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stools and all toadstools mushrooms, according to which name you 

 prefer. Many people limit the name mushroom to the common 

 Field Mushroom, Agaricus campester, and consider all others, 

 not possessing the "pink gills" of this species, toadstools. This 

 is too limited and even misleading a use of the term, lor many of 

 the mushrooms used in different countries, and sold in the market 

 as such, do not belong to the same genus or even family to which 

 the Field Mushroom belongs. A few of the tests, supposed to 

 distinguish the poisonous from the non-poisonous kinds, and 

 therefore a mushroom from a toadstool supposably, will be given 

 here, while it will be distinctly stated that not one of these sup- 

 posed tests is of any value, relied upon alone. Such are: i. - 

 Eat only mushrooms grown in open ground, never one in the 

 woods. 2. Eat no mushroom whose gills are not pink. 3. 

 Eat no mushroom that will discolor a silver spoon. 4. Eat no 

 mushroom which is white all through or that will exude milk 

 when cut. If we should obey the first injunction, we would be 

 cut off from nearly all the Boleti, the Morells, the Cortinarii, the 

 Pleuroti, and a host of others. If the second we would be 

 limited to the Field mushroom and a very few others, and lose all 

 those delicious kinds whose gills are red, yellow, white, or with 

 even shades of blue and green. It the third we would lose the 

 gastronomic pleasures of many harmless kinds, some of which do, 

 some do not, change or darken silver. If the fourth, we would be 

 cut off from the yellow or red Boleti, the white Hygrophori, or 

 the red or yellow Cortinarii, as well as from a number of the 

 delicious milk-giving I,actarii. In fact the usually safe rule 

 "Avoid all mushrooms or toadstools with a cup at the base of the 



PLATE 2. The Common Mushroom, Agaricus campester, often 

 known as "Pink-Gills." Slightly reduced. Two of the specimens are 

 expanded and past their primo for food. One specimen is split through 

 the middle, in order to show the "veil" still attached to "cap" and 

 "stem". The absence of any volva, or "cup", at the base of the stem 

 is noticeable, thus affording a good character by which to separate this 

 genus from the Poisonous Amanita, often mistaken for one another. 



