Vol. XXII. No. 11.] 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



165 



l^ome, ifarm, anU ^arom. 



[Original in The Popular Science ^«ui».] 

 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS. 



BT W. J. CHASE. 



The order Cryptogamia to which fungi belong, 

 is but imperfectly classified and understood by the 

 best botanists. It is not surprising, therefore, 

 considering the scarcity of sources of information, 

 (hat the majority of mankind is so ignorant of the 

 value of many of our most common mushrooms. 

 In this respect Americans, however ready gen- 

 erally to avail themselves of opportunities, are far 

 behind many other nations, with whose peasantry, 

 especially, different varieties of fungi are highly 

 appreciated as articles of food. 



Both fear and prejudice combine to deprive us 

 in the mushroom of nature's own substitute for 

 meat. Absorbing oxygen, and giving out carbonic 

 acid, as the fungi do, it is not strange that many of 

 thera have most delicious meat flavors. The Fislu- 

 lina hepatica, growing on the oak, resembles beef- 

 steak both in appearance and flavor; some of the 

 Agarics have a flavor of stewed lamb kidneys, and 

 other members of the same family and many of 

 the Hyduci are delicate vegetable oysters. 



Wheii^ it is considered that there are in this 

 country at least sixty edible varieties of the 

 Agarics alone, our lack of appreciation of nature's 

 beneficence becomes more apparent. Possessing 

 in generous abundance, as they do, the nitrogenous 

 elements which give to food its most nutritive 

 qualities, mushrooms seem especially fitted to 

 tempt the appetite, and furnish a nourishing diet 

 at a season of the year when meat palls on the 

 taste. 



The proper way to cook them, connoisseurs 

 declare, is either to broil them, with pepper, salt, 

 and butter, over a quick fire, or to stew them in 

 milk, as oysters are often prepared. It is probable 

 that exceedingly few of the larger fungi are very 

 deleterious when cooked, as heat renders com- 

 paratively harmless whatever poison they contain. 

 Yet, though a large number of species are reputed 

 to be edible, many of these are so closely allied in 

 form, color, haunts, and other characteristics to 

 undoubtedly poisonous varieties, that it is decid- 

 edly unsafe for any but a specialist to attempt to 

 discriminate between them. But, after all, there 

 are a good half-dozen esculent mushrooms the 

 characteristics and distinguishing features of which 

 are easily acquired. The same care, however, 

 must be employed in gathering them for the table 

 as is necessary in choosing other articles of food. 

 Just as tainted meat or decayed fruit is avoided, 

 so must the over-ripe fungi be discarded ; for those 

 that are perfectly harmless when fresh, may very 

 soon become noxious and unfit to be eaten. 



The Agarics, on account of their abundance, 

 should head the list of esculents. To this class 

 the mushroom of commerce belongs. Neverthe- 

 less, these are the least safe for the beginner, as 

 the edible members are very easily confounded 

 with their dangerous brothers. The following 

 distinguishing features will, however, identify the 

 most common safe ones. The beginner must not 

 fail to bear in mind that all these characteristics 

 enumerated must be distinctly present in order to 

 insure edible qualities. It is never found in woods 

 or in tall grass, but in pastures, or on lawns where 

 the grass is kept close cut. The gills are at first 

 a delicate pink, and later a purple color, and are 

 wholly free from the stem; the spores also are pur- 

 ple. Around the middle of the stem there is a ring, 

 or collar, and the outer skin projects a little over the 

 margin of the pileus, or cap. The two most com- 



mon varieties are the meadow mushroom {Agaricus 

 campeslri.i) and the horse mushroom (Agaricus 

 arvensis) ; but these varieties so run into each other, 

 that they are hard to distinguish. They are both 

 perfectly safe. Another is the elm-tree mushroom 

 {Agaricus ulmarius), found, as its name implies, on 

 the elm, and only in the fall. It has broad, white 

 gills, supported by a solid, thick stem. The top is 

 at first light yellow and smooth, and later spotted 

 and cracked. It is said to be the only large fun- 

 gus with gills and white flesh that grows on that 

 tree. 



A species allied to the Agarics is the Coprinus, 

 of which the maned mushroom (Coprinus comatus) 

 is the most easily recognized. It is ovate in shape, 

 with a brown, smooth top, but near the base the 

 outer skin rufiles up, making a white mane, or fringe. 

 It should be eaten only when young, while the gills 

 are still wliite or slightly roseate in tint. About 

 the roadsides is the place to look for it, but it 

 should never be picked when growing near offal or 

 dust heaps. This species is deliquescent, melting 

 into an inky fluid soon after arriving at maturity. 



Another family is that of the Russules, of which 

 perhaps only one is safe for beginners, and that 

 should never be eaten without a previous thorough 

 examination, to make sure its identity. All the 

 parts of the mushrooms of this family are very 

 brittle, snapping into small pieces on being bent. 

 The Russula alulacea has a bright-red top, buff- 

 colored gills, and a thick, short stem; but this 

 description applies very truthfully to two poison- 

 ous varieties of the same species. The only way 

 to distinguish them is by breaking off a small piece 

 and tasting. The edible variety is either tasteless 

 or has a mild flavor of chestnuts. If it bites and 

 stings the tongue ever so slightly, or if, on being 

 broken, milk or juice exudes, reject it. 



For beginners the safest of all species is the 

 Lycoperdon, or puff-ball, which grows in sandy 

 pastures and open woods. The giant puff-ball 

 (Lycoperdnn giganteum) is a very common variety. 

 To be fit to eat, it should be fresh, perfectly smooth 

 on the outside and perfectly white, and cream-like 

 within ; and it should be eaten very soon after being 

 picked, as it decays very rapidly. This family has 

 no dangerous members. 



The Hydnei are also a safe species. They are 

 easily distinguished by their tooth-like spines on 

 the under side of the pileus. The spreading 

 hydnum (Hydnum repandum), found in the woods 

 or in woody places, is a perfectly safe variety. It 

 is usually yellow or yellowish red, and always of 

 firm flesh. The stem is generally either very in- 

 distinct or deformed; and the pileus, often of 

 irregular shape, sometimes has one side higher 

 than the other. 



The genus Boletus possesses several edible 

 species. These all have pores or tubes instead of 

 gills, and, unlike most of the Polyporei, grow from 

 the soil. The thick pileus should be of a russet 

 brown or gray color, with tubes varying from a 

 pale yellow to a greenish brown. The stem is dis- 

 tinct, and thickest at the base. The white flesh, 

 on being exposed to the air, should not change its 

 color. They are found in damp, shady woods. 



These are but a few of the many esculent varie- 

 ties ; but the young mycophagist, after becoming 

 familiar with these, can easily enlarge his acquaint- 

 ance. It is well, perhaps, to caution against reck- 

 lessness, and to repeat that only the fresh fungi are 

 fit for food. 



It might be well to close this sketch with the 

 suggestion that sweet oil taken liberally, with or 

 without whiskey, will neutralize to a great extent 

 the noxious qualities of the poisonous varieties. 

 A reasonable amount of care, however, will render 

 this suggestion unnecessary. 



[Original in The Popular Science Seu>».] 

 ON POMOLOGY. 



BY R. W. 8HUFELDT, M.D. 



There has recently been undertaken by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture a very 

 important line of investigation — we refer to its 

 work upon pomology, or a study of the tropical and 

 semi-tropical fruits grown within the limits of this 

 country. The Department has just issued its first 

 bulletin upon this subject, entitled a Report on 

 the Conditiort of Tropical and Semi-Tropical Fruits 

 in the United States in 1887, for which fruit- 

 growers and agriculturists the land over will be 

 very grateful, and others interested in such mat- 

 ters can but approve of such an admirable expen- 

 diture of the Department's appropriation. 



Bulletin No. 1 of the Division of Pomology 

 constitutes the official report of its chief, Mr. H. E. 

 Van Deman, who has been ably seconded in his 

 labors by Mr. P. W. Reasoner of Manatee, Fla., 

 who submits a very full report from that State, 

 and Mr. W. G. Klee, who supplements it by 

 an excellent account of the exotic fruits that 

 have been cultivated in the State of California. 

 As thus submitted, the Bulletin consists of the 

 usual form of government pamphlet, and in 

 the present instance of some hundred and fifty 

 pages, illustrated by three colored plates. With 

 respect to these latter, we are told that " the ori- 

 ginal paintings, from which the accompanying 

 illustrations were made, are the work of W. H. 

 Prestele, the artist of this Division. They are as 

 nearly exact in size, shape, and color as it was 

 possible to make them from the specimens, and 

 they are in no case exaggerated in any respect." 

 They are reproductions by the lithocaustic process 

 of A. Hoen & Co. of Baltimore, and are to be 

 recommended in many respects, especially in the 

 external aspects of the two Japanese plums, which 

 appear quite natural; while in section the detail 

 of structure seems to us to be a little lacking in 

 points of sharp definition. Plate 1 presents us 

 with figures of the " Kelsey " and " Satsuma," — 

 two Japanese plums, the former now proving a 

 very great acquisition to the fruits of California 

 and Florida, while the latter plum " is another 

 importation from Japan, and is likely to prove 

 valuable. The only tree old enough to bear in 

 America, so far as heard from, is on the grounds 

 of LuthM- Burbank, at Santa Rosa, Cal. It bore 

 a heavy crop in 1887, and the illustration was 

 made from specimens grown on this tree." The 

 remaining figures of the plates represent speci- 

 mens of Japanese persimmons, known as the vari- 

 eties " Yemon," " Ilachiya," and " Tane-nashi," 

 all now grown in many parts of the Southern States 

 and California, being delicious fruits, not only rich 

 and pleasant just as they are plucked from the 

 tree, but can be preserved by drying, or be made 

 into marmalades. 



Unless one has previously paid especial atten- 

 tion to the subject, he is sure to be surprised upon 

 looking over the list of tropical or semi-tropical 

 fruits that are now successfully grown in the State 

 of Florida; for not only is this list a very long one, 

 but the trees or plants seem to have been brought 

 from nearly all parts of the world. It composes 

 such diverse productions as the pineapple (origi- 

 nally from Havana), the " mammee sapota " (from 

 Central America), the egg-fruit (from Cuba), the 

 strawberry pear (from Jamaica), the pawpaw 

 (from the East and West Indies), the mango, the 

 banana and plantain, the alligator pear, the 

 guava, the tamarind, the almond, the hog- 

 plum, some hundred and fifty varieties of the 

 common orange (Citrus aurantium) and many 

 species of its allies, citron, lemons, limes, the 



