KAUFFMANj MUSHROOMS 177 



rather deep in the ground and it is necessary to dig it out in 

 order to avoid making mistakes and so picking a poisonous one. 

 If we have found the right one. we know it by a fringed collar 

 which encircles the stem and by the color of the gills which are 

 at first a bright ribbon-pink. It is sometimes called the "Pink- 

 gilled mushroom" or the "campestris," etc. Its real name is 

 Agariciis campestris, and many people call it "the mushroom" 

 and all the others "'toadstools.'* because they think it is the only 

 kind good to eat. But this is of course a mistake, for a great 

 many kinds that people call toadstools are fine eating. A num- 

 ber of other mushrooms, besides the meadow-mushroom, have 

 pink gills, but often the shade of pink is different and there is 

 no collar on the stem. Such, that have no collar, should be let 

 alone by the beginner, except just to make pictures of. The 

 "Meadow mushroom" is very fine eating and many people are 

 acquainted with this fact, so that your journey to the sheep- 

 pasture may be in vain. You will then only find some old speci- 

 mens which were not wanted. You can tell the old ones by the 

 fact that the gills have turned dark brown, almost black-brown. 

 The gills of the other kinds with pink gills do not change dark 

 in this way, so that this will help you in knowing the ''Meadow- 

 mushroom." 



Xext we will cross a ploughed field where we will probably 

 come across some very large and stout fellows which look very 

 much like the "Meadow"mushroom. If we e.xamine them, how- 

 ever, we will find that the gills of the young specimens are not 

 nearly as bright pink as those of the former, and if we bruise 

 them on their white cap or on the base of the stem the injured 

 place turns yellowish. So we know that we have found the 

 sister of the "Meadow mushroom," and this is called the "Field 

 mushroom*' or " Plough ed-ground mushroom." It is also good 

 eating so we place it in our basket. Xow it may be. if we are 

 just beginning to collect mushrooms to eat, that we are not 

 very sure after all whether they are the ones we think they are. 

 So if we are going to show them after we get home, to someone 

 who knows mushrooms of all kinds, we carefully dig up the 

 stem and all and wrap them in our tissue-paper, because our 

 expert-friend will want to see the whole mushroom before he 

 is willing to give us his opinion. But if we know surely what 

 we have, we just take the caps because we are not going to 

 cook the stems anyway unless the plants are still very young. 

 In the young condition, they look just like little balls from the 

 top. in which stage they are called "buttons," and they are then 



