“...... Oh, who can tell
The hidden power of hearbes, and might of magicke spell?”
SPENSER.
Perhaps no other country can vie with Great Britain in the vast number
of edible species of fungi that may be gathered during all seasons
of the year, from one end of the land to the other. The pastures and
woodlands literally teem with them; they are, however (sad to say),
little known, sadly neglected, or looked upon with unmerited suspicion.
The literature, too, of the subject is so small, and the scientific
part of the study so extremely difficult to begin, that few persons
dare venture to test the qualities of any fungus except the meadow
mushroom, and instances are common enough where even this species is
rejected. It is apparent that no one can be a sure guide to others who
is not himself a “regular fungus _eater_,” and that no descriptions
can be of value, or drawings of use, unless they are taken with the
greatest care from the objects themselves. To the best of my ability,
I have attempted this, and wish to persuade others to test the rare
gastronomic qualities of the twenty-nine species figured. The number
here described and drawn is only a very small portion of the really
valuable species, for I well know that, as a beginner in the study, I
made all sorts of mistakes; but, with one exception, I seldom suffered
much inconvenience, and I even know instances where confessedly
poisonous species have been eaten without ill effect. A little
prudence, too often neglected, should be observed in the consumption of
fungi: for instance, only young, fresh, and sound specimens should be
gathered for the table—for if stale, semi-putrid, and worm-eaten plants
are chosen, they are as likely to produce indigestion and inconvenience
as meat in a similar condition; they should be eaten in moderation, as
a surfeit of sweet mushrooms is as likely to disarrange one’s digestive
organs as a surfeit of pastry. If these precautions are attended to,
and a moderate amount of bread, salt, pepper, and common sense is used,
no accident need occur. Let the specimens be cooked as soon as possible
after gathering.
Although the following statement may be difficult to understand, it
is nevertheless a fact, that many men _do not know what a mushroom is
at all, but will eat anything_. I will give an instance: A year or
two ago, a man in the north of England cooked a large batch of what
he called mushrooms, for supper, and succeeded in poisoning his wife
and family to _death_, and himself nearly to death. Some of the things
he cooked were sent to me for identification, and lo! he had gathered
everything he could lay his hands upon; large and small, sweet and
foul—off horsedung, and rotten palings, and from wherever he could
find anything with a stalk and a top to it after the manner of an
umbrella. When he had buried his family and recovered his own health,
he carelessly walked into a well, and either killed or much damaged
himself—I forget which. I mention this to show the sort of men they
are who poison themselves with mushrooms. They would poison themselves
with anything else if they had the opportunity; would get under a
cart-wheel, or do any absurd thing.
The twenty-nine species figured on the “Edible Sheet” are most of them
abundant, and instantly recognizable when seen, and every one is a
wholesome and delicious object of food, full of aroma and flavour. I
invite my readers to partake of the bountiful feast spread in our rich
pastures and shady woodlands all over the country for all who care to
partake.
“Mushrooms and Toadstools.”—These two words embrace the whole of the
knowledge possessed by the people at large regarding the immense
fungus tribe of this country. If we take the mushroom type of fungus
as an example, we have some seven hundred species, all possessing a
certain general similitude of form. This has caused many to look upon
fungi in common as equivocal productions, difficult or impossible to
distinguish as permanent species; but when the study is once entered
upon in earnest, the student will soon perceive that the species, as a
rule, are marked with great distinctness and permanency, rendering the
recognition of most of them as certain as in any species of flowering
plant.
When the study of the whole of the British Fungi is embraced, it is
true there are many difficulties in the way, for we find some plants
closely approaching the algæ and others the lichens; but when it is
only the larger fungi that it is proposed to discriminate, the task is
much easier, the number being limited to about twelve hundred species.
If the orders AGARICINI and POLYPOREI (including more than eight of
the twelve hundred species) are taken as a rough type of the larger
fungi, it will be seen that these plants consist principally of a stem
and cap. Unlike the flowering plant, the mushroom has no root; but, in
place of it, the mycelium, or spawn, from which the fungus springs.
Under the top are certain gills or plates, tubes, pores or spines, that
bear the spores (or seeds). These spores are distinguished from true
seeds by having no embryo, a spore consisting simply of a _two-coated
cell with no trace of an embryo_. These spores are microscopic
objects of various forms, sizes, and colours, the produce of one
plant reaching, it is said, the enormous number of ten millions; when
they fall upon the earth, or any suitable matrix, they germinate and
form the spawn which eventually produces an infant fungus, the exact
counterpart of the original producer of the spores.
We have but one species popularly recognized as esculent—viz., the
common meadow mushroom (_Agaricus campestris_). A very near ally of
the “meadow mushroom,” and a most delicious species when fresh,—viz.,
the so-called “horse mushroom” (_Agaricus arvensis_)—is nearly always
rejected by country-folks as dangerous. This large and wholesome
species is the one commonly sold in Covent Garden Market as the true
mushroom, where, if _fresh_ specimens can be procured, it is a welcome
addition to the table. The fairy-ring Champignon (certainly one of the
most exquisitely delicious of all our fungi) is generally neglected,
or regarded with great suspicion. Under the name of “champillion,”
however, it is well known to the weavers and labouring men of the east
of London, who may be seen gathering it in considerable numbers any
autumn day amongst the short grass of Victoria Park. The fragrant and
luscious “Chantarelle,” the “rare Morel,” and the sweet and tender
giant puff-ball, are almost universally _kicked_ aside or altogether
neglected. Amongst the species _supposed_ to be popular is _Agaricus
personatus_, said to be sold in Covent Garden Market. I have never seen
it there, or heard of its presence. In the West of England and some
other places I have heard these plants called “Blue-its” (Blewits),
in reference to the blue colour round the upper part of the stem. It
is a most substantial and delicious species, and should be better
known; but I imagine it is rather uncommon, as I have seldom gathered
it; although till quite lately it grew near Highbury Barn. The St.
George’s mushroom, springing up on our lawns and pastures in spring
(_Agaricus gambosus_), is little known, and very seldom eaten. Closely
allied to the _A. personatus_, it is, if possible, more delicious, and
may be easily dried for winter use. The semi-popular scaly mushroom,
_Agaricus procerus_ (except to fungologists), is known to very few,
but its esculent properties are of a very high order, and it has the
merit of being common. It is said to be sometimes sold in Covent Garden
Market, but I have never seen it there, neither do I know anyone who
has. With the truffle, the list must close of such fungi as are now
and then eaten on exceptional occasions, or may be imperfectly known
to a few who have not studied the subject. This species appears in
our markets in limited quantities (there being very little demand for
it), and realizes from 2_s._ 6_d._ to 5_s._ per pound. The statement
that they fetch from 15_s._ to 20_s._ per pound in the London markets
is, I believe, incorrect. It must also be remembered that our English
truffles do not belong to the same species as the delicious truffles
sold in the French markets.
There is no other way of distinguishing a poisonous from an edible
fungus than by finding out its name; there is no magic way of saving
the trouble of learning, by the insertion of a silver spoon in a
stew. If, on tasting a fungus, it burns the tongue like the contact
of scalding water (as several species do), the probability is that it
is not edible; but if, on the contrary, a species exhales a delicious
and inviting fragrance resembling fruit, spice, or new flour, it is
probably worth a trial, and, even _if not_ figured on the “Edible
Sheet,” may be cautiously tried for the table if so desired.
An important character to be observed in fungi is the presence of a
volva, or matrix, at the base of the stem (present in figs. 7 and
8, absent in figs. 11 and 12, Poisonous Sheet), and in the annulus,
or ring, round the stem towards the top (present in figs. 1 and 7,
absent in figs. 14 and 15, Poisonous Sheet). In the determination of
species a great deal depends, too, upon the colour of the spores, or
seeds. These are readily obtained by removing the stalk of the species
to be examined, and placing the top gills lowermost on a piece of
glass. In a few hours the spores will be deposited in a thick dust,
and will vary (according to the species) from pure white to pink,
yellow, red, brown, purple, or jet black. The gills often take their
colours from the spores. It is a very great mistake to imagine that
the “Sudden Mushroom” grows in a single night. The growth of mushrooms
takes a considerable time—often many weeks. The young fungi exist
just beneath or upon the surface of the earth in a compressed and
narrowed compass. It is during this period that all the cells are
formed, and the mushroom itself fashioned; but, being in a squeezed
and concentrated form, it is commonly overlooked. On the advent of
a wet or humid night, the cells forming the fungus are expanded and
stretched out, and the mushroom is consequently thrust considerably
above the surface of the pasture; but, although it is much larger in
size, it is no heavier, neither has the substance itself considerably
increased. Mushrooms can be artificially propagated from the seeds or
spores, but not, generally, during the first season of setting. I have
frequently grown the fragile and deliquescent species common on manure
from the seeds; but, even when the spawn is once formed, it is often
many weeks before the little heads are developed into the true figure
of the parents, even in the inky, fugitive and deliquescent species.
_Coprinus atramentarius_ can be readily grown from spores; if planted
about rotten wood in the autumn, the fungi will appear in the late
spring, and give two crops a year till the soil is exhausted. I have
exhibited a cultivated variety of this species at the meetings of the
Royal Horticultural Society.
I have not thought it necessary to repeat long descriptions of how
the various species may, or may not, be cooked; it has been done to a
great extent before. It is apparent that the addition of “good beef
gravy,” “a few slices of fowl,” “rich veal stuffing,” and various
other savoury condiments, must occasionally give an extra zest to a
dish of mushrooms; but broiled, stewed, or pickled, most species are
“always good alike”; indeed, mushrooms, in their whole composition,
resemble meat in so remarkable a manner, that any methods of cookery
in vogue for delicate preparations of meat, apply with equal force
to mushrooms. Mrs. Hussey and Mr. Cooke each give a large number of
_récipés_ for preparing these vegetables for the table; and to any
reader who may wish to go deeper into the culinary branch of fungology,
I must refer them to these authors. I must confess that I consider
no preparation of mushrooms can exceed the delicious, inviting, and
grateful flavour possessed by mushrooms when simply fried with butter,
salt, and pepper.
The various species suitable for storing up for future use—such as the
Morel, Champignon, &c.—may be readily dried in a current of air, in a
sunny window, or in a cool oven, and then kept in tins, or threaded on
strings and kept in a very dry place. Occasionally this process goes
a step further, and the mushrooms (of any species) are dried to such
an extent as to be readily pulverized; the dust is then known and sold
as “mushroom powder.” Housewives will now and then pickle mushrooms,
by throwing them into scalding vinegar, allowing them to boil for ten
minutes or so, and then, by adding cayenne, mace, nutmeg, or spices,
adapt them to their various tastes.
The liquor extracted from the various edible mushrooms, under
the name of “ketchup,” is used in every kitchen, and the mode of
preparation is probably known to all. It simply consists of placing
the freshly-gathered plants in earthen jars with layers of salt; after
a few hours the ketchup exudes in abundance from the fungi; and the
process is ultimately completed by mashing the remains of the mushrooms
with the hands. It should then be strained and boiled with spice and
pepper, or strained and bottled, and the corked and scaled bottles
placed for several hours in boiling water. The ketchup should then be
kept in a cool and very dry place.
Nearly every species figured on the Edible Sheet will produce ketchup
of good quality, if treated with salt in an earthen jar. The Champignon
and Horse Mushroom may be specially referred to as producing this
condiment of an excellent quality.
The juice exuded from the truffle in boiling is highly relished by
many, as is the deep blood-red juice that runs from the “liver fungus”
when cut. This, when seasoned with salt and pepper, and boiled, has a
very delicious and stimulating flavour.
Since these notes and the following descriptions were written, my
friend Mr. F. C. Penrose, architect, has sent me a list of twenty-eight
species he has eaten, most of which are figured on the “Edible Sheet”;
the other species mentioned by him and not figured on the sheet are
referred to in the descriptions.
The nomenclature of the species is the same with that given by the
Rev. M. J. Berkeley in his “Outlines of British Fungology”; the numbers
inserted after the _scientific_ name refer to my large drawings in the
Food Department of the Bethnal Green Museum, where, if the student so
desires, he may see dissections of the species.
[Illustration]