PART VIII. FUNGI AS FOODS. Mushrooms. Certain fungi growing wild cr in cultivated soils and having an expanded top on a hooded stem are known as mushrooms. The common form of mushroom (Agaricus campestris L.) grows wild over a large portion of the United States. It is especially abundant in the autumn, growing sometimes during the night after a warm rain, over large areas. When properly cooked it forms a delicious food and condimental substance, highly prized by connoisseurs and others. Belonging to the family of mushrooms, however, are many poisonous varieties which, when eaten inadvertently, often cause serious illness and sometimes death. For this reason mushrooms sold in the open market should be carefully inspected by experts authorized to see that the poisonous varieties are excluded. It not only requires a good botanist, but also one skilled in the practical differentiation of the different varieties by physical appearance rather than by botanical analysis, to properly separate the poisonous from the edible varieties. Historical.-Mushrooms have been, since historical times, extensively used as human food. In a book written five centuries before the Christian era, Athenée, in his "Banquet of Learned Men," speaks of the poisoning of a mother and her three children by mushrooms. Hippocrates speaks of a girl who had been poisoned by mushrooms and who was cured by the administration of hot honey and by a hot bath. Theophrastes and Nicandre also speak of mushrooms and the poisoning that occurs therefrom. Both Cicero and Horace make reference to mushrooms. Horace advises that Epicureans should confine themselves to the mushrooms that grow upon meadows and refuse to eat all others on account of the danger from poisoning. Ovid also makes frequent allusions to mushrooms and speaks of the influence of warm rains upon their growth. Tacitus refers to the use of mushrooms for food, and Suétonius, in his "History of the Twelve Cæsars," relates that the Emperor Claudius was poisoned by a dish of mushrooms. It is, therefore, evident that from the earliest times mushrooms were extensively used and the poisonous properties of some of the varieties understood. Production of Mushrooms.-As has already been mentioned, mushrooms grow wild over a large area of the United States. They are also cultivated very extensively, though not so extensively here as in European countries. The best place for growing cultivated mushrooms is one where the light is excluded or diffused and where the temperature remains reasonably constant. Cellars, caves, and the artificial caverns made by quarrying are peculiarly well suited for the growth of different varieties of fungi, such as mush rooms. The art of growing mushrooms is not easily acquired. The directions. given by the best authorities may be rigidly followed and failure ensue. The skill of the grower appears to be born, not made, and those who have acquired the art succeed where theoretical knowledge fails. For cultural purposes, the Agaricus campestris is most universally employed. Soil. The soil best suited for the growth of mushrooms is one rich in decayed or decaying vegetable matter. Mushrooms are often found growing in localities where a log or stump has decayed or where the inorganic matter from the manure of cattle or horses has been distributed on the soil. Artificial beds for the growth of mushrooms are made up largely of organic manurial substances. Spores.-Mushrooms are grown from spores. The mushroom produces a brown powdery material which consists of almost innumerable simple cells of ovate shape to which the term "spore" has been applied. A spore is not in the strict sense of the word a seed, but simply a cell which by proliferation produces the new fungus. Generally growers do not use these spores directly in seeding mushroom beds. Each complete spore, however, is, under favorable conditions, capable of proliferation or germination, producing a thread-like growth of a spider-web character which penetrates through the soil, prepared and manured, upon which a spore is germinated. This spiderweb-like growth, in the common language of mushroom growers, is called the spawn, more properly called the mycelium of the mushroom. When the conditions are favorable, there are formed on the threads of this mycelium small nodules, which are the earlier stages of the complete fungus itself. From the beginning of this growth until the final production of the mushroom two or three days or even a week may elapse. The earlier periods of this growth take place under ordinary circumstances, but the advent of a warm rain or other extremely favorable conditions causes the budding mushroom to grow at an enormously rapid rate. The mushroom may not be said to have a root, stem, and leaf, as is the case with an ordinary green plant, but is practically a single organism, assuming different shapes which are represented by the different varieties and species of growth. Differing Varieties of Edible Mushrooms.-There is a very large variety of edible mushrooms differing in form, size, and shape from the Agaricus campestris. In the Washington markets there are four principal kinds of mushrooms which are found growing wild in the vicinity of the city. These comprise the common mushroom-Agaricus campestris, the horse mushroom Agaricus arvensis, shaggy mushroom-Coprinus comatus, and the puff-ball— Lycoperdon 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): Common mushroom,. Common Morel,. 91.30 0.60 0.36 .37 .12 3.06 0.24 3.75 0.20 3.50 0.80 0.50 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 |