PREAMBLE. 23 



this great variety that much of the charm 

 lies, otherwise it would be better to adhere 

 to the ordinary mushroom than venture 

 upon others which would be no better than 

 substitutes. In tasting of a new dish, 

 therefore, it is better to forget the old one 

 for the time, and expect to partake of 

 something which has to rest upon its own 

 merits, and not upon its resemblance to 

 anything else. 



As a natural consequence of this variety 

 of flavour, it is essential that each species 

 should be used by itself, and not mixed, 

 several kinds together, in a sort of hotch- 

 potch, where no particular flavour prevails, 

 but all are reduced to a horrible mediocrity. 

 A professed fungus-eater would no more 

 think of sitting down to a dish compounded 

 indiscriminately of half-a-dozen species, 

 than would a gourmet of mixing his wines, 

 or combining his venison with his salmon 

 and turkey. 



Much of the excellence of a dish of fungi 

 depends upon the cook, for a bad cook 



