38 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 



Considering the prevalence of these fungus hosts, 

 it is well in all mushrooms to take the precaution 

 of making a vertical section through 

 A wise stem and cap, excluding such speci- 

 precaution mens as are conspicuously monopo- 

 lized, and not being too critical of the 

 rest, for the over - fastidious gourmet will often 

 thus have little to show for his morning walk. I 

 have gathered a hundred specimens of fungi in 

 one stroll, perhaps not a quarter of which, upon 

 careful scrutiny, though fair of exterior, would be 

 fit for the table. The fungus - hunter /«r excellence 

 has usually been there before us and left his mark 

 (see page 135) — a mere fine brown streak or tunnel, 

 perhaps, winding through the pulp or stem, where 

 his minute fungoid identity is even yet secreted. 

 But we bigger fungus -eaters gradually learn to ac- 

 cept him — if not too outrageously promiscuous — 

 as a natural part and parcel of our Hachis aux 

 Champignons, or our simple mushrooms on toast, 

 even as we wink at the similar lively accessories 

 which sophisticate our delectable raisins, prunes, and 

 figs, to say nothing of prime old Rochefort ! 



MUSHROOM POISONING 



In conclusion, lest these pages, in spite of the im- 

 press of caution with which they are weighted, should 

 lead to discomfiture, distress, or more serious results 

 among their more careless readers, it is well to devote 

 a few lines to directions for medical treatment where 

 such should seem to be required. To this end I 

 quote a passage from an article in the Therapeutic 



