35 



from the exquisite apricot of Cantharellus to the disgusting night- 

 mare of the Stinkhorn; every taste from that of ripe fruit an d 

 fresh meat to rotten wood, quinine, and things even more dis- 

 agreeable or even disgusting, finds a representation in these fungi, 

 leaving out of consideration the various things they mimic when 

 cooked, such as meats, oysters, clams, steaks and numerous 

 vegetables. Like the different flow T ers, they tell of grassy meadows, 

 of thick shady woods, of mossy dells where the pheasant and the 

 grouse speed from you on whirring wing, of old logs from under 

 which the rabbit springs or on which the pine-squirrel sits and 

 eats his meal from cones of fir and pine, of trickling rill or rush- 

 ing river. It is strange that from the sins of a few of them such 

 mingled feelings of horror and disgust arise in the average mind 

 when you speak of ''toadstools !" And yet it is none the less 

 true that when any one has systematically hunted these much de 

 preciated fungi for any length of time, whether as a student or as 

 a "mycophagist" or mushroom eater, he has become much at- 

 tached to them and their pursuit. 



How and What to Collect, 



We will first suppose that one is going out to collect mushrooms 

 for the table. First of all notice whether any of the specimens you de- 

 desire to collect have distinct "rings',' or collars on the stem. If they 

 have, dig them up carefully, and notice whether there is a distinct 

 "cup" at the base of the stem, even with or underneath the 

 surface of the earth. If they have this cup together with the 

 ring, discard all such, as you have collected Amanitas. It is not 

 meant by this that all toadstools not having these marks are 

 wholesome, for some species not Amanitas are known to be 

 poisonous. The number of poisonous species, outside of the 

 Amanitas are, however, so few, in spite of the general impression 



PL, ATE 4. The Ink-Cap Mushroom, Coprinus atramentarius. One is 

 cut open to show the separation of g-ills from stem Slightly reduced. 



