 Preface of Mushrooms and Toadstools, Third Edition. The proof of the fungus is in the eating. I have constantly eaten every species figured in the edible sheet, and many others that are not. Few, I imagine, will expect me to have eaten every species on the poisonous sheet, bearing as they do such adjective names as gloomy, fiery, satanical, inflaming, etc. However, years ago without a proper guide and with very little experience, I more than once became personally acquainted with the unpleasant qualities of one or two dangerous species, the particulars of which will be found in the proper place. If the following brief descriptions are used in connection with the two sheets of drawings, which I have copied from nature and transferred to the stones myself, or in reference to the large drawings in the Bethnal Green Museum, no one who is capable of distinguishing one thing from another need fear making a mistake. I shall be glad to give information regarding any species forwarded to me carriage-paid. W. G. Smith, Fifteen Mild May Grove, London North, End of Preface, Section 2 of Mushrooms and Toadstalls, Third Edition. This is a LibreVox recording. All LibreVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibreVox.org. Mushrooms and Toadstalls, Third Edition by Worthington George Smith. Introductory observations. O who can tell the hidden power of herbs and might of magic spell? Spencer. Perhaps no other country can vie with Great Britain in a vast number of edible species of fungi that may be gathered during all seasons of the year from one end of the land to the other. The pastures and woodlands literally team with them. They are, however, sad to say, little known, sadly neglected or looked upon with unmerited suspicion. The literature too of the subject is so small and a scientific part of the study, so extremely difficult to begin. The few persons dare venture to test the qualities of any fungus except the meadow mushroom and instances are common enough where even this species is rejected. It is apparent that no one can be a sure guide to others who is not himself a regular fungus eater and that no descriptions can be of value or drawings of use unless they are taken with the greatest care from the objects themselves. To the best of my ability I have attempted this and wish to persuade others to test the rare gastronomic qualities of the 29 species figured. The number here described and drawn is only a very small portion of the really valuable species. For I well know that as a beginner in the study I made all sorts of mistakes, but with one exception I sold and suffered much inconvenience and I even know instances where confessedly poisonous species have been eaten without ill effect. A little prudence too often neglected should be observed in the consumption of fungi. For instance only young, fresh and sound specimens should be gathered for the table. With stale, semi-puted and worm-eaten plants are chosen, they are likely to produce indigestion and inconvenience as meat in a similar condition. They should be eaten in moderation. As a surfeit, a sweet mushroom is as likely to disarrange one's digestive organs as a surfeit of pastry. If these precautions are attended to, when a moderate amount of bread, salt, pepper and common sense is used, no accident need occur. Let the specimens be cooked as soon as possible after gathering. Although the following statement may be difficult to understand, it is nevertheless a fact that many men do not know what a mushroom is at all but will eat anything. I will give an instance. A year or two ago, a man in the north of England cooked a large batch of what he called mushrooms for supper and succeeded in poisoning his wife and family to death, and himself nearly to death. Some of the things he cooked were sent to me for identification, and lo, he had gathered everything he could lay his hands upon, large and small, sweet and foul, of horse dung and rotten palings, and for whatever he could find, anything with a stalk and a top to it, out of the manner of an umbrella. When he had buried his family and recovered his own health, he carelessly walked into a well, and either killed or much damaged himself. I forget which. I mention this to show the sort of men they are who poison the cells of mushrooms. They would poison the cells of anything else if they had the opportunity. Would get onto a cartwheel or do any absurd thing. The twenty-nine species figured on the edible sheet are most of them abundant. And instantly recognisable when seen, and every one is a wholesome and delicious object of food, full of aroma and flavour. I invite my readers to partake of the bountiful feasts spread in our rich pastures, and shady woodlands all over the country, for all who care to partake. Mushrooms and toadstores. These two words embrace the whole of the knowledge possessed by the people at large, regarding the immense fungus tribe of this country. If we take the mushroom type of fungus as an example, we have some seven hundred species, all possessing a certain general similitude or form. This has caused many to look upon fungi in common, as equivocal productions, difficult or impossible to distinguish of permanent species. But when the study is once entered upon in earnest, the student will soon perceived that the species as a rule, and marked with great distinctness and permanency, rendering the recognition of most of them as certain, as in any species, a flowering plant. When the study of the whole of the British fungi is embraced, it is true there are many difficulties in the way. For we find some plants closely approaching the algae, and others the lichens. When it is only the larger fungi that it is proposed to discriminate, the task is much easier. The number being limited to about 1200 species. If the orders, agarenzi, and polypori, including more than 8 of the 1200 species, are taken as a rough type of the larger fungi, it will be seen that these plants consist principally of a stem and cap. Unlike the flowering plant, the mushroom has no root, but in place of it, the mycelium or spawn from which the fungus springs. Under the top are certain gills or plates, tubes, paws, or spines that bear the spores, or seeds. These spores are distinguished from true seeds by having no embryo, a spore consisting simply of a two-coated cell with no trace of an embryo. These spores are microscopic objects of various forms, sizes, and colors. The produce of one plant reaching it is said the enormous number of 10 millions when they fall upon the earth or any suitable matrix. They germinate and form the spawn which eventually produces an infant fungus, the exact counterpart of the original producer of the spores. We have, but one species popularly recognized as Escalant is the common meadow mushroom, Agricas campetestris, a very near alley of the meadow mushroom, and a most delicious species when fresh, this the so-called horse mushroom. Agricas arvencis is nearly always rejected by country thokes as dangerous. This large and wholesome species is the one commonly sold in covent garden market as the true mushroom, where fresh specimens can be procured as a welcome addition to the table. The fairy ring Champignon, certainly one of the most exquisitely delicious of all our fungi, is generally neglected or regarded with great suspicion. Under the name of Champillion, however, it is well known to the weavers and labouring men of the east of London, who may be seen gathering it in considerable numbers any autumn day amongst the short grass of Victoria Park. The fragrant and luscious Chanterelle, the rare Morrell, and the sweet and tender giant puff-borne are almost universally kicked aside or altogether neglected. Amongst the species supposed to be popular is Agricas prosontus, said to be sold in covent garden market. I have never seen it there or heard of its presence. In the west of England and some other places, I have heard these plants called blue-its, in reference to the blue colour round the upper part of the stem. It is a most substantial and delicious species and should be better known, but I imagine it is rather uncommon, as I have sold and gathered it, although till quite lately it grew near Highbury Burn. The St George's mushroom springing upon our lawns and pastures in spring, Agricas gammoscus is little known, and very sold and eaten. Closely allied to the A personatus, it is, if possible, more delicious and may be easily dried for winter use. The semi-popular scaly mushroom, Agricas proxarius, except for phongologists, is known to very few, but is eschulant properties of a very high order, and it has a merit of being common. It is said to be sometimes sold in covent garden market, but I have never seen it there, neither do I know anyone who has. With the truffle, the list must close as such phungi, as are now and then eaten on exceptional occasions, or may be imperfectly known to a few who have not studied the subject. This species appears in our market in limited quantities, there being very little demand for it. It realises from 2 shillings 6 pence to 5 shillings per pound. The statement that they fetch from 15 shillings 20 shillings per pound in the London markets is, I believe, incorrect. It must also be remembered that our English truffles do not belong to the same species as the delicious truffles sold in the French markets. There is no other way of distinguishing a poisonous from an edible fungus than by finding out its name. There is no magic way of saving the trouble of learning by the insertion of a silver spoon in a stew. If on tasting a fungus, it burns the tongue like the contact of scolding water, as several species do, probability is that it is not edible. But if on the contrary, a species excels at delicious and inviting fragrance resembling fruit, spice, or new flower, it is probably worth a trial, and even if not figured on the edible sheet, they be cautiously tried for the table if so desired. An important character to be observed in fungi is the presence of a vulva or matrix at the base of the stem, and in the annulus or ring round the stem towards the top. In the determination of species, a great deal depends too upon the colour of the spores or seeds. These are readily obtained by removing the stalk of the species to be examined, and placing the top gills lower most on a piece of glass. In a few hours the spores will be deposited in a thick dust, and will vary according to the species, from pure white to pink, yellow, red, brown, purple, or jet black. The gills often take their colours from the spores. It is a very great mistake to imagine that the sudden mushroom grows in a single night. The growth of mushrooms takes a considerable time, after many weeks. The young fungi exist just beneath or upon the surface of the earth, in a compressed and narrowed compass. It is during this period that all the cells are formed, and the mushroom itself fashioned. But being in a squeezed and concentrated form, it is commonly overlooked. On the advent of a wet or humid night, the cells forming the fungus are expanded and stretched out, and the mushroom is consequently first considerably above the surface of the pasture. But although it is much larger in size, it is no heavier, neither has the substance itself considerably increased. Mushrooms can be artificially propagated from the seeds or spores, but not generally during the first season of setting. I have frequently grown the fragile and deliocrescent species common on manure from the seeds. Even when the spawn is once formed, it is often many weeks before the little heads are developed into the true figure of the parents, even in the inky, fugitive and deliocrescent species. Corporanus atromartius can be readily grown from spores. If planted about rotten wood in the autumn, the fungi will appear in the late spring and give two crops a year till the soil is exhausted. I have exhibited a cultivated variety of this species at the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society. I have not thought it necessary to repeat long descriptions of how the various species may or may not be cooked. It has been done to a great extent before. It is apparent in the addition of good beef gravy, a few slices of fowl, rich field stuffing and various other savory condiments, is occasionally given extra zest to a dish of mushrooms. But boiled, stewed or pickled, most species are always good alike. Indeed, mushrooms in their whole composition resemble meat in so remarkable a manner. But any methods of cookery and thog for delicate preparations of meat apply with equal force to mushrooms. Mrs. Hussey and Mr. Cook each give a large number of recipes for pairing these vegetables with a table. And to any reader who may wish to go deeper into the culinary branch of fungology, I must refer them to these authors. I must confess that I consider no preparation of mushrooms can exceed their delicious, inviting and grateful flavour possessed by mushrooms when simply fried with butter, salt and pepper. The various species suitable for storing up for future use, such as the mole, champignon, etc. may be readily dried in a current of air in a sunny window, or in a cool oven, and then kept in tins or threaded on strings and kept in a very dry place. Occasionally, this process goes a step further, and the mushrooms of any species are dried to such an extent as to be readily pulverised. The dust is then known and sold as mushroom powder. Housewives will now and then pickle mushrooms by throwing them into scalding vinegar, allowing them to boil for 10 minutes or so, and then by adding cayenne, mace, nutmeg or spices adapt them to their various tastes. The liquor extracted from the various edible mushrooms, under the name of ketchup, is used in every kitchen, and the mode of preparation is probably known to all. It simply consists of placing the freshly gathered plants in earthen jars with layers of salt. After a few hours, the ketchup excludes in abundance from the fungi, and the process is ultimately completed, then mashing the remains of the mushrooms with the hands. It should then be strained and boiled with spice and pepper, or strained and bottled, and the corked and scaled bottles place for several hours in boiling water. The ketchup should then be kept in a cool and very dry place. Nearly every species figured on the edible sheet will produce ketchup of good quality, if treated with salt in an earthen jar. The champignons and horse mushroom may be specially referred to after using this condiment of an excellent quality. The juice excluded from the truffle in boiling is highly relished by many, as is the deep blood red juice that runs on the liver fungus when cut. This, when seasoned with salt and pepper and boiled, has a very delicious and stimulating flavour. Since these notes and the following descriptions have written, my friend Mr. F. C. Penrose, architect, has sent me a list of 28 species he has eaten, most of which are figured on the edible sheet. The other species mentioned by him and not figured on the sheet are referred to in the descriptions. The nomenclature of the species is the same with that given by the reverent M. J. Berkeley, his outlines of British fungalogy. The numbers inserted out of the scientific name refer to my large drawings in the food department of the Beffel Green Museum, where if the student so desires, he may see dissections of the species. End of Section 2. Section 3 of Mushrooms and Toads Tools, Third Edition. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Mushrooms and Toads Tools, Third Edition by Worthington George Smith. Red-Fleshed Mushrooms to Candle Cleveria. Edible Mushrooms, Red-Fleshed Mushrooms, Agericus Amanita Rubescens. This species is generally abundant in all woody places, making its first appearance in early summer and continuing till late in the autumn. It is known by its brown warty top, its white gills, and perfect ring encircling the bulbous stem. It frequently attains a large size, and its whole substance, when touched, bruised, or broken, becomes sienna red. This species is one of the most beautiful as well as valuable of all the British Agerics. If care be taken to select young and fresh specimens only, when prepared for the table, it will prove a very light and delicate addition to any meal. Mr. Berkeley does not subscribe to the excellence of this species, but as far as my own experience and that of many friends go, I well know it to be delicious and perfectly wholesome. Mr. Penrose writes me, old specimens are very indigestible. This, I imagine, contains the whole secret of its questionable name amongst some who have or have not tried it. Addible tube mushroom, boletus edulis. Frequently attaining enormous dimensions and first appearing during the summer or early autumn rains, this fungus is one of our commonest and most delicious species. Like the last, it grows in woods and forests, and may be at once known by the following characters. It is generally very stout with a smooth, umber, cushion-shaped top, tubes at first white and ultimately pale yellowish-green. Stem whitish-brown, marked with a minute white and very elegant reticulated network principally near the top of the ringless stem. When cut or broken, the fleshy body of the plant continues pure white. In this, as in every other species, sound young specimens should be selected, and it is perhaps as well to scrape away the tubes before preparation for the table. Whether boiled, stewed with salt, pepper and butter, fried or roasted with onions and butter, this species proves itself one of the most delicious and tender objects of food ever submitted to the operation of cooking. It is not the plant referred to by the ancient Roman satiric poets, but at Rome in the present day, this species, accompanied with peaches and agarica cesareas, is sold at every street corner, our common metal mushroom, though abundant enough there, being disregarded. Bees cabber, 615, is sometimes eaten. From personal experience, Mr. Penrose has, young specimens are good, old, very flat. B. Estivalis, 612, is of rare excellence. It appears in the early summer, sometimes in abundance at Highgate. Before I properly knew B. Edulis, I ate all sorts of bolletae in a steak for it, notably B. chrysanteran. Variable mushroom, Rustila heterophole. This is a very common species in woods, known by its sweet nutty taste. White, rigid, sometimes branched, gills. White flesh. White, solid, fleshy, ringless stem. And firm top, variable in color, which is at first convex, at last concave. The color of the thin, viscid skin covering the top of the fungus is commonly subdued green, but, as its name indicates, the color is variable. At one time it approaches greenish yellow or lilac, and at another gray or obscure purple. But it is so common and well marked that, with the assistance of the figure, there's no fear of mistaking it for anything else. There is a stouter, more rigid plant, with four gills and a bitter taste, R. furcata, that had better be avoided. A third green rustila, R. viracens, immediately known by its rigid substance, its top broken up into large, rough, emerald green patches, and with no viscid skin, is an excellent addition to the table. Rustila heterophole is certainly esteemed by many, and is certainly one of the sweetest and mildest species we have. It is excellent stewed in an oven, with salt, pepper, and butter, between two dishes. Candle cloveria, cloveria vermiculata. This species is frequently very common in pastures and meadows, on lawns and by roadsides, in the wet weather of Orton. It grows in bundles, is brittle, the clubs are pointed, and very white. If a few bundles be gathered, cleaned and stewed or broiled, they will form a novel and tasty adjunct to any dish, and when once tried, will be eagerly sought for in future. Collard cloverias had better remain where found growing, as their gastronomic qualities are doubtful. End of Section 3. Section 4 of Mushrooms and Toads told's third edition. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Mushrooms and Toads told's third edition by Worthington George Smith. Metal Mushroom to Yellgild Mushroom. Metal Mushroom, Agericus celliota campestris. A large volume might be written about this species, the only one popularly recognized in this country as edible. It is common in rich metals everywhere, perhaps all over the world, and varies in a remarkable manner, by imperceptible gradations approaching and blending with the horse mushroom. Its varieties are distinguished by five or six different names, but the characters run into each other so much and are frequently so slight and transient that they are often difficult to appreciate. One form is found growing in woods, A. Silvicula. I have often gathered it in the Highgate woods, but from its suspicious aspect would not advise its general use, though I have frequently eaten it with no ill effect. There's another most beautiful variety I have frequently gathered in the meadows on the south side of Lord Mansfield's woods at Hempstead, A. Pretensis, with a very hairy top, the hairs grouped in patches like ermine. When broken, the flesh changes to a pale but vivid rose color. If possible, this form exceeds an excellence in picancy of flavor the common form of our pastures. Several very distinct varieties are cultivated in beds and stoves, which occasionally appear in our markets, but none exceed our delicious indigenous meadow mushroom, as found in the autumn in rich pastures. Bonafide mushrooms are known by their beautiful pink gills, in which state they are best fit for use, ultimately becoming deep brown and not reaching the stem, which stem carries a well marked white woolly ring. By the very fleshy down covered top, the delicious and enticing fragrance and the firm white flesh sometimes inclined to pink when cut or broken. The plant is so well known and so highly esteemed in this country that it is hardly necessary to say a word in its favor or repeat methods of preparing it for the table. Butter, spice, parsley, sweet herbs, salt, pepper, and sometimes the squeeze of a lemon appear to be in the greatest request, but whether boiled, pickled, stewed, fried, or prepared in any other way, it is equally delicious in all. Its seldom appears in Covent Garden Market. The dealers there are content to find a sale at a high price for stale horse mushrooms. Much has been written at various times regarding the apocryphal inspector of the Roman markets, who consigns mushrooms to the Tiber, but the facts have been much exaggerated. Agaricus compastris is not generally appreciated in Italy, but seldom eaten and never appears in the markets, for the simple reason that there would be no sale for it. There is an edict in existence ordering certain fungi to be thrown into the Tiber, but it is now, and has long been, altogether a feat, and whilst there is an abundance of acesaries by some said to be the most delicious of all fungi for the markets of Italy, it is not to be expected that the consumption of this latter plant will be given up for another and less known species. It is probable that agarica acesaries may one day be found in the southern parts of this country. If so, it will be known by its smooth, workless crimson top, its yellow gills, and stout white stem springing from a large wrapper at the base. The ketchup made from the meadow mushroom is, not without reason, looked upon as the best, although it may be obtained from many other species. I have seen persons gathering fungi for ketchup to be sold in the markets, putting almost anything into their baskets so long as the species appeared likely to yield a black juice. I have known cows to be very fond of mushrooms, and a friend of mine in the country, who has more than once seen his cows in the morning go from mushroom to mushroom to all are consumed, goes regularly over his pastures every morning in the autumn before the cattle are turned in to secure the first gathering of the funga crop. Sheep, squirrels, birds, and many other animals commonly eat raw mushrooms in other fungi. Yellow Gilled Mushroom, Rossella elutaceae This is one of the principal ornaments of our woods in summer and autumn, and is readily recognized by its thick gills, which are of a subdued but decided buff yellow color and then somewhat viscid red or pale crimson top. The stem is stout, white or rose color, ringless and solid. The whole plant fleshy and frequently very large. The gills immediately distinguish it from the emetic mushroom, as in the latter they are pure white and always remain so. There are two other great differences between the two species noted in the description of the emetic mushroom. The taste of Rossella elutaceae is particularly agreeable and mild, and, when well prepared for the table, few species prove more satisfactory to the consumer. Dr. Badham, by an error, takes some exception to it. End of Section 4 Section 5 of Mushrooms and Toadstools 3rd Edition This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Chloe Mayer Mushrooms and Toadstools 3rd Edition By Worthington George Smith Furrowed Cleveria to Horse Mushroom Furrowed Cleveria Cleveria regosa This species, common in woody places, is usually pure white, pale gray, or shaded with cream color. The clubs are irregular, somewhat wrinkled, and tough. Treated in the same way as C. vermiculata, it will prove equally acceptable, agreeable, and novel. All the white-spread species are believed to be eschewant. I have not tried C. corollodes, an allied species, which is greatly branched, but it is esteemed as an eschewant. Chanterelle Cantorellus cabaris The chanterelle cannot be called very common, but it is abundant in many districts. It's solid ringless stem, fleshy body, thick swollen veins in the place of gills, and brilliant yellow color at once served to distinguish it from every other species. It's smell, says Berkeley, is like that of ripe apricots, sometimes as I have frequently seen in the upping forest and elsewhere. Immense numbers grow together. At other times, there are very few. Chanterelles often cover a hedge bank where there are trees close by, and wherever they do appear, they must enlist the admiration of the passerby, for they look as if made of solid gold. When cooked, this species has a rich mushroom-like flavor, peculiarly its own, and may be prepared for the table in various ways, according to the fancy of the consumer. But being big and solid should be cut up and, if stewed, allowed to simmer gently and be served with pepper, salt, and butter. There is a curious, thin, pale, slender variety found growing in pastures about old stumps which I have never eaten, and from its curious aspect, habitat, and comparative rarity, I think it hardly worth the experiment, but it may be eschewant. There is a very pale, almost white variety of the chanterelle, and one quite without the apricot odor. Horse mushroom, agaricus, siloda, arvenus. This species, the exquisitus of Dr. Badam, is very nearly allied to the meadow mushroom, and frequently grows with it, but it is coarser and has not the same delicious flavor. It is usually much larger, often attaining enormous dimensions, and it turns a brownish-yellow as soon as broken or bruised. The top, in good specimens, is smooth and snowy white. The gills are not the pure pink of the meadow mushroom, but dirty brownish-white, ultimately becoming brown-black. It has a big, ragged, flakose ring, and its pithy stem is inclined to be hollow. It is the species exposed for sale in the Covent Garden Market. Indeed, after knowing the market for many years, I have rarely seen any other species there, when the true mushroom, however, is there, and is frequently mingled with horse mushrooms, which seems to show that the dealers do not know one from the other. In the wet days of autumn, children, elders, and beggars go for a few miles from town into the meadows to gather whatever they can find in the mushroom line. They then bring the dirty stock to the market, where it is sold to fashionable purchasers, stale, vapid, and with no taste but a bad one. When young and fresh, the horse mushroom is a most desirable addition to the bill of fare. It yields an abundant gravy, and the flesh is firm and delicious. It is a valuable plant when freshly gathered. But when stale, it becomes tough and leathery, and without aroma or juice. There is a curious, large, brown, hairy variety of rather uncommon occurrence, similar to the hairy variety of the meadow mushroom, the avelaticus of Dr. Badham, given an error by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley as a variety of the meadow mushroom and sense corrected by him. It is a splendid plant, but I think very rare. I have only seen it once. There is also another large, sienna-red, rank-looking variety. I have often gathered in certain situations under trees, and that few would be tempted to eat. It is probably a luxuriant, overgrown, disagreeable thing that would give one a stomach ache, and in place of a better species is not worth experimenting upon. Many country folks readily distinguish the meadow from the horse mushroom and have a great antipathy to the latter, although they are always willing to put it in a jar as one of the ingredients of ketchup. Opinions appear to differ greatly regarding the excellence of the species. Mr. Penrose writes, I think young and especially buttoned specimens of this very indigestible until they are well opened out, they are unfit for use. Such, however, I must say is not my experience of the buttoned specimens. There is a strong odor attached to this fungus and its spawn, the ground just below the surface being frequently white with the latter. If horse dung be kicked aside and a rich pasture frequent by gramivorous animals, the earth will frequently present a snowy whiteness from the spawn of the species, from which the young individuals may be seen springing up. This specimen, figured, is not fully expanded, but it is represented in the condition best for the table. I once saw a sheep eat a large specimen with great apparent gusto, although the fungus was full of maggots. End of Section 5, Recording by Chloe Mayer. Section 6 of Toadstools and Mushrooms, Third Edition This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Katherine Emerson. Toadstools and Mushrooms, Third Edition by Worthington George Smith. Furcone Mushroom to Mained Mushroom. Furcone Mushroom, Agaricus Aminida Strabiliformis. If color is left out of the question, no finer species of agaric than this one grows in the country. It attains a very large size in well-grown specimens, but is rare. I have but once found it, and then it was sprinkled pretty plentifully along the borders of a fur plantation in Hampshire, not far from Winchester. The solid, compact flesh, fine ring, bulbous stem, and patched top well mark this species. The persistent patches on the top are not very unlike the scales of a furcone, hence its specific name. The gills do not reach the stem. Its undisputed, esculent qualities are of a high order, and it is to be regretted that its comparative rarity must prevent it being so well known and appreciated as its merits deserve. The specimen figured is not fully expanded, at which time most fungi are fuller of flavor. A very common species of aminida, Avaginatus, said to be esculent and eaten by Mr. Penrose, I have not tried. Orange Milk Mushroom. Lactarius Deliciosis. There are but few species of the Lactarius, or milk-bearing group, that can be recommended for culinary purposes. This species, however, and Figure 26, Paramilk Mushroom, are exceptions, and there can be no fear of mistaking the Orange Milk Mushroom for any other species. It is at once known by the orange colored milk which it exudes on being bruised, cut, or broken. This milk soon becoming dull green. The plant is solid, almost corky, and the richly colored top is commonly, but not always, marked with deeper colored zones, as in the figure. It always grows in fur plantations, and I found it on the Kentish Town side of London, almost before the smoke of the city is left behind. It is somewhat local, although at times it grows in large numbers, but always amongst furs. Like several other excellent species, the taste is at times rather sharp when raw. When cooked, with taste and care, it's one of the greatest delicacies of the vegetable kingdom, its flesh being more crisp and solid than many species. One or two milk mushrooms, which had better be avoided, bear brimstone colored milk, or milk which changes to a brimstone or burnt sienna color. They're figured on the poisonous sheet, but Lactarius Deliciosis can never be mistaken for any other plant if the deep orange or red, and ultimately green milk, is observed. Figures 20, yellow milk mushroom, and 28, pungent milk mushroom, are not peculiar to fur woods. Purple cobweb mushroom. Cortinarius, ineloma, violaceous. This is one of the best marked of all edible fungi, and at the same time, one of the very best for esculine purposes. It cannot be called common, although I've often found it close to London. It appears to principally grow in open places and woods. When young, it looks like a bright purple silk ball in the grass, and when gathered, the bulbous stem is almost as large as the top itself. There's always a cottony web, like cobweb, which represents the ring, stretching from the edge of the pilius to the stem. And this web soon takes its color from the red spores, which are plentifully produced, coloring the gills and part of the stalk a red color, very similar in tint to the rust of iron. When cut, the flesh is of a subdued lilac tint and firm. Broiled with a stake, this is a most exquisitely rich luxury, much resembling the meadow mushroom in flavor, but altogether firmer and more meaty and substantial. I'm always glad to find this species, and it's next to impossible to mistake it for any other. Mained Mushroom Copernous Comodus This fungus should be gathered for the table when the gills or white are just changing to pink, and before they are black, in which lighter stay, as the plant is ultimately deliqecent, it is unfit for food. If I had my choice, I think there's no species I should prefer before this one. It is singularly rich, tender, and delicious. Those found growing amongst short grass, on lawns, or by roadsides are best. There's one form of it which grows in dirty, sticky places, in brick fields, dust yards, etc., that I should not like to recommend. When gathered in a rich pasture, it's of a snowy whiteness, the top being somewhat fleshy, cylindrical, and broken up into white, clothy patches. There is a white, powdery, fragile ring around the hollow stem, which is soon broken, and falls away. Copernous Comodus, the agaric of civilization, is common in all the London parks in October. A closely allied species, found at the base of old stumps and palings, and on the ground, see Atramentarius, is sometimes eaten. I have not tried it, but Mr. Penrose and several friends have a word to say in its favor. End of Section 6. Section 7 of Mushrooms and Toadstools Third Edition. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Carla Marvin. Mushrooms and Toadstools Third Edition. By Worthington George Smith. Scaly Mushroom to Curled Helvella. Scaly Mushroom. Agaricus libiota proseris. Agaricus proseris everywhere enjoys a good reputation, and as it is far from uncommon, the lovers of fungi can generally make sure of this species for a treat. When, or at what time it was ever sold at Covent Garden Market, I do not know. For although more than one book says it is there displayed for sale, I never saw or could hear of it. It grows in pastures, and is known by its long, bulbous spotted stem, by the ring that will slip up and down, by the very scaly top, and the gills far removed from the insertion of the stalk. When the stem is removed, a large hollow socket remains, just the place to insert a large piece of butter in the broiling process. When, with pepper and salt, it forms a dish that if once tried must please the most fastidious. I think the plants gathered in the pastures are best. I have sometimes found most enormous specimens growing in fur plantations, but I do not think them equal for the table to the plants which abound in rich meadows. The flesh is a little inclined to change color, and there is an allied species, a racodes, much more robust, but often smaller, that changes color to a deep yellowish brown when broken, and has a smooth stem that cannot be so highly recommended, if it even be wholesome. I have generally found it growing on dark and shady hedge banks, and know several persons who have eaten it and speak well of it. Plum Mushroom, Agaricus Clotopolis Prunulus The pure pink gills running considerably down the ringless stem, and the fresh and fragrant smell of meal at once distinguish this species from all others. It grows in and near woods in the autumn, evidently giving a preference to the open places and borders. The solid stem and the very fleshy top are white, or some shade of very pale gray. Dr. Badham and some other authors refer to our plant under the name of A. Orcellus, and some botanists consider the true Orcellus and the true Prunulus distinct but closely allied species. There is also a vexatious confusion between this species and St. George's Mushroom, A. Gambosus. This latter is a spring plant, and is frequently and erroneously called A. Prunulus. They have no characters in common, and in fact, more distinct Agarics do not exist. Returning to the true Plum Mushroom, I have only to say that, however prepared, it is most excellent. The flesh is firm and juicy and full of flavor, and whether broiled, stewed, or however prepared, it is a most delicious morsel. I have never seen it in very large quantities. It is scattered over the woods north of London, but not in profusion. Curled Helvella. Helvella crispa, 1673. This singular-looking plant is nearly allied to the true Morrel, and closely resembles it in flavor. It is hardly possible to mistake it for any other species, unless it be the next, which has a black top and is rarer, H. Lacanosa, 1674, and also Esculet. H. crispa generally grows on shady banks or on the edges of pastures and lawns, and amongst dead leaves under the shade of trees. I have only seen it once near London, and that was in the neighborhood of Cain Wood, Hampstead. Sometimes, however, I have found it in immense quantities, numbering hundreds of specimens on rich sloping banks. The stem is full of wrinkles and holes, and the top lobed and deflects in a very singular and irregular manner. If stewed slowly and with care, this species will prove very pleasant eating, and will exude a delicious gravy. The flesh is firm and crisp, and greatly resembles the Morrel. It may be easily dried for future use in a current of air or in a dry place. In this state, specimens are at times kept threaded on strings, ready to impart their truly delicious flavor to stews and gravies. I once saw a batch of specimens, which had suddenly sprung up close to some ants' nests, and thousands of the ants were swarming over and examining the fungi, and running in and out of the holes in the stems in the most amusing manner. In Dove, Section 7, Recording by Carla Marvin Section 8 of Mushrooms and Toast Toes, Third Edition This is a LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by this name, Mushrooms and Toast Toes, Third Edition, by Werthington George Smith Oyster Mushroom to St. George's Mushroom Oyster Mushroom, a Garcheus Plutoris Ostriata. I have always found this far from uncommon species growing on old-herm trunks, although it is not at all particular as to its habitat, often appearing on labyrinthum, apple, ash and sea. It usually grows in large masses, one plant above another, forming a very handsome object on old tree stems. The gills and spores are white. The former running down the stem and the top dingy, sometimes nearly white, are others full brown. An allied species, Garcheus eusmos, with pale lilac spores and a scent like that of tarragon, Artemisia draconculis, is not escalant, and is set to grow in the spring. I commonly find the former growing in spring, although it is said usually to grow late in autumn or winter. Perhaps a taste for the species has to be acquired, but though it is without doubt edible, I have never thought well of it. The flesh possesses a certain amount of firmness and produces an abundant and savoury juice, but I am inclined to place it as a species of least value for culinary purposes. It has, however, been highly recommended by some, and a dish of this species stewed before a very hot fire has proved as enjoyable and nourishing as half a pound of fresh meat. Tastes are allowed to differ, and perhaps the opinion of some of my readers may differ from mine if they try this species, which, from its peculiar appearance, there is little chance of mistaking it for any other. Lilac stemmed mushrooms, a garcheus tricholoma personateus. Although this plant at times appears in pastures near London, it is not very common. It is very nearly allied to and extremely, like the next species, St. George's mushroom, from which it is principally distinguished by its growing in autumn, and having a lilac band around the upper part of the stem. This lilac stain, however, is not invariably present, and a species that is altogether stemmed in top to lilac, or full violet, should be avoided, a garcheus nudus. The purple cobra mushroom is easily distinguished by its rust of iron gills. In a garcheus personateus they are white, sometimes dirty white. The solid ringlet stem is rather rough, and the top is smooth and exceedingly firm and fleshy. The plant grows late in autumn on downs and in rich short pastures. Opinion is very little regarding the value of the species for gastronomic purposes, but I think if young plants are gathered in dry weather and carefully brawled astute, few fungi will prove more truly delicious. From my own experience, I have the highest opinion of it, but the plant readily absorbs moisture, and during wet weather is heavy and of little work. As these pages are passing through the press, my friend Mr Thomas Moore of the Botanic Garden Chelsea informs me that this autumn, 1874, he saw large quantities of a garcheus personateus exposed for sale in the markets of Nottingham, under the name of Blue Bottom. The vendor is stating the fungus to be as good as mushrooms. St. George's Mushroom, a garcheus tricholoma gambosal. The St. George's Mushroom is fit for any saint in the calendar. It comes up in the spring, near St. George's Day when few other species are to be found. It is in every part almost white, or with slight inclination to ochre, but sometimes the colour is a little bit fuller. The stem and top are singularly firm, fleshy and solid, and the latter in hot weather is inclined to split. It grows in rings, on rich lawns and pastures, and has a strong, fragrant, enticing odour. It is a little like a garcheus crustilliformis, which however differs in various ways, principally in discharging brown spores instead of white, as in a garcheus gambosus. The poisonous plant has an odour like the flowers of laurel and grows in the woods in autumn. Few species are more substantial and delightful for the table. I, with many others, look upon it with unusual favour, as one of the rarest delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. Like the last, it is absorbent of water, and should be gathered in dry weather. I think it is local and certainly uncommon near London. It is sometimes erroneously referred to under the name of a garcheus pernulis. End of Section 8. Recording by The Sneem. Section 9 of Mushrooms and Toads Tools 3rd Edition. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Mushrooms and Toads Tools 3rd Edition by Worthington George Smith. Addible Morel to Clouded Mushroom. Addible Morel, Morchella Esculenta. I know a wood in Bedfordshire called Morel Wood, where, in the spring, this rare and delicious fungus abounds. It is generally far from common, and occurs perhaps in greater abundance in the south of England. It appears, however, to be pretty well known and in general request amongst housewives, north and south, for the truly exquisite flavour it imparts to gravies and made dishes. And being readily dried, it can be kept for immediate use at any season of the year. The figure shows exactly what the Morel is like. The honeycombed pitted top is hollow, and the almost smooth stem partly so. It yields a delicious ketchup, and the hollow top, well stuffed with minced veal and dressed between slices of bacon, is a dish of rare and exquisite flavour. This notice of the Morel would not be complete without reference to the giant Morel, Morchella Crassipes, found a few years ago in this country for the first time by my friend Ms. Lotte of Barton Hall, South Devon. This species, which attains enormous dimensions, is not quite so crisp or rapidly dried as the last, but, as an object of food, is fully as exquisite for flavouring sauces and other purposes. Liver fungus, fistulina repatica. This singular fungus is not always common. It generally grows on the trunks of old oaks. I have seen it in immense quantities on the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest, whilst, at times, oak districts appear to be singularly free from its presence. It externally resembles a very large tong, or a huge piece of liver lolling out from the tree, and when incised, a red juice splentifully exudes. It is truly a vegetable beef steak, for the taste resembles meat in a remarkable manner. A good way of preparing it is to cut it up in thin slices and broil it with a steak and dress with butter, salt and pepper. There is a slight but very perceptible acid flavour with it, which gives considerable zest and picancy to a dish of the vegetable beef steak, as it is called rendering it a treat for an epicure. It rarely grows on any tree but the oak, but I have seen it on the ash, beach and other trees. Spine-bearing mushroom, hiddenum repandom. There is little fear of mistaking this for any other species, as the all-shaped spines on the under surface are a characteristic feature of the small genus hiddenum. All the species of any size enjoy a good character, hiddenum repandom being the only common plant of the genus. It is sometimes most abundant in the few woody places remaining at the north of London, and may often be found on shady roadsides in the humid weather of autumn. Its taste is slightly pungent when uncooked, but after being submitted to the culinary processes of the kitchen, it affords a charming addition to the table. Its flesh is very firm and delicious, yet being somewhat dry, the addition of some sauce or gravy lends an additional relish to the stew. The colour of the fungus is exactly like that of a cracknell. The smooth top is frequently irregular and the pure solid stem often out of the centre. The top sometimes partakes of a warmer, almost sienna colouring. This is white mushroom, hygrophorus virginius. This species, exquisite in form and flavour, is one of the prettiest ornaments of our lawns, downs and short pastures at the fall of the year. In these situations, it may be found in every part of the kingdom. It is essentially waxy and feels and looks precisely as if made of the purest virgin wax. The stem is firm, stuffed and attenuated, and the gills, singularly distant from each other, run far down the stem. It changes colour a little when getting old, at which time it is unfit for culinary purposes. A batch of fresh specimens, broiled or stewed with taste and care, will prove agreeable, succulent and flavours eating, and may sometimes be obtained when other species are not to be had. Several allied species enjoy the reputation of being asculent. Notably, hygrophorus protensis and hygrophorus nivius, and my friend, Mr. F. C. Penrose, has eaten and speaks favourably of hygrophorus psitakinas, a highly ornamental yellow species with a green stem, sometimes common enough in rich pastures, and generally sad to be very suspicious. Clouded mushroom, agaricus clitochibae nebularis, common in certain places but rare near London. This species appears late in the autumn, and generally grows on dead leaves in moist places, principally on the borders of woods. The top is lead colour or grey, at first clouded grey, hence its name. The stem is stout, elastic and striate, with the white gills running considerably down the ringless stem, in the manner shown in the drawing. The gastronomic excellences of the species are well known. When gathered, it has a wholesome and powerful odour, and when cooked, the firm and fragrant flesh has a particularly agreeable and palatable taste. End of section 9. Section 10 of Mushrooms and Toadstools. Third edition. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Phil Shampf. Mushrooms and Toadstools. Third edition by Worthington George Smith. Giant Puffball to Truffle Giant Puffball. Like O'Pairdon Gigantium. This species of puffball is not always a giant, and may frequently be found no larger than an apple. It is somewhat local, and I think only attains gigantic proportions in certain situations. I have, for instance, seen specimens growing in rich pastures and knotting them, sure, so much larger than the specimen figured that the latter would appear a perfect dwarf beside them. It may be found in some of the meadows near Highgate and Hampstead, quite as big as our figure. But indeed, there is little fear of a mistake if attention is paid to the smooth skin, like white kid leather. Young specimens must be chosen for cooking, such as our firm and snow white, inside and out. For when the fungus is getting ripe and yellowish and dusty inside, or when it is saturated with rain and the interior is a massive yellow decomposition, of course it must be rejected. It is known by its large size, its pure white color, and its smooth skin. To cook this species satisfactorily and well, cut the specimen up into slices of half an inch in thickness, remove the skin or bark, dip the slices in yolk of egg, and fry in fresh butter. It will then eat with a delicate and delicious flavor, or serve with jam or jelly. It is an excellent substitute for pastry. Pear milk mushroom. Lactarius volemum. This species is recognized by its very rich coloration. Firm flesh, mild taste, white milk, changing to a dull, dark umber color when the plant is bruised or broken, white gills becoming warm yellow buff, and the full sienna top. The stem is solid, and the plant grows in woods. The taste of this plant when fried has aptly been compared to lamb's kidney, and resembles in flavor the only other edible lactarius, these L. deliciosis. It is a rare species in this country. White firwood mushroom. Agaricus clitoseidae d'albatus. This pretty little fungus commonly grows in and about the neighborhood of fir plantations, but will occasionally come up elsewhere. Its top is white, smooth, and exceedingly like ivory. It is shining, waved, fleshy, and inclined to be irregular. The gills are thin, white, and run down the stem. When clean, young, and fresh specimens are broiled with butter, it is a delicacy of the very highest degree. At once tender, juicy, and delightful. Its charming flavor is exceeded by very few other fungi. Several allied species are very good, notably agaricus odoras, which exhales a most delicious odor of mellilot. I used to eat all sorts of things for this species before I properly knew it, and never felt the worst for the mistakes I made. It would be useless to enumerate them all here, without figures and descriptions, but one was the common agaricus subpolverulantus. Ferry Ring Campagnon, Marasmias Oriates If possible, this species is better than the last, and no recommendation can be too strong for it. The exquisitely rich and delicious flavor of this plant, when broiled with butter, must be tasted to be understood. It is firmer than the meadow mushroom, and whilst having its peculiar aroma, it possesses it in a concentrated form. Even Mr. Berkeley, who would be the last man in the world to subscribe to a doubtful species, says it is the very best of all our fungi. It may be pickled, used for ketchup, or dried for future use. Marasmias Oriates grows in rings in short pastures, on downs, and by roadsides everywhere, but never in woods. It is somewhat tough, the solid stem particularly so, the gills white apart and cream colored. This species has no downy hairs at the base of the stem. Certain other species of Marasmias, frequently found growing on dead leaves in woods, and possessing this hairy down, are to be avoided. There is a poisonous plant sometimes found in similar situations, and often with the Ferry Ring Campagnon, M. Jurens, Poisonous Sheet. I once tested its qualities, by accident. Truffle, Tuber Estebum. The truffle is a subterranean fungus, invariably found under trees, often just appearing above the surface of the ground, and occasionally exposed for sale in our markets, where it will realize at times as much as five shillings per pound. The truffle is esteemed by many as the most delicious object of food in the whole of vegetable kingdom, and by others it is looked upon with a version or posited disgust. The odour is very powerful, and is relished by some individuals, and very much disliked by others. It is looked upon as a great delicacy boiled, or simply roasted in hot ashes. Besides the truffle sold in Covent Garden Market, there are many other species found in this country of various forms and qualities. T. Estebum varies much in size, is irregular in shape, black, rough, and warted. I must confess that at first I regard the truffle with loathing, but now I have learned to greatly esteem it. It makes a capital ingredient for gravies, stuffings, and meat pies. It is frequently referred to under the name of T. Sebarium. End of Section 10 Bundled Stump Mushroom Agaricus hypheloma versicularis This species occurs everywhere at the bases of old stumps, always in groups. The stem is hollow, and the gills are greenish and sub-deliquescent. There is a heavy odour attached to it, and the taste is bitter and repulsive. Red juice mushroom. Hygrophorous conicus. This truly handsome fungus is common in pastures and roadsides. It turns purple-black when bruised, broken, or old, and it has a strong and very forbidding odour. It is of a succulent substance, and is not unfrequently a brilliant yellow or deep orange in place of crimson or scarlet. Trelist Clathrus Clathrus cancelatus I am indebted to the late Mrs. Gulson of Eastcliff, near Tainmouth, Devon, for the original plant from which this figure was taken. It is of extreme beauty and rarity, seldom occurring in this country, but common enough in the south of Europe. The feta exhaled from this species is highly disagreeable, and can be compared with nothing but itself. It is so horribly repulsive and loathsome, as to make a mere examination of the plant a matter of the greatest difficulty. In the young state the odour is less strong, or altogether absent. Fetted Leather Fungus Thilephora palmata This soft fungus bears a distant resemblance to some species of cloveria. It is uncommon, grows upon the ground, and possesses a very disagreeable odour. Olive Gild Mushroom Agaricus Hypheloma Sublateritius This plant is allied to figure one, and, like it, grows upon old stumps in woods, and has, too, a disagreeable smell. Estringent Mushroom Penis Stypticus It is very common on old dead trees and stumps in woods, and had better be avoided. Matrix Bearing Mushroom Agaricus Amonita Phaloides Common everywhere in woods this handsome agaric is known to be highly dangerous. It is allied to figure eight, as will be seen by glancing at the figures. All parts are nearly white, excepting the top, which generally takes some pale shade of subdued yellow or green. Poisonous Spring Mushroom Agaricus Amonita Vernus Belonging to a very suspicious group, this agaric is supposed to be very poisonous. It grows in woods in the spring, and is white in all its parts. It is rare, but I have found it close to London. Magpie Mushroom Caprina Spicaceous This, too, is equally rare, though in some places, as in the Herefordshire woods, it is by no means infrequent. It is a very handsome, but suspicious-looking plant, with the top broken up into large patches of black and white. It grows on roadsides, and has a disagreeable odour. Gloomy Tube Mushroom Beletus Luridus This is one of the handsomest ornaments of our woods and woody places. The prevailing tint is umber, relieved on the undersurface by bright red, sometimes approaching crimson, or even vermilion. When broken or bruised, it rapidly changes colour to blue. It is very common in all places where there are trees, and often comes up early in the year. It is probably more or less poisonous, though I have known it to be eaten, without fatal effects. Mr. Penrose once found a specimen as large as a milking stool, exactly three feet in circumference. Griping Milk Mushroom Lactarius Torminosus This dangerous fungus is at once known by the hairy margin of the top, which is rolled inwards. The milk that exudes when the plant is broken is acrid and biting, and does not change colour, as does figure eleven, edible sheet, and figures twenty and twenty-eight, poisonous sheet. Though said to be common, I think it is somewhat rare. It now and then occurs in solitary specimens in the woods and open places near London. Ruddy Milk Mushroom Lactarius Rufus This is one of the most deadly of all British fungi, and generally grows in fir woods. The white milk is singularly acrid and corrosive, which is perhaps its best distinguishing mark. It bears some resemblance to figure twenty-six, edible sheet, but the milk of the L. volemum is mild and changes colour to dark brown when exposed to the action of the air, while in L. rufus it remains white, and the milk is highly pungent. Fly Mushroom Agaricus Amonita Muscarius Few fungi can exceed this well-known species in beauty. It is somewhat local and loves birch woods, where it sometimes makes the very ground almost scarlet with its profuse growth. Sometimes the top is deep yellow or orange, but it is usually brilliant scarlet. If the top skin is stripped off, the flesh just beneath is seen to be bright yellow, and the rest of the flesh white. It is allied to figure one edible sheet, but the flesh of the latter is not yellow under the skin, and A. rubescens turns reddish in every part as soon as bruised or broken. End of Section 11. Section 12 of Mushrooms and Toadstools, Third Edition This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Peter Yersley. Mushrooms and Toadstools, Third Edition by Worthington George Smith. Poisonous Forest Mushroom to Yellow Milk Mushroom. Poisonous Forest Mushroom. Agaricus Entiloma. Sinuatus. Without doubt this is a very poisonous plant, for I once cooked a very small piece of a specimen for luncheon, and was very nearly poisoned to death thereby. I did not eat a twentieth part of the specimen gathered. I am sure not so much as a quarter of an ounce, and the taste was by no means disagreeable, but mark the result. It must be borne in mind, too, that though I felt so dangerously ill, I never till the last moment suspected the fungus. Such a confirmed toadstool eater was I, that I laid my symptoms to anything but the true cause. About a quarter of an hour after luncheon I left home, and was immediately overtaken by a strange, nervous, gloomy, low-spirited feeling, quite new to me. Soon a severe headache added its charms to my feelings, and then swimming of the brain commenced with violent pains in the stomach. I had now great difficulty to keep upon my legs at all. My senses all appeared leaving me, and every object appeared to be moving with death-like stillness, from side to side, up and down, or round and round. More dead than alive I soon returned home, and was horrified to find two others whom I had invited to partake of my repoust in exactly the same condition as myself. At this moment, and not before, I thought of a garricus sinuetis. These two others had suffered precisely as I had done, and we all three were apparently dying fast. They, however, were attacked by violent vomiting, which I imagine helped to hasten their recovery. For after a few days of sickness and nausea, with medical assistance, they got well. But it was not so with me, for, although I had at first the inclination, I had not the strength left to vomit. During the latter part of the first day, I was, however, so continually and fearfully purged, and suffered so much from headache and swimming of the brain that I really thought every moment would be my last. I was very ill for the next four or five days. Suffered from loathing and lassitude, fell into deep sleep, long and troubled, at times found all my joints quite stiff, at others found everything swimming before me, and it was not till a fortnight had elapsed that every bodily derangement had left me. Figure 14 is a portrait of the Plartin question, taken before the culinary operations were commenced. No one, after seeing this picture, can fail to recognise the thing itself, if found. It is large, has dull flesh-coloured gills. The top is a little downy. It smells like meal, and grows in woods. It can always be found sparingly, in autumn, in the woods north of London. Fiery Milk Mushroom Lactarius Pipparatus I imagine there are very few species in this country more dangerous than this one. So essentially and powerfully acrid is the milk, that if it be allowed to trickle over tender hands, it will sting like the contact of nettles, and if a drop is placed on the lips or tongue, the sensation is like the scalding of boiling water or the burning of a red hot iron. It is common in all woods. It is particularly firm and solid, but rather brittle. In colour it is sometimes as white as snow, and others it inclines a little to cream. The milk is white and unchangeable, and usually abundant. Fetted Mushroom Russula Fetens Less rigid than other Russuli, brittle and sticky in all its parts, always slug-eaten and possessed of a wet, insufferable odour that can be likened to nothing in nature. This species cannot in reason be anything but deleterious and pernicious to human life. Slugs certainly highly relish it, for although it is one of our communist species, yet it is invariably much eaten by slugs. Frequently the gills are covered with these creatures, or are even completely eaten away. Blood-stained Mushroom Russula Sanguinia This acrid species of Russula, sometimes found in woods, is by no means uncommon. Its well-marked blood-red top and firm substance at once distinguish it from other species. The gills are white and run a little down the stem. Livid Milk Mushroom Lactarius Pyrogalus The highly acrid white milk abundantly exuded from this plant. Its depressed and zoned top, its peculiar livid colouration and yellowish gills, distinguish it from the other milk mushrooms. It grows in woods and meadows. False Chanterelle, Canthorellus or Antiochus, is known by its smaller size. Its gills being far thinner and more crowded than in the true Chanterelle. The stem frequently deep umber at the base, and the gills or veins darker than the top. It is a species to be rejected for culinary purposes. Yellow Milk Mushroom Lactarius Pyrogalus This is a beautiful plant with an odour that is far from disagreeable. It is sometimes without the zones on the top which are shown in our figure, but it is immediately known by the change of colour which takes place in the milk on breaking the fungus. This is at first pure white, but in less than a minute the milk turns to a brilliant yellow. It is not uncommon and may generally be found at Hampstead in the woods, and it is supposed to be poisonous. End of Section 12 Section 13 of Mushrooms and Toadstools Third Edition This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Peter Yersley. Mushrooms and Toadstools Third Edition by Worthington George Smith Imitic Mushroom to Fetid Woodwich Imitic Mushroom Rusula Imitica This is a magnificent but certainly rare species, but it has a very bad name and is supposed to possess highly dangerous qualities. The skin is scarlet and may be readily peeled off, and then the pink flesh is displayed beneath, which is its great characteristic. The gills are pure white and do not reach the stem. The top is highly polished, and varies from scarlet and crimson to a faint rose colour, and may now and then be found shaded with purple. It attains a large size and loves damp places in woods and the neighbourhood of trees. Slimy Dung Mushroom Agaricus Saliota Semi-globetis This extremely common little sticky agaric grows in pastures on dung everywhere. The stem is covered with a glutinous thick slime. It is regarded as poisonous. Sulfury Mushroom Agaricus Tricholoma Sulfurius In woody places at the south of London, this very disagreeable but handsome species now and then puts in an appearance. It has a particularly nasty penetrating smell, which has been compared with gas tar. The stem is firm, as is the whole plant, and sulphur coloured. It is probably a very dangerous species, but I have seldom met with it. Incrusted Mushroom Agaricus Hebelonia Crustyliniformis Growing in woods, this deleterious species is extremely common and without doubt very dangerous. The dirty pale umber gills and its habitat and time of growth, namely the autumn, at once distinguish it from the delicious agambosus, figure 19, edible sheet. It has a powerful and highly disagreeable odour and brown spores, and we believe it is often mistaken by the ignorant for the true mushroom. Verdigris Mushroom Agaricus Saliota Eruginosis The verdigris green colour of the top of this mushroom is not permanent, but consists of green slime that soon gets washed off by the rain, flaked with white scales. The stem is hollow and the top fleshy. It generally grows about stumps, is a very handsome fungus, and is doubtless poisonous. Fiery Tube Mushroom Beletus Pipparatus Never attains a larger size than the specimen on the sheet. Indeed it is one of the smallest of all the beletai. The taste is highly acrid. It is therefore looked upon with grave suspicion, and it is probably a very dangerous plant. It grows in woods, but is rare. Satanical Tube Mushroom Beletus Satanus The specimen figured I gathered in Crabtree Wood, near Winchester, during an architectural excursion to St Cross. I have only once seen anything of it elsewhere, though my late friend Mrs. Gulson of Eastcliff has sent it on to me several times from the neighbourhood of Tainmouth. Without doubt it is by far the most splendid of all the beletai. The top is nearly white, very fleshy, and a little viscid. The stem is firm, exquisitely coloured, and beautifully reticulated. The undersurface is brilliant crimson. It usually attains a large size, grows in woods, and as soon as broken or bruised, changes to blue. In all likelihood, it is highly poisonous. Pungent Milk Mushroom Lactarius Acris As its name indicates, this is a very acrid and dangerous fungus. It is said to be rare, but I have sometimes known it to be extremely abundant in the woods near London. When cut or broken, the flesh and white milk change to a dull sienna red. This distinguishes it from all other mushrooms. To observe the change of colour it requires at times a little patience, for I have known half an hour or even an hour elapsed before the change of colour is manifest. Bitter Tube Mushroom Boletus Felius Said to be rare, but generally abundant in Epping Forest. I have found it in abundance in Nottinghamshire, and know it well. It was the first boletus I ever drew, and I was then nearly eating it for boletus edulis. The bitter taste of B. Felius, the flesh-coloured tubes, the flesh-colour of the top when broken, the reticulated stem and the pink spores are the distinguishing marks of this species. It is poisonous. Faults Champignon Merasmius urens The morselender habit The mealy stem White downy base And the narrower, darker and crowded gills Distinguish this counterfeit from the true Champignon figure twenty-eight, edible sheet. It sometimes accompanies the latter plant, but with ordinary care can be detected in a moment. It grows in woods, as well as in pastures and by road signs. I think I was once poisoned by it in Bedfordshire. I well remember on my way home late one evening gathering a quantity of Champignon for supper, and as it was dark I imagine I must have gathered both species. I did not cook them myself, neither did I examine them after they were taken from the basket, but I noticed at supper-time that they were unusually hot, and I thought the old woman who cooked them had put too much pepper into the stew. I never suspected the fungi. In about half an hour after partaking of them my head began to ache, my brain to swim, and my throat and stomach to burn, as if in contact with fire. After being ill for some hours a terrible fit of purging and vomiting set in, which appeared soon to set me to rights, for after a day or so I was no worse for it. Fetid Woodwich Fallos Impudicus This is a great ornament to our woods, but its truly horrible effluvia beggars description. The nasal organs detect its presence at a long distance, and when neared the loathsome odour is indescribably revolting. Flies, however, appear to highly relish it, for these falli are invariably covered with flies, who greedily devour the odorous and liquid repast found at the top of the stem. It is most abundant at woody places in the north of London, all through the summer till the late autumn. Had not this species really been eaten, with several other singular, offensive, and dangerous fungi featured on this sheet, it would have been hardly necessary to figure or to refer to it at all. The End End of Section Thirteen End of Mushrooms and Toadstools Third Edition by Worthington George Smith