Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-25
MUSHROOMS AS FOOD
ARE A CHEAP, HEALTHFUL AND
SAVoRY DISH.
They May Be Prepared With Mucn
Less Trouble Than Steaks
or Chops.

From the Boston Transcript. g,
Nov that beef and pork are high, and
coal for their cooking is beyond the reach
Of all but fortunes favored few. while the
amount of fuel used In the preparation OF
our meals must be carefully considered.
why not gather In a few of the supplies
which nature so lavlshly spreads before US
to be had for the picking? Why not gather
the mushrooms. nearly all OF which stew
or fry quickly over a gas or Oil stove OF
over a wood fire? Tine common pasture
mushroom (Agaricus campester) Is, OF
course widely sought for and highly prlzeo
so much so that l was recently ruoeiy
ordered by the owner from remote anu
unfenced cow pasture where l hao inno
centlv reioiced to find 1t abundant; so much
90 tb.t bicvclists rise at O'Clock on these
autumn mornings and spin away 10 neios
iealously watched, the location OF Wnlch
wild horses would not drag them 10 aiVuise,
there to gather gunnybags or Inc IaVorite
fungus for the market, at 81 the pouno. Ut
more modest quantities for home consump-
tIon. IL. as mental scientists assure us Is
true and as we can easily prove Tor our.
selves by observation within the circle oi
our own acquaintance or OF our own IAN IAN,
ilv. perhaps-if the appetite. the ENJOY
ment which accompanies our eating De
as important in the building up OF the
body as the number or ounces Oh LOU VI
gested then who can estimate lno cru
nous food value of the mycophagist OF
breakfast dish of clavaria on toast-ciavarla
Of his own picking, while yet the WOODS are
dewy and the beams OF the carry flornine
sun fall through the pine branches ana upon
the coral-like clumps which peep Inrousn
the pine needles clothing the steep incnne
of a side hill? Or it may have been IN tne
slanting rays Of the afternoon sun that ne
gathered II. when he could feel In his whole
being the silence, the calm. the peace OF the
WOODS, natures place OF worship.
Clavaria.
C1ayarta Ia one of the mushrooms TO
which the novice takes kindly. for Is he not
assured by his Jealous neighbor or friend.
mushroom mad for the nonce, that. ac-
cording to all authorities there Is no IN
furious clavaria known? And then IT Is so
very easily recognized. Perhaps, TOO. ne
has sentimental recollections OF how-as
little child-he played with the great Jumps
of coral" growing In the dim ana an
Client pine forest on the rev danlPohue
hills, a forest Familiarity known as Grand
pas woodlot" and far from the old farm
house. How the memory clings to the de-
lights Of ones childhood! l can see them
still, those tall. tall pines. with mere ana
there fallen trunk the great ciumps OF
"coraP'-the Indian pipes In troops and the
blue sky just seen through the treetops Dy
US children as we played.
Why Is it. 1 wonder, that clavaria is es-
pecially plentiful where the squirrels make
their homes? Is 1t due to the decay OF the
cones which they have broken apart to get
at the pine seeds Of which they are SO
fond?
Wisdom Of Squirrels.
Speaking of squirrels. will some one tell
me, if he knows, how the young chipmunk
distinguishes the so-called poison Russula
emetica from its harmless cousins? Or does
ne feast with impunity upon all Russulas?
1t looks so to me. Sure I am that one
squirrel, a friend Of mine, who took daily
runs for his health along my fence this
summer nibbled generously one day from
an Amanita phalloides which l had laid out
as a specimen for the children to study. He
raced by the next day, however, and the
next, with vigor undated. Evidently Aman-
tia phi. served him as ell as his favorites,
the Russulas and the Bolet.
Lessons in Mushrooms.
Children are so vastly superior to their
elders in the fearlessness with which they
attack new subject, especially 1t be
one that requires principally the observa-
tional powers. Some little girls who had
never before had their attention called to
the subject went with me the other day into
the woods mushroom gathering. l had but
to show them few kinds as they grew;
the clavaria, or coral mushroom; the Lac
caria laccata; the modest Cantharellus UNI
bonatus that shows its slate colored cap
among the MOSES near the pines; the red
Russula the different species Of the latter
rot of course. to be distinguished by them.
None OF these pointed out could possibly be
COMPOUNDED with the deadly, poisonous
kinds. 1 had only to show these. compar-
ing them with a nearby Amanita phallo4des,
to set the little folks at work, eager, each
one. to help fill the basket with the desired
species. And every time a new kind was
discovered 1t was hailed with delight as a
stranger. The little eyes were quick as a
flash to see the differences. The study of
mushrooms in the field offers a great op-
portunity for teaching observation to chill
dren.
AS to this little Cantharellus umbonatus,
the slate-colored moss ChmantereIle, with
an umho in its youth and funnel-formed
cap in its maturity-known surely by its
white. blunt-edged. forking gills, which turn
reddish in age-it is so plentiful in our Mil
ton pines that friend and convert of mine,
lady of culinary talent. has been expert
menting with Its cooking.