22 
NATURE STUDY. 
ter may be : saute, broiled, escalloped or creamed ; all are deli¬ 
cious. If the foregoing description be carefully borne in mind, 
there should be no possibility of mistaking the pasture mush¬ 
room for any dangerous variety. 
A third very safe and well-flavored mushroom is the Pleurotus 
ostreatus or oyster mushroom. ( Fig. 4. ) 
Like the preceding it is a gilled mushroom 
but has its stem attached upon one side of 
the center of the cap and sometimes even 
upon the edge, and the stem has a nearly 
horizontal instead of a vertical direction, 
as in the pink-gill. It generally grows up¬ 
on the stumps of deciduous trees or where 
the branches have been removed and is 
found especially upon the elm, growing 
sometimes in enormous, overlapping clusters. The color of the 
cap is creamy white or light brownish. There are two other 
varieties of the Pleurotus, so similar in appearance and place of 
growth, as to puzzle all but experts to distinguish them, but 
both are equally safe and delicious. The Pleurotus must be 
used while young as it grows tough with age. It seems to be 
improved by allowing it to simmer slowly a short time in just 
sufficient water to cover, and then it should be cooked in cream 
or white sauce. There is no danger of mistaking this mush¬ 
room for any dangerous variety as no poisonous gilled mush¬ 
room is known to grow upon trees. 
When a little experience has been gained in mushroom-gath¬ 
ering one will be surprised to find how quickly the eye becomes 
educated to detect the bad from the good and how much pleas¬ 
ure and “ toothsome cheer ” this new nature study will afford. 
A special feature of the August number of Nature Study will 
be a paper by Prof. Clarence Moores Weed of Durham, giving 
an illustration of a most interesting case of adaptation to envi¬ 
ronment in our pastures and on our hillsides. 
fig. 4. 
