Agaricus arvensis, shaggy mushroom-Coprinus comatus, and the puff-ballLycoperdon cyathiforme. Conditions of Growth.—The proper shed or cellars having been selected, the first thing to do is to see that the temperature is favorable to the growth of the fungi. Temperatures above 60 degrees F., or below 50 degrees F., are not favorable to the growth. The best temperatures are from 55 to 58 degrees. The locality where the mushrooms are grown should be kept very damp and the air highly saturated with aqueous vapor. The reason that mushrooms grow best in covered places, such as has been mentioned, is due to the particularly favorable influence which the even temperature mentioned and a practically saturated atmosphere have upon the growth. In localities where the changes of temperature are not very severe, mushrooms grow very well in the open. In the county of Kent, England, I have seen mushrooms growing in the open garden, where, by covering with straw, they flourish during the greater part of the year. In the winter time the temperature may be kept quite even by the covering to make abundant crops, while in the months of August, September, and October they grow in the open in great abundance. Preparation of Seed Bed.-The seed bed for the growth of mushrooms, as has already been indicated, is made principally of well decayed stable or stall manure. The manure must be well fermented, thoroughly disintegrated, and exposed for a sufficient length of time to be in the proper condition. Mushrooms cannot be obtained until the heat attending the fermentation of manure has entirely disappeared. Directions for growing mushrooms cannot be given here, but those who are intending to enter the business should consult the best authorities and begin in a small way until they acquire the necessary skill before commercial success can be obtained. Growth of Mushrooms in France.-Perhaps in no country has the cultivation of mushrooms been carried to such a large extent as in France. The principal industries in France are confined to those regions where artificial caves have been made by the quarrying of building stone. The most extensive caverns of this kind exist in the neighborhood of Paris, near Bordeaux, and particularly in the neighborhood of Sceaux. These artificial caverns are often miles in extent and furnish exceptionally favorable opportunities for the growth of mushrooms. The soils or manures on which they are grown must be carried into these caverns, and experience has shown that mushrooms do not continue to grow well in the same locality, and, therefore, the place of growth must be moved from time to time to different parts of the caves. The galleries of these abandoned quarries are sometimes of enormous extent and are from 30 to 150 feet below the surface. They are generally from seven to ten feet high, but occasionally so low that a man cannot stand upright in them. In general they are wide enough for two rows of beds with a foot way 18 inches wide in the center. Where a mushroom bed has been well prepared and properly seeded, it produces about six pounds of mushrooms per square yard. These mushrooms bring, in the market, an average of about 15 cents per pound. It is stated by some authorities that the reason the bed ceases to bear after a time and has to be abandoned or moved is not because of the exhaustion of the food but is due to the ravages of an insect or fly which produces a worm which is fatal to the growth of the fungus. At any rate, it is customary to abandon the beds after they have been bearing for six or eight months and to return to them after a year, when they are found to again be productive. It is not expected that the general consumer will become an expert in the selection of mushrooms. Where mushrooms are exposed in a public market, it is the duty of the municipal officers in charge of food products to see to it that poisonous varieties are not exposed for sale. It will be of value, however, to the reader to have some idea of the general shape of some of the more common edible and poisonous varieties. It is generally supposed that mushrooms, toadstools, and puff-balls are entirely distinct species and that only the mushroom, so-called, is edible. On the contrary, there are many edible toadstools and many edible puff-balls, and all three classes of fungi belong to the same general family. Food Value of Mushrooms.-The nutritive value of mushrooms is not exceptionally high, although there is a popular opinion to the contrary. Frequently it has been stated that the mushroom in the vegetable world holds a similar position to beefsteak among meats, being particularly rich in digestible protein. The analytical data which have been collected from numerous sources on the composition of mushrooms do not bear out this popular impression, but, on the contrary, show that the mushroom is a food product consisting very largely of water and of only very small quantities of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The composition of some of the common mushrooms is shown in the following table (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 79, Mushrooms as Food): MUSHROOMS. These data may be compared with the composition of the beefsteak: 433 From the above data it is seen that the mushroom does not contain anything like the amount of protein found in beefsteak. It has one-third more water, one-sixth as much protein, and only one-fortieth as much fat. Beefsteak contains no carbohydrates except less than one percent of glycogen, while the amount of carbohydrates in the mushroom varies from 1.5 to 3.5 percent. It is evident that the mushroom is principally valuable as a condimental substance and not as a food product. Distinction between Poisonous and Edible Varieties.-It has already been stated that only the expert is able to distinguish between the poisonous varieties of mushrooms and those that are edible. Even the skilled botanist, as well as the expert, may sometimes make mistakes in this matter. Hence the only perfectly sure method of protection against the poisonous varieties is the eating of only those which are cultivated and which are known to be free of poisonous properties. On the other hand, the wild variety, by many connoisseurs, is much more highly valued as being more delicate and palatable. It should also be remembered that the cultivation of mushrooms is not very widely extended, and if the supply of the wild variety should be excluded there would be a great diminution of the quantity which is accessible to the consumer. This would be an especial hardship in the United States, where mushrooms grow wild over such wide areas and so abundantly and where the cultivation of them as compared with some other countries is somewhat restricted. There are some general characteristics by means of which a distinction can be made between the edible and the poisonous varieties. The following rules are given for the rejection of the probably poisonous mushroom by George Francis Atkinson (“Studies of American Fungi—1900”): "In the selection of mushrooms to eat, great caution should be employed by those who are not reasonably familiar with the means of determination of the species, or those who have not an intimate acquaintance with certain forms. Rarely should the beginner be encouraged to eat them upon his own determination. It is best at first to consult someone who knows or to send first specimens away for determination, though in many cases a careful comparison of the plant with the figures and descriptions given in this book will enable a novice to recognize it. In taking up a species for the first time it would be well to experiment cautiously." No Certain Rule to Distinguish the Poisonous from the Edible.-"There is no test like the 'silver-spoon test' which will enable one to tell the poisonous mushroom from the edible ones. Nor is the presence of the so-called 'death cup' a sure sign that the fungus is poisonous, for Amanita cæsarea has this cup. For the beginner, however, there are certain general rules, which, if carefully followed, will enable him to avoid the poisonous ones, while at the same time necessarily excluding many edible ones. "Ist.-Reject all fungi which have begun to decay, or which are infested with larvæ. "2d.-Reject all fungi when in the button stage, since the characters are not yet shown which enable one to distinguish the genera and species. Buttons in pasture lands which are at the surface of the ground, and not deepseated in the soil, would very likely not belong to any of the very poisonous kinds. "3d.-Reject all fungi which have a cup or sac-like envelope at the base of the stem, or which have a scaly or closely fitting layer at the base of the stem and rather loose warts on the pileus, especially if the gills are white. Amanita cæsarea, however, has a sac-like envelope at the base of the stem and yellow gills as well as a yellow cap, and is edible. Amanita rubescens has remnants of a scaly envelope on the base of the stem and loose warts on the cap, and the flesh, where wounded, becomes reddish. It is edible. "4th.-Reject all fungi with a milky juice unless the juice is reddish. Several species with copious white milk, sweet or mild to the taste, are edible. "5th.-Reject very brittle fungi with gills nearly all of equal length where the flesh of the cap is thin, especially those with bright caps. "6th.-Reject all Boleti in which the flesh changes color where bruised or cut, or those in which the tubes have reddish mouths, also those the taste of which is bitter. Strobilomyces strobilaceus (Scop.) Berk. changes color when cut, and is edible. "7th. Reject fungi which have a cobwebby veil or ring when young, and those with slimy caps and clay-colored spores. "In addition, proceed cautiously in all cases, and make it a point to become very familiar with a few species first, and gradually extend the range of species rather than attempt the first season to eat a large number of different kinds. All puff-balls are edible so long as they are white inside, though some are better than others. All coral-like or club fungi are edible." Popular Distinction between Toadstools and Mushrooms.-There is a general opinion that the toadstool is poisonous and the mushroom is not. There is, however, no scientific distinction between the two kinds of fungi, popularly known as toadstools and mushrooms. The distinction is purely an arbitrary The small toadstools are often as delicious and as harmless as the small mushroom. The small mushroom, on the other hand, may be as deadly and as undesirable as the worst specimen of toadstool. There is danger especially to two classes of people in the discrimination between the poisonous and edible varieties of mushrooms and toadstools. The first class is com one. posed of those who are practically unaware of the existence of poisonous varieties and the second class of persons are those who claim to be able to tell an edible mushroom from a certain number of tests or claims which they regard as infallible. Both of these classes of persons are apt to be deceived or injured by dangerous varieties. The following popular signs of distinguishing between the poisonous and non-poisonous varieties are pronounced worthless by Gibson ("Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms and How to Distinguish Them"): "FAVORABLE SIGNS. 1. Pleasant taste and odor. 2. Peeling of the skin of the cap from rim to center. 3. Pink gills, turning brown in older specimens. 4. The stem easily pulled out of the cap and inserted in it like a parasol handle. 5. Solid stems. 6. Must be gathered in the morning. 7. 'Any fungus having a pleasant taste and odor, being found similarly agreeable after being plainly broiled without the least seasoning is perfectly safe.' "UNFAVORABLE SIGNS. 8. Boiling with a 'silver spoon,' the staining of the silver indicating danger. 9. Change of color in the fraction of the fresh mushroom. 10. Slimy or sticky on the top. 11. Having the stems at their sides. 12. Growing in clusters. 13. Found in dark, damp places. 14. Growing on wood, decayed logs, or stumps. 15. Growing on or near manure. 16. Having bright colors. 17. Containing milky juice. 18. Having the gill plates of even length. 19. Melting into black fluid. 20. Biting the tongue or having a bitter or nauseating taste. 21. Changing color by immersion in salt-water, or upon being dusted with. salt. "These present but a selection of the more prevalent notions. Taken in toto, they would prove entirely safe, as they would practically exclude every species of toadstool or mushroom that grows. But as a rule the village oracle bases his infallibitity upon two or three of the above 'rules,' and inasmuch |