EDIBLE FUNGI. 



505 



fairy rings ; but that subject must not detain us to-day. The Cham- 

 pignon—and, by the by, all Agarics are Champignons in France — is a 

 small, dry-looking Mushroom, seldom more than an inch in diameter, 

 of a warm buff colour, with a tall slender white stem, not thicker than the 

 stem of a clay pipe. The cap is convex at first, soon becoming flattened, 

 quite smooth, without lines or scales, and the gills are broad, rather 

 distant apart, and either quite white or creamy white, reaching to the 

 stem. The substance is tough and elastic, not brittle, and drying readily 

 without melting or becoming soft. After being dried, if placed in water, 

 it absorbs the moisture and soon acquires its original shape. It is 

 common in pastures, on lawns, and by the roadside, but not in woods. 

 It makes its appearance in summer, but in September and October, when 

 others are plentiful, this is seldom to be seen (fig. 157). 



This little fungus is useful, but not as a breakfast delicacy, and when 

 dried it may be kept for use during the winter as an ingredient in stews 

 and for general flavouring purposes, for which purpose it probably has 

 no equal, although not much in use in this country. Known and 

 appreciated throughout Europe and North America, Siberia, and the 

 island of Borneo. 



(16) Edible Boletus : Boletus edulis (Bulliard). 



There is another group of Fungi, Mushrooms we may call them by 

 courtesy, which possess the external form and appearance of Agarics, 

 though the under surface of the cap or pileus is not furnished with radiating 

 plates or gills, but instead thereof a mass of long slender tubes, which 

 are packed closely side by side and agglutinated together, presenting 

 open ends to the surface, like pin-holes pricked in the substance. These 

 tubes contain the spores which are generated from the sides, as in the 

 Agarics they are produced from the gills, and when mature are expelled 

 from the pores. The genus with which we are concerned in this group 

 is called Boletus, and the most important species is Boletus edulis. 



This species is common in woods, but is not appreciated as an esculent 

 in this country, on account of its sliminess, which would be a recom- 

 mendation to the Chinese. 



The cap reaches from four to six or eight inches in diameter, quite 

 convex, of a warm brown colour, not unlike a " penny bun/' smooth, but 

 slightly moist or viscid. The under surface, or pore surface, is of a light 

 greenish yellow. The stem is robust and solid, an inch or more thick at 

 the top, and twice as thick below, colour of warm ochre, with a minute 

 reticulation or network of fine veins at the apex. The taste of the flesh, 

 when fresh, is sweet and nutty. When cooked, the mass of tubes should 

 be cut out and excluded. 



In Germany, Austria, and some other Continental countries every 

 little provision shop has " ceps " for sale all the year round. These are 

 slices of the pileus of Boletus dried in the air or the sun, and sold at a 

 small price per pound, even in the "Delicatessen" shops in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Soho. They are used as an addition to soups and " made 

 dishes." Dried ceps are made into soup in some parts of Europe ; the. 



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