140 EEPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST. 



enormous volunteer crop developed in soil prepared for forcing 

 cucumbers. The species is apparently more easy of cultivation 

 than the Common mushroom, less subject to the attacks of insects 

 and not so intolerant of unfavorable conditions. It is very pro- 

 ductive, develops sooner after the planting of the spawn and 

 probably will keep longer in good condition. Specimens picked 

 in "Washington on Monday night, reached Albany in a good state 

 of preservation on the Thursday following, and some of them 

 were eaten for supper on that day, making an interval of three 

 days and three nights between the picking and the eating, and 

 proving the possibility of supplying a distant market with this 

 mushroom. Its flesh does not seem to me quite as tender as 

 that of the Common mushroom, and its almond-like flavor may 

 not be as accejitable to some tastes, but it is nevertheless an ex- 

 cellent mushroom and one which may yet supersede the old kind, 

 especially in the hands of private individuals who are often dis- 

 appointed in their efforts to raise mushrooms. 



Agaricus arvensis Schajf'. 

 Field Musiieoom. Horse Mushroom. 



Plate 8. 



Pileus smooth or at first slightly flocculent, white or yellowish; 

 lamellae at first whitish or very faintly pinkish, soon dull pink, 

 then blackish-brown ; stem stout, hollow, somewhat thickened 

 or bulbous at the base, white, the collar double, the upper part 

 membranous, white, the lower part thicker, subtomentose, radi- 

 ately split, yellowish ; spores elliptical, .0003 to .0004 inch long. 



The Field mushroom or Horse mushroom, also called Meadow 

 mushroom, is so much like the Common mushroom that some 

 botanists have supposed it to be a mere variety of that species. 

 The most notable differences are its larger size, its hollow, some- 

 what bulbous stem, its peculiar veil or collar and the paler gills 

 of the very young plant. The cap in dried specimens is apt to 

 assume a yellow color, which does not pertain to the Common 

 mushroom. The collar appears to be composed of two parts 

 closely applied to each other and making a double membrane, the 

 lower imrt of which is of a thicker, softer texture- and split in a 

 stellate manner into broad yellowish rays. This is perhaps the 

 most distinctive character of the species, and a more detailed 



