moist sand, mixed with clay, on a roadside in Hynesbury Park.

Authors differ widely as to the value of this species as an esculent. I have only eaten the very young and small specimens when cooked, and found them very palatable. A Boston mycophagist records it as "very good," fried after five minutes' boiling in salted water. Prof. Peck, having tried it, considers it "a perfectly safe species, but not of first-rate quality." It is very common in Maryland and Virginia, and in the mountain districts prolific. I have talked with Bohemians and with Germans who have gathered it in basketfuls in the vicinity of the District of Columbia, who speak well of it, considering it a valuable addition to the table. Its prolific growth makes it valuable to those who like it. There are no species recorded as dangerous in this group.

Ag. (Armillaria) robustus, a very stout species, with a fleshy, compact, smooth cap, bay color or tawny, occurs in the Maryland woods, and in the open woods of the Massachusetts coast.

AGARICINI. Fries.

Genus Cantharellus Adans. In the plants of this genus the hymenophore or fleshy substance of the cap is continuous with the stem. They are fleshy, membranaceous, and putrescent, having neither veil, ring, nor volva. The stem is central, except in a few species, where it is lateral. A characteristic of the genus which separates it from other genera of the Agaricini is the vein-like appearance of the gills. They are very shallow and so obtuse on the edges as to present the appearance of a network of swollen branching veins. They are usually decurrent and anastomosing. It is a small genus. Cooke figures nineteen species. Among the described species C. cibarius is the only one whose edible qualities have been highly recommended. C. umbonatus, a very small plant, found in eastern Massachusetts is commended by those who have eaten it. They are usually found in woods, and amongst moss. One species, C. carbonatus, is found upon charred ground.

PLATE VII.

=Cantharellus cibarius= Fries. "The Edible Chantarelle."

EDIBLE.

Cap a rich golden yellow, like the yolk of an egg; at first convex, later concave and turbinated; margin sinuous, undulate, smooth, shining, and more or less lobed; diameter from two to four inches; flesh pale yellow or whitish; veins or gills rather thick and wiry, remarkably decurrent, usually very much bifurcated and of the same golden yellow as the cap; stem solid or stuffed, slightly attenuated downwards, yellow; spores white or pale yellowish, elliptical.

European authors esteem it very highly, and some speak of the odor as like that of ripe apricots. The plant as found in Maryland and Virginia has a slightly pungent but agreeable taste when raw, and a pleasant odor when cooked. It is ranked as one of the best of the wood mushrooms by those who have eaten it in this locality (District of Columbia). It is found here in abundance, after light rains, in fir woods. Berkeley states that it is somewhat rare in England, where it is held as a delicacy, but quite common on the continent. We have had specimens from various localities throughout the States. Cooke says the spores are white. Peck and Gibson record them as yellow. I find them white, sometimes slightly tinted with yellow.

The Chantarelle takes its name from a Greek word signifying a cup or vase, referring to its shape and possibly also to its rich golden color; cibarius refers to its esculent qualities.

The variety rufipes Gillet closely resembles C. cibarius, but is darker, with the stem rufous, reddish, at the base.

C. aurantiacus Fries bears a sufficient resemblance to C. cibarius to be sometimes taken for it, although the cap is tomentose and of a much deeper orange in tint, the gills more crowded, darker than the cap, and the stem less stout. In the variety pallidus the whole plant is very light or buff yellow, and the gills nearly white. C. aurantiacus has been recorded as poisonous or unwholesome by some of the earlier authors, others say that they have eaten it, but do not commend it.

RECEIPTS FOR COOKING.

Stuffed Morels.--Choose the freshest and lightest colored Morels, open the stalk at the base, fill with minced veal and bread-crumbs, secure the ends of the stalk and place between thin slices of bacon.

The Morel should not be gathered immediately after heavy rains, as it becomes insipid with much moisture. The flavor is said to grow stronger in drying.

Escalloped Mushrooms.--(From Mr. Frank Caywood, Fredericktown, Ohio, November 14, 1893.) Season as directed in the usual methods for mushrooms and add a small quantity of vinegar to hasten the cooking. Cook slowly until tender; rapid boiling evaporates the flavor. When done, put in from a pint to a quart of sweet milk and heat. Take a pudding dish and put in a layer of broken crackers; light milk crackers are the best. Put lumps of butter and pepper and salt over the crackers. Next a layer of the tender mushrooms with some of the hot gravy and milk. Continue these layers until the dish is full, having a layer of crackers on top. Place the dish in the oven and bake slowly until the crackers are browned.

Mushroom Fritters.--Take nice large tops, season, and dip into batter and fry in hot butter as other fritters.

Mushrooms en ragout.--Put into a stewpan a little "stock," a small quantity of vinegar, parsley, and green onions chopped up, salt and spices. When this is about to boil, the cleaned mushrooms are put in. When done remove them from the fire and thicken with yolks of eggs.

The Lactarius deliciosus may be served with a white sauce or fried. Badham says the best way to cook them is to season first with pepper, salt, and small pieces of butter, and bake in a closely covered pie dish for about three quarters of an hour.

The Cantharellus, being somewhat dry, requires more fluid sauce in cooking than the juicier mushrooms, and is best minced and slowly stewed until quite tender. Some advise soaking it in milk a few hours before cooking. The Italians dry or pickle it or keep it in oil for winter use.

Persoon gives the following recipes for cooking the Morel: 1st. Wash and cleanse thoroughly, as the earth is apt to collect between the ridges; dry and put them in a saucepan with pepper, salt, and parsley, adding or not a piece of bacon; 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.

2. Morelles a l'Italienne.--Having washed and dried, divide them across, put them on the fire with some parsley, scallion, chives, tarragon, 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.

MUSHROOM GROWING.

A part of the matter presented under this caption was contributed by the author to the Health Magazine and appeared in the March number (1897) of that periodical.

To France is due the credit of being the first country to cultivate mushrooms on a large scale, and France still supplies the markets of the world with canned mushrooms. The mushroom which is cultivated in the caves and quarries of France, to the exclusion of all others, is the Agaricus arvensis (the "Snowball"), a species of field mushroom.

Of late years France has found a formidable competitor in the culture of mushrooms in Great Britain. The English market gardeners find their moist, equable climate favorable to outdoor culture, and abundant crops are grown by them in the open air, chiefly, however, for the home market.

That mushroom growing can be made a lucrative business is shown by the experience of a well-known English grower, Mr. J. F. Barter, who on one acre of ground has produced in the open air, without the aid of glass, an average of from ten to twelve thousand pounds of mushrooms annually; the price obtained for them varying according to the season, but averaging ten pence, or twenty cents, per pound for the whole year. The value of twelve thousand pounds of mushrooms at ten pence per pound would be L.500 sterling or $2,500.