decomposition, unless quickly dried and kept dry. This should 
teach moderation in their use. A hearty meal of mushrooms 
alone might be expected to produce consequences similar to 
those following a large repast on nothing but beefsteak. It also 
teaches the necessity of care in the selection of the specimens to 
be utilized. Only sound and fresh specimens, young or just ma- 
ture, should be taken. 
Many insects are fond of mushrooms. Both they and their 
larvee feed on them and in them. A mushroom may appear fair 
on its exterior, which if cut or broken, will show its interior to be 
full of small holes and galleries excavated by larve, and perhaps 
may reveal a living colony of the larve themselves. It is need- 
less to say that such specimens should be rejected at once. The 
larvee most, often enter at the base of the stem and mine their 
way up through the stem to the cap. When this is the case, and 
they have reached the cap, their presence will be revealed when 
the cap is cut from the stem, for the small holes through which 
they have passed will easily be seen. Sometimes the eggs are de- 
posited by the parent insect on the surface of the cap, and when 
hatched, the larvee at once eat their way into the flesh beneath. 
Strange as it may seem, a colony of larve in the lower part of 
the stem of a mushroom will often affect disastrously the flavor 
of the cap or upper part, which they have not yet touched. 
Sometimes a part of a cap will show signs of decay while a part 
remains apparently sound. Better reject the whole in such 
cases. Also discard those that are watersoaked, for this is often 
an indication of age and incipient decay. 
The fact that most mushrooms are short-lived and decay rap- 
idly also teaches the importance of cooking them promptly after 
they have been gathered. As a rule, they should be cooked the 
same day. If the collector has been fortunate enough to obtain 
more than enough for one meal, it is generally better to cook the 
whole lot at once, as they will not spoil as soon in the cooked as 
in the raw state. 
In collecting mushrooms that have stems, it is not advisable 
to take the stems except in those cases in which they are suf- 
ficiently tender to be utilized; generally, they are too tough. 
Care should be taken to keep the mushrooms as clean as possible. 
Sometimes soil, sticks and leaves, are carried up in the growth of 
the mushroom and remain on the cap. This is especially the case 
with those spécies that have a viscid or sticky surface to the cap. 
It is better to clear this rubbish carefully away before putting 
the specimens in the collecting basket. If this is not done, such 
5 
