210 
CRYPTOGAMIA. FUNGI. Agaricus. 
Var. 1. Pileus smooth, or only a little scaly when old. 
(Sowerhy305 — Bull. 515.134— Grev. Scot. Crypt. 161. E.)— FI. Dan. 711 
—Bolt. 45— Mill. III. t. 106— Lob. Ic. 271— J. B. Hist. iii. 824— 
Gars. 279. 1— Sterb. 1— Schceff. 310. 311. 
Gills loose, pinky red, changing- to liver colour, in contact hut not united 
with the stem ; very thick, set, irregular in disposition, some forked next 
the stem, some next the edge of the pileus, some at both ends, and gene¬ 
rally in that case excluding the intermediate smaller gills. 
Pileus white, changing to brown when old, and becoming scurfy ; regularly 
convex, fleshy, flatter with age, two to four inches diameter, liquefying 
in decay. Flesh white. 
Stem solid, white, cylindrical, two to three inches high, half an inch diame¬ 
ter. Curtain white, delicate. 
Ag. stipiiatus , pileo convexo squamato albido , lamellis rufis. FI. Suec. 1203. 
Ray Syn. p. 2. n. 1. and p. 3. n. 8. 
(Common, or Edible Field Mushroom. E.) Ag. arvensis. Schseff. Ag. 
edulis. Bull. Pers. Ag. campestris. Bolt. FI. Dan. In parks and other 
pastures where the turf has not been ploughed up for many years. 
Aug. Sept.f 
Var. 2. Pileus rough and scurfy, or hairy. 
Schceff. 33— Battar 7. A— Mich. 75. 1— Clus. 268. 
Ag. campestris . ScheefF. This seems the more common sort in some parts 
of Europe. 
Var. 3. Pileus beautifully tufted with pencils of brown hair: stem tapering 
downwards. 
Schceff, S3, f. 5.6. 
Gives a good idea of this, which with us never expands further; conse¬ 
quently the curtain is very durable. 
Ag. campestris. SchsefF. Woolhope, Herefordshire. Sept, from Mr. Stack- 
house. Rookery, Edgbaston, a single plant. Oct. 
Var. 4. Gills whitish, slowly changing to liver colour. 
Gills loose, four in a set, numerous, whitish, changing to liver colour. 
Pileus cream colour, two to four inches over, rarely scurfy, nearly semi- 
globular. 
Stem solid, two inches high, half an inch diameter, yellowish white. Ring 
permanent, tough, white. 
Edgbaston park, under large lime trees. 12th Nov. 1794. 
Obs. In the more common mushroom, even in its button state before the 
rupture of the curtain, the gills appear of a pinky red, soon changing to a 
f Such is the more common kind, in this part of England, which is so much in 
request for the table. They differ very much in size ; I gathered one, whose pileus 
measured nine inches over. The field plants are better for eating than those raised on 
artificial beds, the flesh of the latter being far less tender. (Cultivation by spawn is 
carried on in Russia throughout the year in houses purposely contrived, and the same 
practice now prevails in England. Mushrooms for broiling or stewing should be 
gathered from a dry soil, as being more wholesome than those produced in moist 
situations; even for catsup they keep better and have a pleasanter flavour. Among 
the numerous species considered as delicacies in foreign countries, none is more exten¬ 
sively esteemed than the English mushroom (proper), the French Champignon: Pra - 
tiolo of the Italians. Dr. Greville cites several authorities to prove that it was in general 
use among the ancients, considering it to be the Mvxyis eMiyog of Dioscorides $ the Callus 
rubens of Pliny ; Prateolus of Ceesalpinus, &c, E.) 
