STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I45 



and a ton and a half of mushrooms. The proper thing is a per- 

 fectly tight cellar where there is no draft; the most perfect heat 

 for mushrooms is the heat from dressing, steaming dressing, and 

 if the cellar is large enough to give a moist temperature, it will 

 make a great difference in the crop. 



DISCUSSION. 



O. I perhaps will expose my ignorance, but the first I knew 

 of mushrooms being fit for food was last season. Last fall I 

 had an Irishman to work for me, it was in the fall of the year 

 in August, I saw him digging what I called toadstools. I asked 

 him what he was going to do; he said, "Some of these toad- 

 stools are eatable. He took them to the house and prepared 

 them as my wife did not know anything about cooking them. I 

 understand that there are several varieties and only one variety 

 that grows here is suitable to eat. 



A. I am not very well informed on the variety of mushrooms 

 but about the country here I should say there were a great 

 many of them. In autumn they can be gathered quite abund- 

 antly in the pastures and one pound of mushrooms is said to be 

 equal to a pound of beef-steak. 



Q. How do you prepare them? 



A. In a great many ways. They are toasted; to toast a 

 mushroom it is peeled. An edible mushroom will always peel, 

 i. e., the top will always peel ofi; this one has been under the 

 influence of a very dry heat and peels very poorly because it is 

 very much dried and shriveled up. The gills of a mushroom 

 are of a beautiful pink color. If it will peel it is edible; 

 if it is a beautiful salmon color it is perfectly ediBle. After it is 

 peeled and the dirt part cut ofT it is placed on the toaster and 

 broiled with a small piece of iSufter on the gill side and served 

 hot; it is also served in butter and cream. In all cook books 

 are other directions. 



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