156 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



It may be asked, what is a bad smelling fungus? It may 

 be answered more easily by saying that a mushroom has a good 

 smell ; it has a decidedly earthy or fresh odor, reminding one of 

 cool shady nooks in the forest, amongst the ferns and lichens. 

 To describe the odor in words would be impossible. Find a good 

 mushroom and smell of it, and the standard will be always 

 established. Every good fungus will smell like a mushroom, 

 though often with a difference, but no one will ever call the odor 

 unpleasant or impure. Bad kinds will have a peculiar sharpness 

 in their woody smell, or a dirty smell like decaying flesh, and some 

 are so bad smelling that their presence cannot be endured in a 

 room. If the odor of a fungus is satisfactory look at its color. 

 Nearly all the edible fungi are pleasant colored — white, with 

 delicate tints of rose ; light shades of yellow and orange ; light 

 brown and gray ; but the majority are white, pink, orange, or 

 drab. I have a theory that soon the poisonous alkaloid will be 

 eliminated or neutralized from the dangerous species, so that all 

 mushrooms may be rendered edible and useful, and all risk 

 removed. This opens up a wide field for chemical investigation, 

 and I trust that some chemist may be found competent. 



I have not attempted to give a list of the numerous varieties, as 

 this can be much better done by the study of some standard work 

 on American fungi, with illustrations and descriptions, and I . 

 would specially recommend the works of Capt. Palmer, for this 

 purpose. 



I have endeavored to collect some points of interest to bring to 

 your notice, and hope I have aroused a little more interest in our 

 native edible fungi. 



Discussion. 



Rev. Calvin Terry said that it appears that there is danger of 

 serious illness, and possible death, if one indulges in this kind of 

 food without some knowledge by which to make a proper selection. 

 "We have but one life and it behooves us to get the necessary 

 information before we begin to use anything that is new and 

 strange to us. We need to learn what color distinguishes the 

 wholesome varieties, what peculiar forms are to be selected, and 

 what localities are to be visited to find this delicious food 

 material. 



