USE OF MUSHROOMS 153 



A few species, such as L e p i 11 t a m o r g a n i and C 1 i t o c v 1) e ill u (1 e n s, 

 produce violent vomiting in some cases. The beginner must l)e on his guard i'or such 

 forms, until he has carefully tried a small piece on himself to discciver whether it 

 is harmful or harmless. These cimtain no deadly poisonous substances, as does 

 Amanita, so that while they are promptly rejected by some stomachs, they are 

 innocuous or even delicious to others. Both of these species indicated above, together 

 with a few others, such as B o 1 e t u s 1 u r i d u s and O y r o m i t r a e s c u 1 e n t a 

 are readily distinguished, and the collector should early famdiarize hintself with their 

 earmarks. It is a safe rule, howe-\'er, for the beginner not to make a hearty meal 

 of any mushroom, until he has tried it in a small quantitv, on accomit of the in- 

 dividual differences of people. The majority of fleshy mushrooms, esjiecially such 

 genera as (_' o p r i n u s. Agaric u s, I, v c o p e r d o n, P 1 e u r o t u s, Co 1- 

 1 V b i a, and M o r c h e 1 1 a, are acceptable to all. 



The amount of digestible nutriment in a mushroom is not great, on account of 

 the large proportion nf water. This is even truer of a large number of our most 

 popular vegetables. In both cases, it is not the absolute amount of available nutri- 

 ment that coimts, but the part which tlie loocl plavs in the dietary. In the case of 

 mushrooms, their delicacy and flavor, the many wavs in which thev can be cooked, 

 the readiness with which tlie\- combine with other foods, and especially their ability 

 to replace the meats in large measure give them a \'er\' high value. They bring to 

 the table what is in quality a luxur\-, but in cost one of the chcajiest of all foods. It 

 is much to be hoped that a knowledge of mushrooms will become widespread, bring- 

 ing with it an increase in physiological efficiency and a decrease in the "cost of living." 



COLLECTING MUSHROOMS 



The first requisite in collecting is to axokl all Amanitas. The second is to select 

 only those individuals which are free from larvae or from decay of any sort. As a 

 rule, old, discolored or dry jdants should be avoided, especially in the case of puff- 

 balls, but with those species which can be preser\-ed by drying, a dried plant is 

 almost as good as a fresh one in many cases. The collecting basket should be i)rovided 

 with fresli papers, or, better, with paper bags. By this means, the plants are kept 

 fresher and cleaner, and, even more important, the individuals of each species can 

 be kept together. This is a matter of considerable importance in cookhig, since 

 different species require different treatment, or varying time. In many cases, it is 

 desirable to cut the stem close to the cap ; in some species, however, the stem is 

 equally good, and in others, it only requires longer cooking. The question of stems 

 is largely a personal one to be decided by the taste and experience of each person. 

 The essential thing is to cut the stem in such fashion that adhering dirt or other 

 material is left behind. After collecting, mushrooms if fresh can be kept for several 

 days on ice, but it is much better to use them at once. 



In preparing mushrooms for cooking, they should be picked over, the stems 

 separated if need be, and thoroughly washed, usually in water that has been salted. 

 The further treatment varies more or less for the different kinds, and of course with 



