Fries, Saccardo, Kromholtz, Cooke and Berkeley, M. C. Cooke, Peck, Stevenson, Badham, Gillet, Boyer, Gibson, Roques, Hussey, Hay, Bel, Paulet and Leveille, Constantin and Dufour, Barla, Roze, W. G. Smith, Vittadini.

AUTHOR OF FOOD PRODUCTS, ETC.

Published in Serial Form—No. 2—Price, 50c. per number.

WASHINGTON, D. C.:
A. R. Taylor, Publisher, 238 Mass. Ave. N.E.
1897.

The ten mushrooms illustrated in the five plates contained in the first number of this series belong to the family Hymenomycetes. In the present number are presented illustrations representing three additional specimens of the Hymenomycetal fungi (Plates V, VI, and VII). There are also presented, in plates C and D, illustrations of nine species comprised in four genera of the sub family Discomycetes, of the family Ascomycetes.

Copyright, 1897, by
Thomas Taylor, M. D.,
and
A. R. Taylor.

ASCOMYCETES.

Fruit, consisting of sporidia, mostly definite, contained in asci, springing from a naked or enclosed stratum of fructifying cells, and forming a hymenium.—Cooke and Berkeley.

Prof. J. de Seyne states that the three elements which form the hymenium in the families Hymenomycetes and Gasteromycetes are (1) the normal basidium, that is, the fruitful club-shaped cell which supports the naked spores, (2) the cystidium or sterile cell, an aborted or atrophied basidium, and (3) the paraphyses, hypertrophied basidium, the one organ, the basidium, being the basis of it all, according as it experiences an arrest of development, as it grows and fructifies, or as it becomes hypertrophied.

In the family Ascomycetes a minute ascus or spore case envelops the sporidia, and takes the place of the basidium, and the hymenium consists of (1) the asci containing the sporidia, (2) the paraphyses, and (3) a colorless or yellowish mucilage which envelops the paraphyses and asci. The asci are present in all species. In some species, however, the paraphyses are rare, and the mucilaginous substance is entirely wanting. The asci differ in shape and size, according to the species. The paraphyses, when present, are at first very short, but they rapidly elongate, and are wholly developed before the appearance of the asci. They are linear, simple or branched according to the species of plant, usually containing oily granules. There is some difference of opinion among mycologists as to the special functions of the paraphyses, some considering them as abortive asci, and others, like Boudier, as excitatory organs for the dehiscence of the asci, by which the spores are liberated.

The family Ascomycetes is rich in genera and species.

It consists largely of microscopic fungi, however, and the only group which will be considered here is that which includes plants of the mushroom family which are edible and indigenous to this country, viz., the sub-family Discomycetes.

DISCOMYCETES.

The name Discomycetes, "disk-like fungi," does not give an accurate idea of the distinguishing characteristics of this sub-family, the discoid form only belonging to the plants of one of its groups. In the DiscomyceteÆ the hymenium is superior, that is, disposed upon the upper or exterior surface of the mushroom cap. The sporidia are produced in membraneous asci, usually four or eight, or some multiple of that number, in each ascus; Cooke says "rarely four, most commonly eight." The sporidia are usually hyaline, transparent; colored sporidia are rare.

The asci are so minute as to be imperceptible to the naked eye; but if a small portion of the upper surface of the cap is removed with a pen knife and placed under a microscope having a magnifying power of from 400 to 800 diameters, the asci, or spore sacks, can be separated and their structure studied.

Of the genera included in the Discomycetes the genus Peziza comprises by far the largest number of described species. The plants in this genus are generally small, thin, and tough. A few of them have been recorded as edible by European authors, but not specially commended; one form, Peziza cochleata, has been spoken of by Berkeley as being gathered in basketfuls in one county in England, where it is used as a substitute, though a very indifferent one, for the Morel.

Vittadini says the Verpa digitaliformis Persoon, a small brownish-colored mushroom, is sold in Italian markets for soups, but that, "although sold in the markets, it is only to be recommended when no other fungus offers, which is sometimes the case in the spring." P. aurantia Vahl., a small Peziza growing in clusters in the grass, is reported as edible by a member of the Boston Mycological Club, who speaks well of it.

The genera Morchella, Gyromitra, Helvella, and Mitrula contain, however, what may be considered the most desirable edible species. Types of these four groups are represented in Figs. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10, Plate C.

The plants of these genera have a stem and cap. The cap, however, differs very much from that of the ordinary mushroom. In the genus Morchella the cap is deeply pitted and ridged so that it presents a honeycombed appearance. In Gyromitra the cap is convolutely lobed but not pitted. In Helvella the cap is very irregular and reflexed, and in Mitrula the cap is ovate or club shaped and smooth. In all four of these genera the hymenium is superior, i. e., it is on the upper and outer surface of the cap, the interior surface being barren.

In Plates C and D are figured 9 types of edible fungi included in the family Ascomycetes, sub-family Discomycetes.

In this genus the species have a general resemblance to each other in size, color, form, texture, and flavor. The cap is usually a dull yellow, sometimes slightly olive-tinted, darkening with age to a brownish leather tinge. The stems are stout and hollow, white or whitish. This genus has a very wide geographical distribution, but the species are not numerous. Cooke describes twenty-four, some of them found in India, Java, Great Britain, Central and Northern Europe, Australia, and North America. Peck describes six species found in New York State. The lines of demarcation between species are not very decided; but as none of the species are known to be poisonous, it may be considered a safe genus to experiment with.

In the Morchella esculenta the cap is ovate, in one variety rotund, the margin attaching itself to the stem; ribs firm and anastomosing, forming deep hollows or pits; color yellowish tan, olivaceous; spores hyaline, colorless; asci very long. The Morel, though rare in some localities, is found in large quantities in some of the midwestern States, sometimes in the woods along the borders of streams, often in peach orchards, at the roots of decaying trees.

I am informed by correspondents who have collected and eaten them that the Morels can be gathered in abundance in the springtime along the banks of the Missouri and tributary streams. A lieutenant in the United States Army informs me that he found fine specimens of this species in the mountains of California, five or six thousand feet above sea-level. A correspondent, Mr. H. W. Henshaw, writes that he has made many excellent meals of them, finding them on the banks of Chico Creek, Sacramento Valley, California, on Gen. Bidwell's ranch, in April. A correspondent in Minnesota writes: "The Morel grows abundantly in some places here, but so prejudiced are many of the natives against 'toad-stools' that I had to eat the Morel alone for a whole season before I could induce any one else to taste it." Mr. Hollis Webster, of the Boston Mycological Club, reports the Morchella conica as appearing in abundance in eastern Massachusetts in May of this year. A correspondent in West Virginia reports that quantities of a large-sized Morel are found in the mountain regions there.

I have reports also of the appearance of the Morel in Western New York, and on the coast of Maine and of Oregon. A miner writes to me from Montana that he and several other miners, having lost their way in the mountains of that State during the spring of the year, subsisted entirely for five days on Morels which they collected.

The specimen represented in Plate C, Fig. 1, is figured from a Morchella esculenta which grew in the vicinity of Falls Church, Va., less than ten miles from the District of Columbia. The reports which I have received from correspondents in twenty States show that the Morel is not so rare in this country as was formerly supposed. The advantages which this mushroom possesses over some others are (1) the readiness with which it can be distinguished, (2) its keeping qualities, and (3) its agreeable taste. It is easily dried, and in that condition can be kept a long time without losing its flavor. Though it has not the rich flavor of the common field mushroom, it is very palatable when cooked, and when dried it is often used in soups. It is very generally esteemed as an esculent among mycophagists.

Fig. 2 represents the sporidia enclosed in the ascus, or spore sack, with accompanying paraphyses.

Fig. 3. Gyromitra esculenta Fries. "Esculent Gyromitra."

Genus Gyromitra Fries. This genus contains very few species, but all are considered edible, though differing somewhat in flavor and digestibility. Five or six species are figured by Cooke. Peck speaks of several species found in New York. One of these, G. curtipes Fries, is also figured by Cooke as found in North Carolina. This species Cooke regards as equal in flavor to G. esculenta. G. esculenta has a rounded, inflated cap, irregularly lobed and hollow, smooth and brittle in texture, reddish brown. It falls over the stem in heavy convolutions, touching it at various points. The stem is stout, stuffed, at length hollow, whitish or cinereous; spores elliptical with two nuclei, yellowish, translucent. The plant is usually from two to four inches in height, but larger specimens are found.

Fig. 4 represents the spore sack with enclosed sporidia.

Mr. Charles L. Fox, of Portland, Maine, records the Gyromitra esculenta, of which he sent me a very good specimen last spring, as quite abundant during May in the open woods near the city named. Speaking of this species, he says: "From the point of view of their edibility, we have classed them under two heads—the light and the dark varieties. These differ in the locality in which they are found, in their color and in the convolutions of their surface. Both grow large.

"The Light Gyromitra is the more easily digested of the two. Its height varies from three to five inches, cap three to five inches in diameter. Its cap is inflated, very irregular, and twisted in large convolutions. These convolutions are almost smooth on the surface, sometimes showing small depressions; margin generally attached to the stem in parts. It is a transparent yellow in color. This variety does not grow dark brown with age. Stem white or very light buff, smooth, and hollow. It grows best on slopes facing the south, in scant woods of birch, maple, and pine. We have found no specimens in open places or on the borders of woods.

"The Dark Gyromitra is more common than the light variety. Its color is generally of dark lake brown, even in the young plant, though it is sometimes of a light warm yellow, which grows darker with age. Stem flesh-colored or pallid, but not white, nor so light as in the first variety. Its cap is similar in its large convolutions to that of the light variety, but it is covered with many intricate vermiform ridges, sometimes in high relief or even strongly undercut. Grows in mossy places, in light sandy soil, on borders of pine woods. Its flesh is brittle, but not so tender as that of the first variety. Both varieties dry readily. We should advise eating the Dark Gyromitra only in moderate amounts, as, if eaten in quantity, or if old specimens are used, indigestion or nausea is liable to follow. In regard to both varieties, I would advise that only young specimens should be eaten at first, as they are more tender and less pronounced in flavor than the older plants. We have eaten, however, a considerable quantity of the Light Gyromitra with no unpleasant results. The flavor of the Gyromitras is quite strong, and some have found it too much so to be agreeable on the first eating. The general opinion here, however, is favorable to the Gyromitra as an excellent addition to the table."

Some German authorities speak well of the flavor of the G. esculenta, and it is sold in the German markets. Cordier records it as agreeable in taste when cooked. Peck says that he has repeatedly eaten it without experiencing any evil results, but does not consider its flavor equal to that of a first-class mushroom. He advises also that it should be eaten with moderation, and that only perfectly fresh specimens should be used, sickness having resulted from eating freely of specimens that had been kept twenty-four hours before being cooked.

I have not been fortunate in securing a sufficient quantity of fresh specimens to test its edible qualities personally, but the testimony received from those who have eaten it seems to point to the necessity for moderation in eating and care in securing fresh specimens to cook.

Fig. 5. Helvella crispa. "Crisp Helvella."

Genus Helvella Linn. The plants of this genus are usually small, though a few of the species are of good size. They are not plentiful, but they are very generally regarded as edible, the flavor bearing a resemblance to that of the Morel. The cap has a smooth, not polished, surface, and is very irregular, revolute, and deflexed, not honeycombed like the Morel, nor showing the brain-like convolutions of the Gyromitras. Color brownish pale tan, or whitish. The stem in the larger species is stout, and sometimes deeply furrowed in longitudinal grooves, usually white or whitish.

The species Helvella crispa is white or pallid throughout, cap very irregular, sometimes deeply concave in the centre, with margin at first erect, then drooping; again it is undulating, much divided and deflexed; in fact, so irregular is the shape that scarcely two specimens will show the cap the same in outline; stem stout and deeply channelled. Spores elliptical, transparent. Habitat woods, growing singly or in groups, but not cÆspitose.

Fig. 6, the ascus or spore sack and paraphyses.

Genus Mitrula Fries. Soft and fleshy, simple capitate, stem distinct, hymenium surrounding the inflated cap; head ovate, obtuse, inflated.—M. C. Cooke.

Cooke says of this genus that it is scarcely so well characterized as many with which it is associated, and that some of the species are evidently so closely allied to some of the species of the genus Geoglossum that it is difficult to draw the line of demarcation between them, particularly so with the species Mitrula pistillaris B. from Louisiana.

The plants are very small, and though none are recorded as poisonous, only one or two have any value as esculents.

Fig. 7. Mitrula sclerotipes Boudier.

The cap in this species is small, and the stem long and slender. The spores are transparent, the asci club-shaped. The plants of this species are always found springing from an oblong sclerotium; hence the name sclerotipes.

Fig. 8 represents the sporidia enclosed in their asci with paraphyses and individual spores, the latter magnified 800 diameters. Fig. 9, sectional view of mature plant.

Fig. 10. Mitrula vitellina Sacc., var. irregularis Peck.

Saccardo, in his Sylloge Fungorum, includes in this genus those having a club-shaped cap, which brings into it, with others, the species Mitrula vitellina Sacc., formerly classed in the genus Geoglossum, and its variety irregularis Peck. The latter was first described in 1879, in Peck's Thirty-Second Report, under the name Geoglossum irregulare. Prof. Peck now gives preference to the name assigned to it by Saccardo, and it is so recorded in Peck's later reports.

Prof. Peck records this species as edible, and recommends it as having tender flesh and an agreeable flavor. It sometimes grows in profusion in wet mossy places, in woods, or swampy ground. It is bright yellow in color, clean and attractive. The cap is much longer than the stem, often deeply lobed, extremely irregular in outline, and tapers to a short yellowish or whitish stem. The spores are narrowly elliptical and transparent. The specimen illustrated is from a small one figured by Peck. The plants sometimes reach two inches in height. They are most abundant in temperate climates.

In Plate D are represented four species of the genus Morchella, viz., M. semilibera, M. bispora, M. conica, and M. deliciosa. Morchella esculenta is figured in Plate C.

Fig. 1. Morchella semilibera De Candolle. "Half Free Morel."

Edible.

Cap conical but half free from the stem as the name of the species indicates. The ribs are longitudinal, forming oblong pits; stem hollow, much longer than the cap, white; spores elliptical. Peck says that this species has been described by Persoon under the name Morchella hybrida, and this name is adopted in Saccardo's Sylloge Fungorum, but most English writers prefer the first.

Fig. 2. Sectional view of Morchella semilibera.

Fig. 8. Sporidia of same inclosed in ascus with accompanying paraphyses.

Fig. 3. Sectional view of Morchella bispora Sorokin. "Two-Spored Morel."

Edible.

Cap free from the stem to the top, somewhat resembling that of M. semilibera, but blunt at its summit instead of conical, the outward surface deeply pitted, inner surface smooth and barren. A characteristic of this species which distinguishes it from others of the same genus is found in the number of its sporidia, spores as seen in the ascus or spore sack. In the plants of the genus Morchella the spore sacks, with one or two exceptions, contain eight spores.

In the species M. bispora the spore sacks contain but two spores and these are much larger than the sporidia of those which contain eight. This characteristic, however, can only be determined by the aid of the microscope.

Cooke figures a specimen taken from those published by Sorokin in Thumen's Exsiccata, and calls it a variety of Morchella Bohemica Kromb. He says that it is not unusual to find M. Bohemica with two or four sporidia in some of the asci, mixed with others containing more, some specimens being entirely tetrasporous, and some, as the variety bispora, usually containing but two sporidia. Cooke contends that M. bispora is simply a bisporous form of Morchella Bohemica, and calls it M. Bohemica var. bispora. It is not as common as other species.

Fig. 9 represents asci of M. bispora showing the two spores in each ascus.

Fig. 4. Morchella conica. "Conical Morel."

Edible.

Cap conical or oblong-conical, margin adhering to the stem, the prominent ridges longitudinal and irregularly bisected with shorter ones; the whole plant hollow throughout; color pale tan or ochraceous yellow, growing dingy and darker with age; stem white; spores elliptical.

This species is quite plentiful in some localities; the flavor is like that of M. esculenta.

Fig. 5. Sectional view of M. conica.

Fig. 10. Ascus, sporidia and paraphyses.

Fig. 6. Morchella deliciosa Fries. "Delicious Morel."

Cap nearly cylindrical, blunt at the top, and usually much longer than the stem, adnate. Plant hollow throughout. Stem white. Spores elliptical.

Fig. 7. Sectional view of M. deliciosa.

Fig. 11. Ascus, sporidia, and paraphyses.

The Morchella deliciosa is highly esteemed as an esculent wherever eaten. Split open and stuffed with bread crumbs seasoned with pepper, salt, and butter and a pinch of thyme or onion, steamed in a hot oven, and served with butter sauce, this mushroom makes a very savory dish.

Note.—Small specimens have been selected for illustration in this plate in order to utilize as much as possible the plate space.

Plate IV. Structure of the Agaricini, Gill-bearing Mushrooms.

• Fig. 1. Cap or pileus umbonate, a; stem or stipe fistulose, tubular, b; gills or lamellÆ adnate, and slightly emarginate.
• Fig. 2. Gills remote, i. e., distant from the stem. (See a.)
• Fig. 3. Gills adnexed, partly attached to the stem at their inner extremity, a.
• Fig. 4. Gills emarginate, with a tooth, as at a; stem stuffed.
• Fig. 5. Cap obtuse, e; gills free, i. e., reaching the stem but not attached thereto (see a); b stem stuffed.
• Fig. 6. Cap umbilicate, slightly depressed in the centre, b; gills decurrent, i. e., running down the stem. (See a.)
• Fig. 7. Basidium, cell a, borne on the hymenium, or spore-bearing surface of the gills; b, stigmata; c, spores.
• Fig. 8. Gills adnate, i. e., firmly attached to the stem at their inner extremity, as at a.
• Fig. 9. Cap, with border involute, i. e., rolled inward. (See a.)
• Fig. 10. LamellÆ or gills dentated or toothed. (See a.)
• Fig. 11. Cap with border revolute, i. e., rolled backward. (See a.)

AGARICINI. Fries.

Leucospori (spores white or yellowish).

Genus Lactarius Fries. The plants of this genus have neither veil nor volva. They somewhat resemble the RussulÆ, but can be readily distinguished from them by the greater fleshiness of the stem and by the milky juice which exudes from the flesh. The latter is a characteristic feature of the Lactars, giving to the group its name.

The species were originally arranged by Fries into groups according to the color and quality of the milk, and of the naked or pruinose character of the gills. Prof. Peck, however, considering the latter character not sufficiently constant or obvious to be satisfactory, in his early reports makes the color of the milk alone the basis of the primary grouping of the American species.

Saccardo, in his Sylloge, follows Fries in his classification of the species of the genus Lactarius.

In some species the milk is at first bright colored and continues unchanged; in others it is always white or whitish, and in others again it is at first white, changing to different hues on exposure to the air, becoming pinkish, pale violet, or yellow. In one species (C. indigo) both plant and milk are of indigo blue. The taste of the milk varies, as does that of the flesh, according to species. Sometimes it is mild or very slightly acrid, and again it resembles Cayenne pepper in its hot, biting acridity. It is somewhat viscid or sticky in character, and permeates to some extent the whole flesh of the mushroom, but is most profuse in the gills, where in fresh young specimens it is seen exuding on the slightest pressure. In old or wilted specimens it does not flow so freely, but may be found by breaking off portions of the cap.

The plants usually present a fleshy cap, the flesh quite brittle, and breaking in clean, even fractures. In a number of the species the upper surface of the cap shows bands or zones of warm coloring, not found in any of the species of the allied genus Russula. The gills are sometimes even, more often forked, acute on the edge, color white or whitish, but changing to yellowish or reddish tints as the plants mature, or when cut or bruised. While they are at first adnate they become, with the expansion of the cap, somewhat decurrent, showing in this particular a resemblance to the plants of the genus Clitocybe. The stem is central, except in a few species, where it is eccentric or lateral, notably the latter in L. obliquus; spores white or yellowish, according to species; Cooke says, "rarely turning yellow." They are globose, or nearly so, and slightly rough.

This genus is a large one, and contains many acrid species. Out of fifty-three described and figured by Cooke, more than half are given as having the milk more or less acrid. More than forty species have been recorded as growing in this country, and many of these are extremely acrid in taste.

A number of the species are edible, while others have been recorded as deleterious, poisonous, etc. L. torminosus, L. piperatus, and L. insulsus are species about which there seems to be difference of opinion among authors as to their wholesomeness or edibility, some contending that, in spite of their extreme acridity, they are edible when cooked, and others that they are deleterious in their effects. L. deliciosus and L. volemus have a good reputation in this country as well as abroad, and are quite abundant in some localities. They are more frequent in temperate climates than in northern latitudes or in the tropics.

Cap fleshy, viscid, at first convex, then nearly plane, becoming much depressed in the centre, funnel-shaped, marked in the adult plant with rings or rust-colored zones. Color of the cap dull orange, turning paler, and grayish or greenish yellow when old or dried; margin at first turned inwards; flesh whitish or tinged with yellow; gills decurrent, crowded rather thick, sometimes slightly forked at the base, pale yellow, sometimes a saffron yellow, exuding when bruised a saffron-red or orange-colored liquid, hence the popular name of "Orange Milk Mushroom;" stem smooth, somewhat spotted, stout, stuffed with a yellowish pith, eventually becoming hollow; color about the same as that of the cap. Spores subglobose, yellowish. Taste mild or very slightly acrid when raw.Mycophagists generally concur in the opinion that it is of very pleasant flavor when cooked, and some speak very enthusiastically of its esculent qualities.

Over-cooking is apt to make it tough. I find steaming in the oven with butter, pepper, and salt, and a very small quantity of water, as oysters are steamed, a very good method of preserving the juices and flavor.

It is found in Maryland, under the pines and sometimes in mossy and swampy places. Prof. Underwood, President of the New York Mycological Club, reports it as fairly abundant in Connecticut.

Lactarius volemus Fries, the "Orange-Brown Lactar," somewhat resembles the L. deliciosus in shape and size, but the cap is dry and glabrous and the skin is apt to crack in patches in somewhat the same manner as does that of the Russula virescens. It is a warm orange-brown in color, varying slightly with age, and is not zoned. The gills are white or yellowish and crowded, adnate in the young specimens, and decurrent in the mature, exuding a white milk when bruised. The spores are globose, and white. It is found in open woods. The flavor is much like that of L. deliciosus, although perhaps not so rich.

One author states it as his experience that the Lactars which have bright-colored milk, unchanging, are usually edible and have a mild taste. L. indigo Schwein has been recorded as less abundant than some other species, but edible. The plant is a deep blue throughout, the milk of the same color and unchanging. The taste of both flesh and milk is mild. Specimens of this species were sent to me from western New York several years ago by a correspondent who found it growing in quantities in a corn field. He had cooked several dishes of it, and reported its flavor as very agreeable.

L. vellereus and L. piperatus are very common in fir woods. The plants are large and stout, white throughout, the milk white and excessively acrid; gills decurrent, unequal and narrow. The milk in vellereus is apt to be scanty but copious in piperatus.

Of L. piperatus, Worthington Smith says: "So strongly acrid is the milk that if it be allowed to trickle over tender hands it will sting like the contact of nettles; and if a drop be placed on the lips or tongue the sensation will be like the scalding of boiling water." He records it as "poisonous." Fries and Curtis say that, "notwithstanding its intense acridity, it is edible when cooked." Cordier, while recording it as edible, says that the milk, and butter made from the milk of cows fed with it, are bitter and nauseous, although cows eat it with avidity. Gibson, while quoting one or two authors as to its edibility when cooked, says: "Its decidedly ardent tang warns me not to dwell too enthusiastically upon its merits in a limited selection of desirable esculents." The Secretary of the Boston Mycological Club, writing in the Club bulletin, says "it has been eaten as a sort of duty after the acridity was cooked out," but does not commend it. It is spoken of as "an unattractive fungus which usurps in the woods the place that might well be occupied by something better." In this opinion I fully concur.

L. torminosus, "Wooly Lactarius," sometimes called the "Colic Lactarius," has been termed acrid and poisonous by Badham. Cordier and Letellier, on the other hand, say that it can be eaten with impunity when cooked. Gillet declares it deleterious and even dangerous in the raw state, constituting a very strong and drastic purgative. One author states that, although it does not constitute an agreeable article of food, it is eaten in some parts of France and in Russia. Considering the differences of opinion which exist with regard to this and other extremely acrid species, it would seem the part of prudence for persons with delicate stomachs to avoid the use of very acrid species, for, though the acridity may be expelled by cooking, there would seem to be no necessity for risking unpleasant or dangerous results while the range of unquestionably wholesome and agreeable species is sufficiently wide to satisfy the most enthusiastic mycophagist.

AGARICINI.

Leucospori (spores white or yellowish).

Armillaria Fries. Cooke places Armillaria in the order Agaricini, genus Agaricus, making of it a sub-genus. Saccardo, in taking it out of Agaricus, elevates it to the position of a separate genus. The name Armillaria is derived from a Greek word, meaning a ring or bracelet, referring to its ringed stem.

In the plants of the Armillaria the veil is partial in infancy, attaching the edge of the cap to the upper part of the stem; the stem furnished with a ring. Below the ring the veil is concrete with the stem, forming scurfy scales upon it. The gills are broadly adnexed. In abnormal specimens the ring is sometimes absent, or appearing only in scales, running down the stem. Spores white. The species are few; eight are recorded as growing in the United States. Cooke describes twelve species found in Great Britain.

Cap fleshy, rather thin at the margin, at first subconical, then slightly rounded, or nearly plane, clothed with minute hairy tufts; margin sometimes striate, color varying, usually a pale-yellowish or honey color or light reddish brown; flesh whitish. Gills whitish or paler than the cap, growing mealy with the shedding of the profuse white spores, and often spotted with reddish-brown stains, adnate, ending with decurrent tooth. Stem fibrillose, elastic, stuffed or hollow, ringed, and adorned with floccose scales which often disappear with age; in some varieties distinctly bulbous at the base, in others showing tapering root. Specimens occur in which the ring is wanting or only traces of it appear in the form of scales encircling the stem. Veil usually firm, membraneous, and encircling the stem in a well-pronounced ring or collar, but sometimes filmy as a spider's web, in very young specimens hiding the gills, but breaking apart as the cap expands.

Manner of growth cÆspitose, 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.

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 À 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.

[A] 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.