341 



1. The gills are at first pink and with age turn brownish 

 and finally become watery and nearly black.* 



2. There is a distinct veil which later appears as a ring 

 or annulus on the stem. 



3. The gills do not reach entirely to the stem. 



4. The stem is either solid or stuffed with a cottony sub- 

 stance. 



The field agaric more commonly appears in the fall of 

 the year dependent to a great extent on the time of the fall 

 rains. In Alabama it appeared last year at intervals from 

 November to February. It more commonly appears in open 

 places, notably in fields where sheep or horses are pastured. 

 It can be cooked in any method which is adapted to oysters, 

 though is best fried in a minimum of butter with proper 

 seasoning. It is the most commonly eaten species of cool 

 or moderately warm countries and is the species mentioned 

 above as being imported from France as canned goods. 



Another species which appears to be very common in the 

 summer season in Alabama is known as 



Cesar's Amanita {Amanita ccesarea). [Fig. 2.] 



The species of Amanita are quite commonly regarded as 

 poisonous and a number of them are known to be violently 

 so. This noble fungus, however, is an exception to the rule 

 and has been in use as an extensive article of food in 

 Southern Europe since the time of the Romans. Under the 

 name of "Boletus" it was fully described by Pliny as to its 

 growth and development, and it was regarded as a dish of 

 great excellence by the Roman epicures. In September, 

 1893, 1 saw hundreds of bushels of this fungus brought daily 



* This darkening is due to the ripening of the spoi*es which are 

 borne on the gills. A pretty experiment to show the spores of this 

 or other kinds of mushrooms can be easily performed by cutting off 

 the pileus and placing it on a piece of white paper, gills downward, 

 under a tumbler or bowl. In from two to twelve hours (according to 

 the ripeness of the plant) the spores will drop down on the paper in 

 lines radiating out from the position of the stem. In the field agaric 

 these spores will be dark brown or almost black. In other species 

 they may be white, salmon colored, rusty yellow or various shades of 

 brown up to black. 



