Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-03-12
Efforts to expel

assist the stomach In liz eHor's W
the unwholesome material
"For two thousand years or more peop's
have made use OF mushrooms TOT iooe az
from time 10 time death has resulteu 49, -.
their use. either through lgnoiaiiee
carelessness. Still men persist III tneir US,
and those who would use them 'n ~,
dared frequently ask how they may -
tinglllsh mushrooms from toadstoo's' .'N
word stoadstools Indicating TO them poi
sonous or harmful species. Many a,.einps'
have been made TO answer thls quso,'V -,
and many rules have been formua'eu W
the observance Of which, IL mas peen
claimed. all difficulty and danger Woulu
no avoided. Some OF these rules are en-
t,reIv unreliable. and 10 others there are
co many exceptions that they are mis-
leading and practically worthless. ins
rules vary according to the standpoint VI
the one proposing them. oh-
I'VE are forced to conclude tnat 10 az
stract rule is at present known Dy wiz VIM,
the good can I'm every case be separated
rom the bad. The only safe and reason
ahle way TO do this is to learn to recog-
nize each species by its own peculiar spe-
oIac character II is in this way that We
recognize the useful and esculent species
omong towering plants, and II must 20
IN this way that we select our ediDie
,,rsbrooma A little more care may NC
necessary in one case than IN the olnei,
because of a closer resemblance III sun
CAGES between good and bad mushrooms o',1s.
than between good and bad no"erins
plants. The principle that Is 20 govern IT, -.
his matter Is the same in both cases Inc
ereater the number of edible species Clear
~ RECOGNIZABLE by any one the greater
Tho Geld from which he may draw MS sup
plies. {. g.. ,ossible to
esr,, ~ certain groups Of species or Vi
certain genera that no deleterious speol
80 l,novvn in them. Thus we have IN TINS
State six species of morels, ana no Iliolo'
is known TO be poisonous. II lS' tneie
fora nosslble for any one who Is abe 70
separate a morel from al other iuhbl ~
eat morels with considerable coii,iu0
though he may not be able TO dls'ins ~ -,
one species of morel from ahoIhel'
same may be said Of pun balls' no ma
frI enecies Is known among them, ana ne
Yrbo can discriminate between pun pais
and all other fungi does not incur very
much risk in eating any pun ball oil soVu
Aavor. though he may not be able 10 us
tinpliish the species from each other'
"T2ut some care is necessary IN the SO
lection of specimens Of species known u
he edible. The plants selected shouiu 10
I'm GOOD condition Well-grown, sound
fraeb snecimens only should be chosen
Old partly decayed, water-soakei, worm
eaten. or withered plants should De us
carded. Even young and sounu oneo
should not be kept too long before they
are cooked They are in some cases very
perishable ard deteriorate rapluly'
more have been collected at one ume IMAM
are needed for a single meal, It VIII gene
rally he better TO cook them all at once
and keen them in a refrigerator in the
cooked rather than in the raw state. As
rule, it is better to COOK them the same
day they are collected.
"In collecting mushrooms for the table
II IS well. in all cases in which the stems
are too tough for food to cut the caps
from the stems In this way much art
and useless material will be left where II
belongs. and IT will be possible In many
cases to ascertain if the caps have been
attacked by insects. Most often the
larvae mine their way up from Inc
ground through the central part OF the
stem to the cap. and by cutting the cap
from the stem their holes or galleries are
exposed 10 view. In but few species are
the stems sufficiently tender to be used.
Should a doubt arise at any time con-
corning the identity Of a supposed edible
species. do not use such a mushroom un-
til all doubt on this point has been pan
ished. If It IS thought desirable TO COM
pare the plant with the published figures
and descriptions for the purpose OF
Identifying the species, select FOR TINS
| purpose sound specimens which represent
both the young and the mature form, that
all the specific characters may be shown.
Take the specimens up carefully from
their place Of growth, removing all the
loose dirt from the base of the stem.
Wrap the specimens carefully in soft
paper or green leaves, that they may be
kept as fresh as possible till the time or
examination. On reaching home lose no
time in making the examination, for IN
some species there are evanescent cha
racters which will not be available after
a few hours delay. In one family or
fungi the color of the spores Is an impor-
tant character, and a great aid in the
Identification Of species. The color OF the
spores in many species Is the same as
or similar to the color Of the mature
gils, but there are so many exceptions
that explicit directions for ascertaining
their color will be given in another place.
1.-THE general opinion is that mush
rooms constitute "A very nutritious and
sustaining diet Chemical analysis and
personal experience indicate this The
former has shown that in their dry mat
ter they contain from 20 10 80 per cent.
of protein or heterogeneous material. They
may therefore, well be called a kind Of
vegetable meat and be used as a substi-
TUE for animal food. Like other vegeta-
bles, they are largely composed of water,
which is from 80 TO 30 per cent. of the
whole. In consequence Of this they shrink
greatly in drying, and lose much weight.
The presence Of so much heterogeneous
material induces rapid decay and loath-
some decomposition in them. 1t should
also teach moderation in their use as a
food A hearty meal on mushrooms alone
would be about as reasonable as a dinner
on nothing but beefsteak, and might be
expected to be followed by similar III
consequences.
"A few edible fungi appear early IN
the season, but with US July, August, and
September are the months when the
greatest variety is 10 be found The
morels occur in May and June. The
Fairy-ring mushroom and the Glistening
Coprinus sometimes appear in June and
successive crops follow from time 10 time
whenever the weather is favorable. Du-
ring warm, showery weather in July and
August most Of our edible boleti are 10
no found "