conl-s small romuled bodio.s tornied by the upward 

 iCrowtb uf the threads of myeeliunx. These increase in 

 size and grow toward the surface of the ground. Ea<-li 

 ..ne is the young stage, or button, of the Mushroom. As 

 it enlarges, the upper end appears as a round body on a 

 short stalk, thus outlininj^ in the endu-yonic stage the 

 different parts of the mature plant. The gills are form- 

 ing on the under side of the cap. They are at this time 

 covered. They appear on the under side of the minut.- 

 constriction at the junction of the cap and stem. At 

 tliis stage they are covered by a loose growtli uf mycel- 

 ium extending from the upper part of' the stem tu the 

 margin of the cap. This forms the yeil. The giils are 

 formed by mycelium growing downward on the under 

 side of the cap in radiating rows, thus forming the la- 

 mellfp. The plant now coutiiun>s to enlar;^'e and the 

 cap expands. Just about nuiturity the veil ceases to 

 j^row and the expanding cap thus strptches it until tinallv 

 theveil is ruptured, usually next the nuiririn <.f tlu' ciHp", 

 and then it hangs as a collar or ring on tlo- stem (seen 

 at a, Fig. 1441). 



Po.'<ition of Agaricus catupt'sfr'.': itt Chi<<,^ific,iii-<ii.— 

 One of the large subdivisions of the hii,dier fungi is 

 made up of the Mushrooius, toadstools, puft'-bails, etc. 

 All of these are characterized by a mure or less well- 

 developed fruiting surface, or hijmi'>iinni. The struc- 

 tural element of the hymenium is the basidium. and in 

 the large number of the species the fonu of the basidium 

 does not vary to any great extent from that of the com- 

 mon Mushroom, The basidium. then, is tlie character- 

 istic fruit structure of this large subdivision of the 

 fungi. For this reason, the plants inchnled in this suit- 

 division are termed the Ba.si'h'o)tiijce(<-s. The Hasidio- 

 niycetes, taken in the sense of the earlier students <d' 

 the fungi, were divided into two ortlers, accordinc: To 

 the condition of the fruiting surface at the maturity of 

 the plant, namely the Hijuienonnirffe^ and the Gasft-'r- 

 oin/fcetes. In the former, the fruiting surface is either 

 exposed from the beginning, or if covered at lirst, is at 

 last exposed before the maturity of the spores, just as 

 the hymenium of Agarirxs campesfris , at tirst covered 

 by the veil, is exposed before the maturity of the spores 

 l>y the rupture of the veil. The ^lushrooms, toadstools, 

 etc., belong, therefore, to the Hymenomycetes. In the 

 ' iasteromycetes, on the other hand, the spori s are itwi- 

 titred before the hymenium is exposed, as in the putC- 

 hail, earth-star, etc., which open after the spores uv<- 

 ripe. 



Families of the ITi/)iir)totin/r('f''s. — T\\i- iisatre of Tiie 

 earlier botanists in the arrangement uf families will 

 l)e followed here, since there is not an opport\uiity to 

 properly set forth the principles of classification adoptcl 

 iiy some recent systematic works. The arran Bremen t 

 depends on the character of the fruiting s\irface i>r 

 hymenium. 

 -V. Fruiting surface uneven; i. e. 



tubes or spinous ]>rocesses. 

 I. Agaricaceffi, fruiting surt:u-( 



or gills. 

 -. Folyporacefe, fruiting surfai 



or tubes. 

 ;:. llydnaceje, fruiting surface 



or tubercular processes. 

 AA. Fruiting surface even; i. 



MUSHROOM 



104:] 



.f plat 

 ,.f pla 

 .d- po 



:.d' sp, 



as in A, 



■ept 



the case of plants of a gelatinous texture. 

 4. riavariacea?, plants more or less erect, standi Uir 

 out from the substratum, and coveretl on all sides 

 by the hymenium. 

 ,1. Thelephoraceje, plants either erect or diffused over 

 the surface of the substratum, one side only (in 

 the case of erect plants usually the under side) 

 covered with the hymenium. 

 0. Tremellinere, plants of a gelatinous texture, vari- 

 ous in foi'm. 

 Agaricace-i:. — The common [Mushroom, A'/nrims 

 C'lmpestris. belongs to this family. The family Agari- 

 caceae is made up of what are now popularly termed 

 (t'j-irics. Very many of the species were once placed 

 in the genus Agariou's. The genus became so large that 

 it was subdivided into a lari^e number of subgenera, 

 manv of which have recently been raised to the rank of 

 i^'MieVa. In thus subdividim: the ohl genus Airaricus 

 Tnto a number of genera there has been a laek of uni- 



formity on the ].art of systematists in the choice of a 

 j.^eneric name for Tiie common Mushromn. Sacear<lo 

 retained the genus A^^arieus for the common Mushro(im 

 and its near allies, although discarding the subgenus 

 I'salliota. Some have employed the genus Agaricus, 

 some Psalliota, others Pratella. and still others propose 

 to restore the antiquated genus Fungus, and call onr 

 plant Fi(n(i}(.'i ro inpe.sfris. ' This is not the place for a 



1442. Section of a eiil of Ag-aricus campestris, enlar;,'ed. 



'J'r.. tr;inia ; sli., li\ nicniiun ; '/., ).iasidiiiiii ; st., ^h■^i^,'^l;l ; 

 :ip., s-pure. 



discussion of the merits of any of these names, but it 

 seeujs better in the present instance, at least, to use the 

 generic name Agaricus with tin." limits uf I'sailiola 

 Fries. 



Other .Speeies of the <;-»iis J ;/" /-/r^f... -There are a 

 Tiundier of other si»ecies of tlie i^enu-;. as thus limited, 

 which, because of their size and e.-^culent qualities, aro 

 worthy of mention. 



Aga ricH.'i arreii. ■<).■< . the Horse Mushroom, grows in 

 grassy fields and ]iastures during the autumn. It is a 

 iartrer plant than the common Mushroom, has a thicker 

 eap, loiiL'er stem, and the veil is double, the lo'wer or 

 outer portion si)litting radially into a star-shaped fashion 

 and remaining attaidied to the inner portion. Agaricus 

 silvicohis, the wood-inhatuting Mushroom, grows in 

 woods. The whole plant is whitish, but tini^ed more or less 

 with yellow, the cap is smooth, anrl the long stem has an 

 alirupt and liroad bull'. The veil is thin, membranaceous, 

 but in some specimens shows a tendency to be di:'uble, 

 as in Aga rieus arvc)i.'<is. Agarirus l\'odma)ii grew s 

 ahiUL"" the streets of cities in the hard gr».>und Ijetween 

 The sidewalk and curbing, and similar ].daces. It is en- 

 tirely white, the cap thick and tirm, the stem short, and 

 with a short, thick, double annulus. Agaricus faimri-u.^ 

 [A. sahrufvsceii><, 1-^eck) has a light reddish brown fa]i, 

 a long stem somewhat enlarged below, and a ring wiiirh 

 has soft scales on the under side formed, much as in A . 

 sih-iroliis, from the cracking or splitting of the outer 

 layer. The plant has the taste and odor of almonds. It 

 Lfrows in greenhouses. It sometimes grows in compc'st 

 heaps. It often forms large clusTers of many individuals. 

 It has been successfully cultivated. Agaricus si/rafi- 

 'Wfs grows in woods during late spring and summer. It 

 is a large plant, usually about tlie size of the Hur>o 

 ^[ushrooni. but thinner, and with numerous minute 

 dark scales on the surface of the caji, whi<;h form a s(did 

 patch of dark color atthe center. In age. the cap is mo.'e 

 or less flat, and it has been called the flat-cap Mush- 

 room \A.pJacomjjces). The stem is long, enlarged below, 

 and the ring is doulde, exactly as in the Horse Mush- 

 room. Agaricus comtulus, a small species, rather rare, 

 but with 'a wide distnlmtion, is regarded with suspirii.n 

 by some. 



CoPKiNT"?.— In the genus Coprinus, 3 of thi^ edible 

 species are quite common. The spores are black and 

 the irills and nn)re or less of the cap dissolve at maturiTy 

 into a black fluid. 



