The Home Medical Library Volume V Part 9

(_Agaricus Campestris._)

An edible variety; very common.]

=2. Horse Mushroom= (_Agaricus Arvensis_).--This species may be considered with the foregoing, but it differs in being considerably larger (measuring four to ten inches across) and in having a more shiny cap, of a white or brown hue. The ring about the stem is noticeably wider and thicker, and is composed of two distinct layers.

The gills are white at first, turning dark brown comparatively late, and the stem is a little hollow as it matures. In some localities it is more common than the _campestris_ in fields and pastures, while in other places it is found only in rich gardens, about hot beds, or in cold frames. It is not distinguished from the _campestris_ by market people, but is often sold with the latter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 36.

THE HORSE MUSHROOM.

(_Agaricus Arvensis._)

This variety is edible.]

=3. s.h.a.ggy Mane, Ink Cap, or Horsetail Fungus= (_Coprinus Comatus_).--This mushroom possesses the most marked characteristics of any of the edible species; it would seem impossible to mistake its ident.i.ty from written descriptions and ill.u.s.trations. It is considered by many superior in flavor to the _campestris_.

The top or cap does not expand in this mushroom, until it begins to turn black, but remains folded down about the stem like a closed umbrella. Mature specimens are usually three to five, occasionally from eight to ten, inches high. The stem is hollow. The inside of the cap or gills and the stem are snow white. The outer surface of the cap, which is white in young plants, becomes of a faint, yellow-brown or tawny color in mature specimens, and also darker at the top.

Delicate scales often rolled up at their lower ends are seen on the exterior of the cap, more readily in mature mushrooms, hence the name "s.h.a.ggy mane." There is a ring around the stem at the lower margin of the cap, and it is so loosely attached to either the cap or stem that it sometimes drops down to the base of the latter.

The most salient feature of s.h.a.ggy mane is the change which occurs when it is about a day old; it turns black and dissolves away into an inky fluid, whence the other common name "ink cap." The mushroom should not be eaten when in this condition. The ink cap is usually found growing in autumn, rarely in summer, in richer earth than the common mushroom. One finds it in heaps of street sc.r.a.pings, by roadsides, in rich lawns, in soils filled with decomposing wood and in low, shaded, moist grounds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 37.

THE HORSE-TAIL FUNGUS.

(_Coprinus Comatus._)

Edible; cut shows entire plant and section.]

=4. Fairy-ring Mushroom= (_Marasmius Oreades_).--This species usually grows on lawns, in cl.u.s.ters which form an imperfect circle or crescent. The ring increases in size each year as new fungi grow on the outside, while old ones toward the center of the circle perish.

This mushroom is small and slender, and rarely exceeds two inches in breadth. The cap and the tough and tubular stem are buff, and the gills, few in number and bulging out in the middle, are of a lighter shade of the same color. There is no ring about the stem. Several crops of the fairy-ring mushroom are produced all through the season, but the most prolific growth appears after the late fall rains. There are other fungi forming rings, some of which are poisonous, and they may not be easily distinguished from the edible species; hence great care is essential in gathering them. The under surface of the cap is brown or blackish in the mature plants of poisonous species.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 38.

THE FAIRY-RING MUSHROOM.

(_Marasmius Oreades._)

An edible variety.]

=5. Edible Puffball= (_Lycoperdon Cyathiforme_).--Edible puffb.a.l.l.s grow in open pastures, and on lawns and gra.s.splots, often forming rings. They are spherical in form, generally from one and a half to two inches, occasionally six inches, in diameter, broad and somewhat flattened at the top, and tapering at the base, white or brown outside. They often present an irregularly checkered appearance, owing to the fact that the white interior shows between the dark raised parts. The interior is at first pure white and of solid consistency, but later becomes softer and yellowish, and then contains an amber-colored juice. After the puffball has matured, the contents change into a brown, dustlike ma.s.s, and the top falls off; and it is then inedible. All varieties of puffball with a pure white interior are harmless, if eaten before becoming crumbly and powdery. There is only one species thought to be poisonous, and that has a yellow-brown exterior, while the interior is purple-black, marbled with white.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 39.

THE EDIBLE PUFFBALL.

(_Lycoperdon Cyathiforme._)

Upper ill.u.s.tration shows entire plant; lower, a section.]

=POISONOUS MUSHROOMS FREQUENTLY MISTAKEN.=

_To escape eating poisonous mushrooms do not gather the b.u.t.tons, and be suspicious of those growing in woods and shady spots that show any bright hue, or have a scaly or dotted cap, or white gills.[9] By so doing the following species will be avoided._

=Fly Amanita= (_Amanita Muscaria_).--Infusions of this mushroom made by boiling in water are used to kill flies. This species grows in woods and shady places, by roadsides, and along the borders of fields, and is much commoner than the _campestris_ in some localities. It prefers a poor, gravelly soil, and is found in summer.

The stem is hollow and its gills are white. The cap is variously colored, white, orange, yellow, or even brilliant red, and dotted over with corklike particles or warty scales which are easily rubbed off.

There is a large, drooping collar about the upper part of the hollow, white stem, and the latter is scaly below with a bulbous enlargement at its base.

The young mushrooms, or b.u.t.tons, do not exhibit the dotted cap, and the bulbous scaly base may be left in the ground when the mushroom is picked. The _fly amanita_ is usually larger than the common mushroom.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 40.

A POISONOUS FUNGUS.

(_Amanita Muscaria._)

The Fly Agaric.]

=Death Cup or Deadly Agaric= (_Amanita Phalloides_).--This species is more fatal in its effects than the preceding. Its salient feature is a bulbous base surmounted and surrounded by a collar or cup out of which the stem grows. This is often buried beneath the ground, however, so that it may escape notice. The gills and stem are white like the preceding, but the cap is usually not dotted but glossy, white, greenish, or yellow. There is also a broad, noticeable ring about the stem, as in the _fly amanita_. This mushroom frequents moist, shady spots, also along the borders of fields. It occurs singly, and rarely in fields or pastures.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 41.

THE DEADLY AGARIC.

(_Amanita Phalloides._)

This variety is very poisonous.]

FOOTNOTES:

[9] The s.h.a.ggy mane has white gills, but its other features are characteristic.

Part III

THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS

BY

GEORGE M. PRICE