66o 
Mushrooms  and  Fungi. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
\   December,  1896. 
Success  in  raising  mushrooms  depends  largely  upon  the  proper 
treatment  of  the  manure  intended  for  mushroom  beds,  and  upon 
preserving  a  certain  uniform  temperature. 
There  is  another  genus  among  the  Pratelli,  or  purple-spored 
series,  called  Hypholoma,  meaning  web-fringe.  Its  members  grow 
on  wood  in  groups,  often  in  fasciculate,  overlapping  masses.  The 
books  say  :  "  The  species  are  not  edible,  the  tough  ones  being  bitter, 
and  the  fragile  ones  almost  devoid  of  flesh."  I  wish  to  draw  your 
attention  particularly  to  this  genus,  because  it  contains  several  members 
which  I  believe,  when  known,  will  equal  if  not  exceed  all  others  in 
economic  value. 
Most  of  them  are  found  in  the  woods,  growing  from  or  about 
stumps  or  decaying  roots  in  the  ground ;  frequently  they  protrude 
in  great  clusters  from  around  the  base  of  posts.  The  several  spe- 
cies vary  in  shades  of  yellow  and  brown ;  their  caps  are  from  I  to  6 
inches  across ;  their  stems  are  short  or  long,  as  the  number  in  the 
cluster  permits ;  there  is  a  floccose  veil,  or  remnanjts  of  one,  about 
the  stem  ;  the  gills  are  greenish,  olivaceous  or  greenish  shades  of 
yellow.  They  are  showy  and  easily  recognized.  They  are  found 
from  September  until  mid- winter ;  I  have  gathered  them  when 
frozen  as  hard  as — well,  the  first  biscuit  of  a  maiden's  make.  The 
flesh  is  solid,  white  or  yellowish  ;  the  taste  is  acrid,  or  bitter,  or 
saponaceous.  Patches  of  them — and  they  are  frequent  in  almost 
every  woods  in  the  land — often  yield  several  bushels.  Thousands 
of  tons  of  them  annually  go  to  waste.  When  a  bunch  of  them  is 
found,  cut  the  caps  off  carefully  without  pulling  up  the  stems,  which 
latter  destroys  many  young  ones  and  injures  the  mycelium.  Brush 
the  caps  off ;  lay  them  gills  downward  in  your  basket,  as  you  should 
always  do  any  fungus  intended  for  the  table,  to  prevent  dirt  from 
getting  among  the  gills,  from  which  no  amount  of  washing  will  dis- 
lodge it.  Cut  the  caps  in  pieces  after  washing,  and  stew,  or  bake 
with  bread  crumbs,  for  half  an  hour.  Season,  and  when  nearly  done 
put  in  a  little  lemon-juice — never  vinegar — or,  better  still,  a  little 
sherry  or  Madeira.  You  will  have  a  feast  fit  for  the  gods — hardly 
a  fair  fitness  ;  for  I  suspect  that,  were  the  old  gods  to  cut  up  their 
old-time  capers  now,  their  fare  would  be  that  of  our  prisons. 
As  a  pickle,  these  varieties  of  the  Hypholoma  have  no  superior. 
Country  people  have  an  immense,  healthy,  never-failing  food  supply 
at  hand  for  the  gathering.    They  can  be  dried  for  winter  use. 
