44 THE OTTawa NATURALIST. [May 
TABLE No. I. 
CoprINUS COMATUS —The Shaggy Coprinus or Horsetail Mushroom 
_ The Freshly Gathered Mushroom. Water-free Substance. | 5 a 
| ue ae 
Crude Protein. Crude Protein. aes 
Water. —- Ash. ——— Ash. |$-3 ae 
ape Amides. Peis Amides. LAS) Be: 
ae} Ol. 24 1.94 1.94 1.36 22.14 22.15 ee 50.0 
b.| 91.81 1.68 To Sit jf, To NG) 20.51 18.43 14.53 52.6 
Soll ©2583) 1.63 1.25 1.20 2215 16.29 15.64 56.6 
Glo ORAS 1.44 T.00 .70 22.22 15.43 10.80 | 59 0 
Dry MattTer:—It is worthy of note that the percentage of 
dry matter decreases somewhat in the mushroom with age, i.e., as 
the condition of edible maturity isapproached. This peculiarity no 
doubt is more strongly marked in the deliquescent mushrooms, 
but possibly does not exist to any degree in those varieties, such 
as the Marasmius, which can be gathered when mature and pre- 
served for future use by simply drying. The data from C. comatus 
show a decline from 8.76% to 6.487 during its growth, z.e. from the 
very earliest stage to the condition usually considered as best for 
cooking. 
PRoTEIN:—The nitrogenous character of mushrooms was em- 
phasized in our previous contribution on this subject. It is this 
feature which gives them their especial value as food. Although 
they do not contain more ‘‘dry matter” than many of our succulent 
vegetables, this dry matter, unlike that of the vegetables, consists 
of from one-third to one-half nitrogen compounds. 
The nitrogen compounds in vegetable matter are grouped 
under the term Crude Protein, but by appropriate methods of 
analysis they may be differentiated into Albuminoids and Non- 
