Part 9

When young, its _stalk_ is tough, white, and solid; but as it grows this becomes hollow and presently changes to yellow; tapering below, it is effused into the substance of the _pileus_, which is of the same colour with it. The _pileus_ is lobed, and irregular in shape, its margin at first deeply involute, afterwards when expanded, wavy. The _veins_ or plaits are thick, subdistant, much sinuated, running some way down the stalk. The _flesh_ is white, fibrous, dense, “having the odour of apricots” (_Purton_), or of “plums” (_Vitt._). The _colour_ yellow, that of the yolk of eggs, is deeper on the under surface; when raw it has the pungent taste of pepper; the _spores_ which are elliptic, are of a pallid ochre colour (_Vitt._).[168] The _Chantarelle_ grows sometimes sporadically, sometimes in circles or segments of a circle, and may be found from June to October. At first it assumes the shape of a minute cone; next, in consequence of the rolling in of the margin, the pileus is almost spherical, but as this unfolds, it becomes hemispherical, then flat, at length irregular and depressed.

“This fungus,” observes Vittadini, “being rather dry and tough by nature, requires a considerable quantity of fluid sauce to cook it properly.” The common people in Italy dry or pickle, or keep it in oil for winter use. Perhaps the best ways of dressing the _Cantharellus_ are to stew or mince it by itself, or to combine it with meat or with other funguses. It requires to be gently stewed and a long time to make it tender; but by soaking it in milk the night before, less cooking will be requisite.

The _Canth. cibarius_ is very abundant about Rome, where it fetches, not being in great esteem, from twopence to twopence halfpenny a pound.

AGARICUS ATRAMENTARIUS, _Bull._

PLATE IX. FIGS. 1 AND 2.

Subgenus COPRINUS, _Fries_.

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ fleshy, campanulate, margin uneven, colour greyish, then light brown, slightly hairy, often corrugated, sometimes scaly in the centre. _Gills_ numerous, deep, with clear veins, light brown, black in age, the edges grey or white, free, obtuse behind. _Stem_ about four inches high, swollen at the base, piped, juicy, fibrous, marked with bands.

This is a common fungus in gardens, waste corners of fields, and lanes, and occasionally growing on stumps of trees in such situations: it is gregarious and cæspitose, and occurs both in spring and autumn. Young specimens afford a fine ketchup.

AGARICUS COMATUS.

PLATE VII. FIGS. 1, 2, AND 3.

Subgenus COPRINUS, _Fries_.

“A fungus in great request about Via Reggio and Lucca.”—_Puccinelli._

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ cylindrical, breaking up into long scales, campanulate, epidermis thin, flesh thick in the centre, very thin and stringy at the margins. _Gills_ numerous, quite free, leaving a space round the top of the stem. _Stem_ from four to five inches high, rather bulbous at the base, stuffed with fibres, brittle, ring moveable.

This fungus may be found from early spring till late in the autumn, in meadows and waste places.

When used for making ketchup or for the table, only young specimens should be selected.

AGARICUS HETEROPHYLLUS, _Fries_.

PLATE III. FIGS. 3 AND 4.

Subgenus RUSSULA, _Scopoli_.

MILD RUSSULÆ. RUSSULÆ MITES, AUCT.

“Non meno sicuro e gustoso del Cesareo e del l’orcino.”—_Vitt._

It is of the utmost importance that those who gather funguses for the table, should be accurately acquainted with the different species composing this genus; its members are so abundantly distributed; some of them form so excellent and delicate a food, whilst others produce such deleterious effects on the economy, that they are well entitled to a diligent and careful attention. The limits of this work will not permit an accurate discrimination of all the species, which would require a long monograph to themselves; but I have endeavoured to point out amidst those of most frequent occurrence, the three which may be selected with profit for the table, and some others which are nearly allied, from which we must be careful to separate them.

The three mild-flavoured _Russulæ_ are the _Ag. heterophyllus_, _Ag. ruber_, and _Ag. virescens_; the botanical characters of the first are as follows:—

_Ag. heterophyllus._

_Pileus_ subirregular, from three and a half to four and a half inches across, at first convex, then more or less excavated towards the centre; for the most part smooth, the epidermis covering it, more or less moist, never scored or fissured, but exhibiting a continuous surface, marked by very small raised lines, radiating as from the centre, and frequently crossing so as to present a very minute finely reticulated meshwork, sometimes slightly zoned, adhering to the flesh of the _pileus_, which peels away with it in flakes resembling asbestos. It is very various in colour, being found of all shades of yellow, lilac, azure, green, and sometimes a mixture of these in different parts. The margin even, _i. e._ not striate, irregularly elevated and depressed. The _gills_ are watery white, rather numerous and thick, ascending, tapering away at their stalk extremity, rather broader at the other, some simple but many of them forked at the base, in a few instances branched; the imperfect gills very few, irregular, occasionally broadly adhering to the side of a perfect gill; the _stalk_ naked, variable as to length and size, equal or attenuated slightly at the base, white like spermaceti, externally rugulose, and meshed, like the pileus, with minute meandering lines, internally stuffed with a compact subfriable medullary substance, which, as the fungus grows old, breaks up here and there into sinuses which gradually coalesce, till at last the whole stem becomes hollow. The parenchyma is compact, but not thick, and does not change colour when cut. The spores white, round, and very abundant. The _taste_ sweet and nutty. _Odour_ none.

This excellent fungus, which Vittadini pronounces to be not surpassed for fineness of flavour by _Am. Cæsarea_ or by _B. edulis_, with either of which it is equally wholesome, has been introduced by Roques into the houses of many of his friends in the environs of Paris, some of whom prefer it to _Ag. campestris_: an opinion shared by several of our own friends on this side the Channel. It grows in great abundance during the summer months generally, and this year nowhere more plentifully than under the Elm-trees in Kensington Gardens. There must be no delay in dressing it, otherwise insects, who are as fond of it as we are, appropriate it to their larvæ, which in a few hours will utterly consume it; the flesh, being very tender, requires but slight cooking.

_Agaricus ruber_, Schœffer. _Ag. griseus_, Persoon.

“L’Agarico Rosso è uno dei funghi più delicati e gustosi che si conoscono.”—_Vitt._

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ rather fleshy, at first hemispherical, then obtusely convex, and, when fully expanded, more or less excavated towards the centre. The margins at first even, at length tuberculo-sulcate, that is, marked with lines similar to those left on the skin after cupping. The epidermis dry in dry weather, but very sticky in moist, of various hues, tawny-purple, olive-green, ochraceous-yellow, or several of these united, and generally darkest at the centre; peeling off readily without laceration of the flesh. The flesh white, when cut slightly rufescent, when dry cream-coloured. The _gills_ fragile, cream-coloured, connected below by transverse plaits or veins, thick and broad, but tapering away towards the stalk, really simple, though a few imperfect gills interposed between the entire ones, and attaching themselves to their sides give these sometimes the appearance of being forked; the _stalk_ equal, white, or blotched here and there with purple stains, stuffed, brittle, and Vittadini adds, “long,” which is not my experience of it; when young it is so short as to be entirely hid by the globose head of the unexpanded pileus. The flesh inconsiderable but compact; _sporules_ pale-buff.

The _Ag. ruber_, the _Colombo rossa_ of the Tuscans, and _Rother Täubling_ of Schœffer, is a complete _wood_-pigeon in its haunts; it grows very abundantly, may be gathered from July to a very late period in the autumn, and is as delicate and light of digestion as the _Russula_ last described. It may be readily distinguished from _Ag. alutaceus_ by the different colour of its gills and spores, which in that species are buff, but in the _Ag. ruber_ cream-coloured: moreover the greater thickness of the substance of the pileus of _Ag. alutaceus_, the margin of which is deeply sulcate, even at an early period of its development, and the pungent acrid taste, which is seldom wanting, are further means of distinguishing it from _Ag. ruber_. _Ag. emeticus_ differs from it in having unequal snow-white gills, and in extreme acrimony of taste.

_Agaricus virescens_, Schœff.: the Verdette? _Ag. bifidus_, Bull. _Russula æruginosa_, Persoon.

“La carne di questo Agarico è tenera e di sapore gratissimo.”—_Vitt._

_Pileus_ at first flatly convex; at length depressed towards the centre with an even margin; epidermis whitish, fibrous, continuous and firmly adhering to the flesh, dry, but coated over with a thick stratum of opaque meal, which gradually breaking as the pileus expands maps it in a singular and quite characteristic manner with a series of irregular polygonal figures, in greater or less relief according to the thickness of the coating; its colour varies slightly but is generally made up of some admixture of green and yellow, communicating to the surface, as Bulliard has remarked, a farinaceous or mouldy appearance. The _gills_ of some thickness, very brittle, white, sublanceolate, generally simple, but occasionally forked, the imperfect gills interspersed without order amongst the entire ones; the _stalk_ equal, short, its centre stuffed with cottony fibres: somewhat compact and elastic. According to Thore, as quoted by Persoon, this Agaric may be cultivated.[169]

It is an exceedingly delicate fungus, but not very common in England. The best way of cooking it, according to Vittadini, is on the gridiron; the peasants about Milan are in the habit of putting it over wood embers to toast, eating it afterwards with a little salt, in which way it has a savoury smell, and a taste like that of the _Cancer astacus_; when fresh it is without odour, but acquires a very strong one while drying, which he compares to that of salt meat. Mr. Berkeley quotes Roques’ authority as to its being eaten in France; Vittadini, without giving any authority, states that it is eaten in England. It loses but little of its volume in drying.

ACRID RUSSULÆ. RUSSULÆ ACRES, AUCT.

_Agaricus alutaceus_, Persoon.

Three acrid _Russulæ_ remain to be described, _Ag. alutaceus_, _Ag. emeticus_, _Ag. sanguineus_; all three common, though not perhaps so common as the mild ones, and all to be avoided. The first, _A. alutaceus_, Fries, is ranked by Vittadini among the safe kinds, he even affixes a misplaced note of admiration after his epithet “esculentus!” and describes it even when raw as “a dainty food, possessed of a most agreeable flavour.”

Mr. Berkeley, who reports it esculent when _young_, remarks that individual specimens occur, which prove almost as acrid as the _Ag. emeticus_ itself; my own experience of it in England is, that whether young or old, it is always acrid when raw.[170] I have never tried it dressed, which might possibly extract its noxious qualities, as Vittadini reports to have been the case with a caustic variety which he subjected to this test; but since even then, on his own showing, it proved indigestible, I would advise no one to try this species, especially when there are so many others, the good qualities of which are known.

It is easy to distinguish _A. alutaceus_ from any of the foregoing species; to do this it is only necessary to look at the gills, which, in place of being, as in these, white, watery white, or cream-coloured, are of a rich buff; _pileus_ about three inches broad, pink or livid olive, smooth on the surface, and viscid in wet weather; the margin at first even, but in age striate; the _gills_ broad, equal, slightly forked, ventricose, free, connected by veins; the _sporules_ rich buff; the _stem_ one and a half inches long, blunt, surface longitudinally wrinkled or grooved, solid without, spongy within, varying from white to buff.

_Agaricus emeticus_, Schœffer.

Reports concerning the qualities of this fungus differ widely, some asserting it to be a most deleterious species, of which the mischief was not to be removed by cooking, whilst others, on the authority of dogs whom they persuaded to eat some, pronounced it innoxious. In this state of uncertainty Vittadini, for the sake of science, and peradventure of adventure also, determined to test its effects upon himself; he had previously given at different times large doses, of from six to twelve ounces, to dogs, both in the crude state and also cooked; but without result. “Still,” says he,[171] “thinking that though dogs might eat _Ag. emeticus_ with impunity, it might yet prove injurious to man, I took five specimens of fair dimensions, and having fried, I ate them with the usual condiments; but though pains were taken to have them delicately prepared (_oltimamente cucinati_), they still retained their acrid bitter taste, and were most distasteful to the palate.” The reader will be glad to learn, that the only inconvenience suffered by this bold self-experimentalist was a slight sense of præcordial uneasiness accompanied with flatulence,—effects attributable entirely, as he believed, to the rich mode in which his dish was prepared: though, more timid apparently for others’ safety than his own, he particularly adds, “though I have clearly established to my own satisfaction, the complete innocuousness of the _A. emeticus_; still, as there are, or are said to be, other _Russulæ_ of highly deleterious properties and closely allied, the mistaking which for it might be paid for by the loss of life, the safer rule is to abstain from all such as have acrid juices.”

The botanical characters of _Ag. emeticus_ are as follow:—

Pileus more or less rosy, flesh compact, margin striate, epidermis adherent; _gills_ very brittle, arched in front, attenuated towards the stalk, connected below by transverse plaits, generally simple, a few forked, the imperfect gills rounded off behind; the _stalk_, which is compact, of equal dimensions, and white, is generally more or less stained with red spots of the same hue as the pileus; in the growing fungus, where the epidermis has been removed and the flesh eaten by insects, this soon acquires a tint as lively as that of the skin itself; generally I have remarked that the erosions of insects and slugs do _not_ produce any change of colour, even in the species notorious under other circumstances for manifesting such a change; thus the flesh of the _Ag. rubescens_, which turns red when it is divided, may be frequently seen half eaten through, exhibiting a white flesh; and the same is the case with the _Boletus luridus_, the flesh of which, though eroded, remains white till it is broken through.

_Ag. sanguineus_, Bull.

This fungus, of which the general facies and most of the botanical characters, as well as the taste and other qualities, are similar to those of the last-mentioned Agaric, differs from it in having its gills for the most part forked, many smaller ones being interposed between those that are entire, also in _not_ having its margin striate, as the _Ag. emeticus_ when moderately expanded always has. The smell of this fungus, which is only developed in drying, is, according to Vittadini, “most agreeable,” resembling that of fresh meal; to me its odour is unpleasant and like that of sour paste.

_Ag. acris minor._

_Pileus_ one or two inches across, sticky, of a light muddy-pink, the _epidermis_ peeling off easily and entire from the flesh, margin not striate, flesh soft, white, and cellular; _gills_ adnate, white, forked, brittle, slightly ventricose; the margin subdenticulate; the _stalk_ of spermaceti-whiteness and appearance, solid within, brittle, the internal texture looser than the external; the surface minutely rugulose, 1¼-1½ inch, by 2-4 lines thick, intensely acrid. In meadows, throughout the summer; abundant.

AGARICUS OSTREATUS, _Jacq._

PLATE X.

Subgenus PLEUROPUS, Persoon. Subdivision CONCHARIA, _Fries_.

“L’Ag. ostreato viene giustamente per la sua bontà ed innocenza amesso tra i funghi commestibili, de’ quali è pure permessa la vendita sulle pubbliche piazze.”—_Vitt._

_Bot. Char._ Cæispitose.[172] _Pileus_ fleshy, smooth, blackish, then cinereous, at length paler; epidermis strongly adherent, flesh fibrous, moderately firm; _gills_ anastomosing behind, not glandular, white; _stem_ sublateral or wanting. On dead trees.[173] Season, spring and autumn.

As there are some singular differences presented by this fungus in regard to development, odour, taste, and the colour of the spores, which seem almost sufficient to entitle it to be divided into two distinct species, I shall first describe the more ordinary form, as given by Mr. Berkeley, and then mention the variations from it.

“Imbricated, large; _pileus_ subdimidiate, very thick and fleshy; flesh white, dusky towards the surface; one inch deep, the border at first fibrillose; margin involute, as the pileus expands the white fibrillæ vanish, and the colour changes to bistre; margin paler and rimulose, the whole surface shining and satiny when dry, soft and clammy when moist; _gills_ broad, here and there forked,”[174] standing out sharp and erect like the fine flutings of a column, winding down the stalk to different lengths, and those that reach the bottom forming there a beautiful raised meshwork highly characteristic of this species, “_dirty_ (pure?) white, the edge serrated, umber; _taste_ and _smell_ like that of _Ag. personatus_, which it resembles somewhat in colour;” “_spores_ white like those of the _Polyporus suaveolens_.”[175] The points of difference in those which departed from the ordinary type were as follows:[176]—first, in specimens growing close together and all equally exposed to the light, the colour of all at the same period of growth was not the same, being a delicate waxy-white in some of the specimens, in others, a light-brown. Secondly, whereas this fungus is generally “invested during infancy with a _white lanugo or down_,”[177] I observed the young Agarics, which presented themselves at first as small semitransparent eminences rising irregularly from a common stalk, and not unlike in appearance the blisters on a chalcedony, to be thickly coated with a light-blue varnish in place of it; the dry _débris_ of which varnish continued to adhere to the surface of the pileus for some time afterwards. Thirdly, the complexion of the spores, commonly described as _white_, was in these specimens pale-rose. Fourthly, they exhaled the strong and peculiar odour of Tarragon; and, finally, in place of being the delicate fungus at table which in July I had always found it, these specimens afforded a distasteful food. The _Ag. ostreatus_ resists cold in a remarkable manner; the circumstance of its being found in winter has procured for it the trivial name of Gelon. _Ag. ostreatus_ is found on the barks of many sorts of trees, and wherever it has once been it is apt to recur frequently afterwards. It may be dressed in any of the more usual ways; but as the flesh is rather over-solid and tenacious, it is all the better for being cooked leisurely over a slow fire.

AGARICUS RUBESCENS, _Persoon_.

PLATE XI. FIGS. 3, 4, AND 5.

Subgenus 1. AMANITA.

“Non altrimenti del Cesareo delicato e sano.”—_Vitt._

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ covered with warts of different sizes; margins even, convex, flesh turns obscurely red when cut or bruised, slightly moist and shining; _gills_ attenuated behind; _stem_ at first stuffed, in age becoming hollow, bulbous, sometimes scaly; _ring_ wide, marked with striæ; _spores_ nearly elliptical; _smell_ strong; _taste_ not unpleasant.

This is a very delicate fungus, which grows in sufficient abundance to render it of importance in a culinary point of view. It makes excellent ketchup. Cordier reports it as one of the most delicate mushrooms of the Lorraine; and Roques speaks equally well of it. It generally grows in woods, particularly of oak and chestnut, both in summer and autumn. No fungus is more preyed upon than this by mice, snails, and insects.

MORCHELLA ESCULENTA, _Dill._

PLATE XII. FIGS. 6 AND 7.

Tribe 3. MITRATI.

_Morell._

“Sommamente ricercata,”—_Vitt._

Every one knows the Morell, that expensive luxury which the rich are content to procure at great cost from our Italian warehouses, and the poor are fain to do without. It is less generally known that this fungus, though by no means so common with us as some others, (a circumstance partly attributable to the prevailing ignorance as to when and where to look for it, or even of its being indigenous to England,[178]) occurs not unfrequently in our orchards and woods, towards the beginning of summer. Roques reports favourably of some specimens sent to him by the Duke of Athol; and others, from different parts of the country, occasionally find their way into Covent Garden market. The genus _Morchella_ comprises very few species, and they are all good to eat. Persoon remarks, that though the Morell rarely appears in a sandy soil, preferring a calcareous or argillaceous ground, it frequently springs up on sites where charcoal has been burnt or where cinders have been thrown.

_Morchella esculenta._

_Bot. Char._ _Pileus_ very various in shape and hue, the surface broken up into little sinuses or cells, made by folds or plaits of the hymenium, which are more or less salient, and constitute the so-called ribs. These _ribs_ are very irregular, and anastomose with each other throughout; the pileus hollow, opening into the irregular hollow stem. _Spores_ pale-yellow.

_Morchella semilibera._

_Bot. Char._ This may be known from the _M. esculenta_ by being, as its name imports, half free, _i. e._ having the pileus for half its length detached from the stalk. Spores are pale-yellow. Odour, at first feeble, becomes stronger in drying. Occurring less frequently than the last, and much less sapid. Neither of these funguses should be gathered after rain, as they are then insipid and soon spoil.[179]

M. Roques says the Morell may be dressed in a variety of ways, both fresh and dry, with butter or in oil, _au gras_ or _à la crême_. The following receipts for cooking them are from Persoon.

1st. Having washed and cleansed them from the earth which is apt to collect between the plaits, dry thoroughly in a napkin, and put them into a saucepan with pepper, salt, and parsley, adding or not a piece of ham; stew for an hour, pouring in occasionally a little broth to prevent burning; when sufficiently done, bind with the yolks of two or three eggs, and serve on buttered toast.

2nd. _Morelles à l’Italienne._—Having washed and dried, divide them across, put them on the fire with some parsley, scallion, chervil, burnet, tarragon, chives, a little salt, and two spoonfuls of fine oil. Stew till the juice runs out; then thicken with a little flour; serve with bread-crumbs and a squeeze of lemon.

3rd. _Stuffed Morells._—Choose the freshest and whitest Morells, open the stalk at the bottom; wash and wipe them well, fill with veal stuffing, anchovy, or any rich _farce_ you please, securing the ends, and dressing between thin slices of bacon. Serve with a sauce like the last.[180]

HYDNUM REPANDUM, _Linn._

PLATE VIII. FIGS. 3 AND 4.

Subgenus MESOPUS, _Fries_.

“The general use made of this fungus throughout France, Italy, and Germany leaves no doubt as to its good qualities.”—_Roques._