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curtain, tV.eti called a riii}^. The curtain, ring and wrapper 

 are of lilile ufe in the difcriiaination of the Iptcics. The 

 two former arc common to all the fccondary fubdivifions 

 of agarics with central llems ; but the latter is confined 

 to pbnts with folid ftems.nor does it pertain to thofe whole 

 gills arc dccuiTent. Tlie fttin of an agaric is either folid or 

 hollow : the former is repivlented at A ; the latter at B. 

 In examining an agaric, it will immediately appear whe- 

 ther the ftcm be folid or hollow, by cutting it acrofs about 

 the middle w ith a fharp knife. Next to the gills, the Hem 

 of an agaric is the part leail liable to variation. Tlie gills 

 are the flat, thin fubllances, found undtnicatli the pileus, 

 and attached to it, and are of a diifcrcnt texture from that 

 cf the fteni or pileus. They afl'ume different colours in 

 different fpecies, and vary much in their refpeftive lengths. 

 Each gill conlitls of two membranes, between which the 

 feeds are formed. The gills ate always attached to the pi- 

 leus, and fometimes to that only, as at Jig. E. c, c. They 

 often flioulder up againll the ilem, and are Jlxed to it, as 

 at Jig. A, b ; and they are alfo extended along it down- 

 wards, as at a. This is called a Jecurrent gill. Tlie fxdd 

 and decurrent gills arc attached to the ft em only by their 

 ends, which are next to the center of the pileus, and not 

 by their edges, as is fometimes the cafe in agarics, whofe 

 pilei are nearly cylindrical. The gills, as they contain the 

 fruftification of thefe plants, are peculiarly important. 

 They var)- in length, always extending to the edge of the 

 pileus, but feldom reaching to the Hem ; and they are fome- 

 times forked or divided, and fometimes connefted or anaf- 

 toniiling with one another. Thefe circumftances are illuf- 

 trated by jf^'. C. and _/7^-. G. The gills are unlfomi at 

 d ; and below it they are conncfted at the edge of the pi- 

 leus ; at e they appear in pairs, at f there are four, and at 

 g eight in a fet ; at h they are feen irregular, or without 

 any determinate number ; at i they are branching, and at k 

 branching and anaftumifing. Fig. C exhibits the gills loofe 

 from the ftem, with the inner end fixed to a collar which 

 furrounds the top of the ftem, though not in contaft with 

 it. Thefe feveral circumftances are fubjecl to fuch variation, 

 that they do not fcrve to diftinguifti the different fpecies. 

 The colour of the gills, however, is obvious and permanent ; 

 and as the colour is principally, if not folely, caufed by that 

 cf the feeds within thtm, this affords the moft fixed and 

 certain charafteriftic, on which to found the diftinftions of 

 the fpecies ; and together with the ftrufture, the colour, 

 particularly of the flat fidcs of the gills, will be at all times 

 fufflclent to furnilTi permanent fptcific diftiniflions. The 

 ftem is a lefs variable part than the pileus ; its fliape, the 

 proportions of its length to its breadth, and of both to the 

 pileus, afford tolerable diftinfLlve marks ; and its colours, 

 though more changeable than thofe of the gills, are perhaps 

 rather more fixed than thofe of the pileus. The pileus, or 

 cap, is the part of an agaric, that is the leaft certain. Its 

 (hape is either conical (as at E), convex (us at D), flat, or 

 hollowed at the top like a funnel, and is conftantly vary- 

 ing in the fame plant, though it is much the fame in the 

 fame fpecies, when the plant is in perfeftion, or when it is 

 fully or almoft. fully expanded. Its colour is uncertain ; 

 and fo is alfo the vifcidity or clamminefs on the furface 

 of the pileus and ftem, which has fometimes charaftcrlfed 

 agarics. The laifiefcence of fome agarics, or their pro- 

 perty of yielding a milky juice, which in fome fpecies is 

 mild, and in others acrid, is vei-y precarious and inconftant. 

 Such as we have briefly recited, are the principles upon 

 which Dr. Withering's fyftem is founded ; and it feems 

 veil adapted for extending Qur acquaintance ^vith tlie va- 



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rious fpecies of agaric that occur, and rendering the know- 

 ledge already acquired more accurate. Withering's Ar- 

 rangement, vol. i. p. 375 — 380. See Chyptogamia, 

 I'uNCUs, and Mushroom. 



Of all the fpecies of agaric, one only has been felefted 

 for cultivation in our gardens, •u'l'z. the A. campejlrh, or 

 commui mujhioom, or champignon. The gills of this fpecies 

 are loofe, pinky red, changing to a liver-colour, in contail 

 with the item, but not united to it ; very thick fet, irregu- 

 larly difpofed, fome forked next the ftem, fome next the 

 edge of the pileus, fome at both ends, and in that cafe ge- 

 nerally excluding the intermediate Imaller gills. The pileus 

 is white, changing to brown when old, and becoming 

 fcurfy ; regularly convex, flefliy, flatter with age, from two 

 to four inches, and fometimes nine inches in diameter, and 

 liquefying in decay ; the flelh white. The ftem is folid, 

 white, cylindrical, from two to three inches high, half an 

 inch in diameter ; the curtain white and delicate. When 

 this muftiroom firft makes its appearance, it is fmooth and 

 almoft globular ; and in this ftate it is called a button. 

 This fpecies is efteemed the beft and moft favoury of the 

 genus, and is much in requell for the table in England. 

 It is eaten frefh, either ftewed or boiled, and preferved ei- 

 ther as a pickle or in powder ; and it furniflies the fauce 

 called KETCHUP. The field plants are better for eating 

 than thofe raifed on artificial beds, their flefli being more 

 tender ; and thofe who are accuftomed to thtm can diftin- 

 guiflt them by their fmell. But the cultivated ones are 

 more fightly, may be more ealily collefted in the proper 

 ftate for eating, and are firmer and better for pickling. 

 The wild inulhrooms are found in parks and other pallures, 

 where the turf has not been ploughed up for many years ; 

 and the beft time for gathering them is Auguft and Septem- 

 ber. Dr. Withering mentions four varieties. The A. 

 Georg'ii of Linnasus refembles the former, but is much in- 

 ferior to it in flavour. Its gills are yellowifti white ; the 

 pileus yellow, convex, hollow in the center ; the ftem yellow 

 thlckilh and fmooth ; the juice yellow, which flows plenti- 

 fully from it when wounded. It is gathered in Septem- 

 ber in woods and paftures. A variety of this is found 

 on the fea coaft of Cornwall, of a large iizc, with the but- 

 ton as big as a potatoe ; the expanded pileus 1 8 inches 

 over, the ilem as thick as a man's wrift, the gills very pale, 

 the curtain tough, and thick as leather, and the juice yeU 

 lowifli. A plant of this kind, as Dr. Withering informs 

 us, was gathered on an old hot-bed in a garden in Birming- 

 ham, which weighed 14 pounds. T\\i A., procerus, or tall 

 muftiroom, is not uncommon on hedge banks and dry paf- 

 tures, and is fometimes expofed to fale in Covent-garderi 

 maiket. It may be diftlnguiflied from the genuine fort 

 by the fponginefs of its flelh, and from others by its fine 

 and large horizontal ring. The gills are white, uniform, 

 and fixed to a collar ; the pileus is a broad cone, boffed, 

 white brown, and fcaly ; the ftem is fcaly, and the ring 

 loofe. This plant, when preferved in pickle, is very apt to 

 run into the vinous fermentation. Dr. V/ithering enu- 

 merates fonr varieties of this fpecies, one of which is 

 the A. e.scorlatus of Schocffer and Hay, which is a 

 beautiful plant, approaching in ft;rii6lure to the former, 

 but of a fmaller fize. It is gathered in September. A. 

 xeranipeUnus is the moft fplendid of all the agarics. Its 

 gills are fixed, bright golden yellow, and nearly orange 

 under the edge of the pileus, regularly difpofed four in a 

 fet ; fleftiy, brittle, and ferrated at the edge with a paler 

 cottony matter: the pileus is a tine lake red, changing with 

 »ge 10 a rich oritnge and buff, and every intermediate ftiade 



•f 



