MUSHROOMS 



4014 



MUSHROOMS 



The spawn is the real plant, the part that gar- 

 deners sell to those who go into the business of 

 raising mushrooms. The part above the ground 

 is only the fruit f pushed up by the spawn win >n- 

 nough to permit it to re- 

 produce itself, which is done by means of the 

 spore-bearing b 



What Makes "Fairy Rings." Sometimes 

 lawns or meadows are marked by circles of 

 lighter grass, for which the popular name is 

 :-- IT ii i ho feeding habits of the 

 mushrooms that are responsible for these cir- 

 cles, ami not the nimble feet of frolicking 

 elves wearing out the grass, as used to be told 

 to children. Because the parent plant 



in 



*o quickly uses up all the proper mushroom 

 food in the spot where it grows, its spores 

 must fall outside the family homestead if they 

 are to develop. Thus, as new mushrooms 

 spring up one by one, they mark out a circle 

 where for a time the grass grows less luxuri- 

 antly because so much of the food has been 

 taken out of the soil. After the mushrooms 

 decayed, however, this circle grows a 

 richer grass than the rest of the lawn on ac- 

 count of the fertilizing effect of their remains. 



The Big Mushroom Family. There are about 

 38,000 known members in the mushroom fam- 

 ily, differing almost as much in characteristics 

 as would the same number of representatives of 

 the human family. It is easy to understand, 

 therefore, why it would not be possible to de- 

 scribe or ( il of them in this article. 

 Each one has an elaborate Latin name by 

 which the botanist classifies it in its proper 

 group, but most of them have familiar names, 

 also, which they have acquired through some 

 peculiarity of form or color or habit of growth. 



The Edible and Harmless Kinds. Among the 

 thousand or more varieties that are good to 

 largest class is that of agarics a word 

 that comes from the Latin word for field, since 

 .ill the mushrooms of this kind grow in pas- 

 tures, lawns, and open, grassy fields. The com- 

 mon table mushroom (see illustration) which is 

 the only variety cultivated for the market on a 

 large scale, belongs to this group. In France it 

 is called a champignon, from the French word 

 champs meaning field. It never grows very 

 large, its spores are brown, it has no cup, and 

 its gills are a delicate pink when the plant is 

 young, turning to dark brown as it grows older. 

 These are important points for the mushroom- 

 picker to remember. The wild variety is found 

 most abundantly in the fall or late summer. 

 Other members of this branch are the oyster 



mushroom and the horse mushroom, which is 

 similar to the common mushroom, but very 

 much larger and less easily digested. The 

 parasol mushroom is taller and is quite graceful. 

 looking like a miniature white or delicate tan 

 umbrella on a slender handle. The edible 

 antdnitopsis (see illustration) must never be 

 confused with its cousin, the deadly amanita, 

 or death cup, which has a frill that is lacking in 

 the wholesome mushroom which so closely re- 

 sembles it. 



Among other interesting members of the edi- 

 ble branch of the mushroom family are the 

 delicious morel, with its honey-combed cups 

 looking like a cone-shaped sponge, whose favor- 

 ite birthplace is among leaves or wood-ashes; 

 the dainty, reddish-yellow chanterelle, or little 

 goblet, so called because of its cuplike form; 

 the branching coral mushroom, with its ex- 

 quisite pink, lavender or amber coloring, most 

 commonly seen in Sweden ; the golden clavaria, 

 another branching variety the color of honey, 

 which is not only rarely beautiful but most pal- 

 atable as well. Then there are the familiar 

 puffballs, also called smokeballs and devil's 

 snuff-boxes, tempting one to strike them with 

 a twig and see the tiny puff of "smoke," which 

 means they are scattering their dusty spores to 

 the four winds; the fairy-ring mushroom*, 

 which are often dried and preserved for eating 

 and have a flavor like nuts; the horsetail, or 

 shaggy-mane mushrooms, the bear's head and 

 the hedgehog .mushrooms. The ink-cap lives 

 for a long time underground, shoots up over- 

 night in thick clusters, and by the close of the 

 day has dripped away in an inky liquid, as if 

 supplying the tears for its own funeral. Some 

 of the more uncommon kinds are the jew's-ear, 

 of which the Chinese are so fond that they 

 import them from the South Sea Islands; the 

 green russula, looking like the trumpet of a 

 gray-green morning-glory; the cup-shaped 

 golden peziza, lined with orange-red ; the trem- 

 bling mushroom, a quivering, jellylike mass; 

 and the liver fungus, sometimes called vege- 

 table beefsteak. 



A very beautiful and interesting mushroom 

 is the water-measuring earth-star, one of the 

 puffball group. Its outer covering bursts .into 

 a starlike form, leaving the ball in the middle. 

 The points lie flat when the air is damp, but in 

 dry weather they curl up and let the wind roll 

 the plant about, scattering spores as it travels. 

 One injurious variety is the curious bracket 

 mushroom, which encircles tree trunks with its 

 miniature shelves painted green or brown. 



