CKYl'TOGAMIA. 



two ro three inches high, and about half an inch in diameter 

 the curtain white and delicate. When this mushroom first 

 makes its appearance, it is smooth, and almost globular, and 

 in this state is called a button. This species is esteemed the 

 best and most savory of the genus, and is in much request for 

 the table, in England. It is eaten fresh either stewed or 

 boiled, and preserved, either as a pickle, or in powder; and 

 it furnishes the sauce called ketchup. The field plants are 

 better for eating than those raised on artificial beds, their flesh 

 being more tender, and those who are in the habit of doing 

 so, distinguish the esculent fr'nn the poisonous kinds, by the 

 smell. The wild M ushrooms ire foi'ud in old fields and pas- 

 tures, which have not been pifwVM^ 4 or many years, and the 

 best time for gathering them > i* tb */**nths of August and 

 September. 



