New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 341 



plant and bears the seed, while the real mushroom plant is the 

 spawn that runs through the manure and soil, taking its nourish- 

 ment from the organic matter it finds there. 



Mushrooms as Food. 



The scientific name of the commonly cultivated mushroom is 

 Agariciis Ca7nj)estris. As is commonly the case with fresh vege- 

 tables, this mushroom contains a large per cent, of water, so that a 

 pound fresh and uncooked shows on analysis much less food mate- 

 rial than a pound of beefsteak. An analysis of the dry material 

 shows that they contain a very high per cent, of nitrogenous com- 

 pounds. In making up a bill of fare it should be remembered that 

 they fall into the same general class of foods that lean meats or 

 beans do. This is shown by the following analysis of mature mush- 

 rooms and buttons of Agaricus Cam-pestris made at tliis Station : 



Mature. Buttons. 



Moisture 91 . 80 per cent. 90 . 33 per cent. 



Dry Matter 8 . 20 per cent. 9 . 67 per cent. 



The dry matter contains : 



Ash 12 . 37 per cent. 11 . 96 per cent. 



Nitrogen Total 9 . 43 per cent. 9 . 30 per cent. 



Nitrogen Albuminoid 5 . 01 per cent. 5 . 34 per cent. 



Albuminoids 31 . 31 per cent. 33 . 38 per cent. 



Fat 3 . 72 per cent. 3 . 19 per cent. 



With this analysis may be compared the following statements of 

 the amount of albuminoids and fat in sirloin steak and beans : 



Sirloin Steak.* Beans. t 



Moisture 60.00 per cent. 12.6 per cent. 



Dry Matter 40.00 per cent. 87.4 per cent. 



The dry matter contains : 



Ash 1.55 per cent. 3 . 54 per cent. 



Albuminoids 29 . 01 per cent. 26 . 43 per cent. 



Fat 31 . 72 per cent. 2 . 28 per cent. 



Prepajring Mushrooms foe the Table. 



Mushrooms are used to a comparatively limited extent in tliis 

 country, and consequently many American cooks have had little or 



■»U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bulletin No. 23, p. 26. 

 + U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bulletin No. 23, p. 27. 



