ON THE AMERICAN ESCULENT EUNGI. 



77 



gloomy period when there had been a protracted drought, and 

 fleshy fungi were to be found only in damp shaded woods, and 

 but few even there, I was unable to find enough of any one spe- 

 cies for a meal. So, gathering of every kind, I brought home 

 thirteen different sorts, had them all cooked together in one grand 

 potpourri, and made an excellent supper. Among these was the 

 Chanterelle, upon which I would say a few words in confirmation 

 of what I have already said upon the varying qualities of Mush- 

 rooms in different regions and localities. You have somewhere 

 written of this Mushroom as being so highly esteemed a delicacy, 

 that it is much sought for when a dinner of state is given in Lon- 

 don. Can this be because it is a rarity (for nothing common and 

 easily obtained is deemed a delicacy, I believe), or because you 

 have it of finer flavour in England ? Here, where it abounds, no 

 one seems to care at all for it, and some would forego Mushrooms 

 entirely rather than eat this. It certainly varies much in quality, 

 as I have occasionally found it quite palatable, and again, though 

 cooked in the same mode, very indifferent. I have been unable 

 to ascertain whether this difference is due to locality, exposure ? 

 shade, soil, moisture, or temperature. That soil has much to do 

 with the flavour of some species of Mushrooms I am well con- 

 vinced. In a parcel of Pink-gills I have sometimes found one 

 or two specimens, though perfectly sound, of such unpleasant 

 odour and taste as would spoil a whole dish. So also with the 

 Snowball (A. arvensis), of which I annually find a few beautiful 

 specimens growing near my residence upon a grassy turf, which 

 turf covers a pile of trash made up of decomposed sticks, leaves, 

 and scrapings from the adjoining soil. Their taste and odour 

 is pefectly detestable. I had one specimen cooked, but no 

 amount of seasoning could abate the offensiveness of the odious 

 thing. Yet within a hundred yards of these I gather specimens 

 of the same identical species which are of fine flavour, equal to 

 that of the best Mushrooms. As I have before intimated the 

 varying flavour of Mushrooms growing on different kinds of wood, 

 so here I suppose the unpleasant qualities of some specimens of 

 these two well-known and favourite species may be owing to some- 

 thing in the soil where they grow, which they cannot assimilate, 

 and so it renders a palatable and wholesome species totally unfit for 

 the table. Whether such specimens, if eaten, would be poisonous 

 or unwholesome I do not feel any temptation to prove. It is not 

 probable that they will ever do any mischief; for it is incredible 



YOL. II. M 



