New-York tribune., 1901-05-11
AMERICAN A FUNGI.
ONE THOUSAND ToADsTooLs OR MUsH-
ROOMS

ROOMS.
ToAaRgTq9Ls a2g p01soNnIsg MgsHRooMs FUNGI EDIBLE
Fungi. How. to Select and Cook the Edible.
ing Full Botanic Descriptions Made Easy for
Reader and Student. BY Charles McIlvaine.
Honorary Member Salem County and Giouces-
ter GSD County n j. Medical Societies Assisted by
Their Treatment. Instructions TO Students. Rec
indianapolis: The BOwen-MerTillp e Company i' w.
the Identification and Study of Our Commoner
Fungi with Special Emphasis on the Edible
Ihn; illustrations in Color and Black and White
Anderson. Octave, PIP XVI, 161- Doubleday
Page Co
II the man is public benefactor who makes
two blades of grass grow where only one blade
grew before no less so is he who, by diligent
research and painstakng study, introduces to
the world for benefcent uses hidden neglect
ed treasures OF the woods and pastures. thus
adding largely to it's available wealth. Captain
McIlvaine has done this, and the results OF
twenty years of enthusiastic labor are presented
the public in a singularly attractive form. and
with a clearness and simplicity which make his
book valuable to the searcher for practical in
formation. no less than TO the naturalist and the
special student of mycolOgy. There are few
parts of the country where toadstools do not
abound at some season Of the year. but. owing
to the lack of a trained eye to distinguish the
edible from the poisonous. few persons venture
to them as food; and the caution is wse
for the distinguishing marks are in some in
stances slight, and the penalty of error NAV
be serious. a safe guide is presented to
any willing to devote a reasonable amount
of study to the subject AS a preliminary STEP
the author brushes away the popular but absurd
distinction in name between the edible and the
poisonous fungi-mushrOom and toadstoOl. He
writes of toadstools. The terms interchange
able.
Twenty years ago Captain McIlvaine was liv-
ing In the mountains of West Virginia, and
while riding on horseback through the dense
forests he every side luxuriant growths
OF fungi. inviting In color. cleanliness and
flesh that he thought they ought TO be eaten.
He had read. short time before an article on
"ToadstOol Eating" published in The Popular
Science Monthly: he reread 1t carefully, and
thus became interested In a delightful study.
from which he reaped immediate reward. and
which he has continued TO pursue with ever in
creasing enthusiasm He says:
Up to this time had been living literally on
the fat Of the land-bacon; but my studies had
enabled me To supplement this the staple dish
q
turtles go gTaced the dinners Of the Caesars So
absorbing did the study become from CASTRO
nomic. culinary and scientific points OF view
that have continued IL ever since with thorough
intellectual enjoyment and much qualification
Of appetite my reward. For twenty
years my little friends-the toadstOols-have
been my constant companions. They have in
terested me, delighted me, fed me, and l have
found much pleasure In making the public
Quainted with their habits. structure. luscious
ness and food value.
Captain McIlvaine has devoted special atten-
tion TO the species large enough to be valuable
food. and has segregated the edible and in
nocuous from the tough, undesirable end poison
Gus kinds. To accomplish this. because OF the
persistent inaccuracy of the books on the sub
ject. he has tested the edible qualities OF hun
dreds OF species about which mycologists have
either written nothing have written erro-
neously. and has in some Instances suffered de
Cidedly unpleasant results. He has found his
reward. however IN the discovery of many
delEacies among the more than seven hundred
edible varieties he has found and recorded. With
commendable mOdesty the author from the first,
recognized the high standing Of Professor
Charles II. Peck. New-York State Botanlst as
an authority on American fungi, and has ap-
pealed TO him for assistance in the Identification