AGARICS 141 



before venturing upon its use as food. All of the 

 sweet and palatable Russulae are esculent. When 



he chances upon the R. emetica he will 



A warning be aware of its important demoraliz- 



tang ing resources In the peppery-hot tingle 



of his tongue, which, if not instantly 

 perceived, will within the space of a minute assert 

 itself distinctly. All such acrid specimens should 

 be excluded, as a single one would be sufficient to 

 bring an ignominious denouement to an otherwise 

 delectable feast. In the typical R. emetica the pileus 

 is a bright, brilliant red — which, as we have said, 

 is very variable, as indicated in our plate — often 

 polished and shining ; the gills broad, equal, straight, 

 continuous, not crowded, and white, as is the flesh be- 

 neath the peeled cuticle. The stem is white or pink. 

 The cap will average, perhaps, three inches in diam- 

 eter, though occasionally reaching the dimensions in- 

 dicated by the marks in plate, or even larger. 



THE OYSTER MUSHROOM 

 Agaricus ostreatus 



What a mass of nutritious food do we occasionally 

 pass in innocence or spurn with our foot upon the old 

 stump or fallen log in the woods !— a neglected feast, 

 indeed, if the specialists on edible fungi are to be be- 

 lieved ; a feast, in truth, for a big family, if we chance 

 upon even an average cluster of the " vegetable oys- 

 ter," which is pictured in Plate 14. 



I have commonly observed this species, the Agari- 

 cus ostreatus, in the autumn, and this is the season 

 given for its appearance in Europe -b y th e au t h - oritt es ; 



