color, but in other respects it is quite distinct. The short stem,
widely separated gills and pruinose surface of the cap are distinctive
features. The cap is broadly convex and often has a small central
depression or umbilicus. In some cases it becomes nearly plane or even
slightly funnel-shape by the spreading or elevation of the margin. The
surface, specially in young and in well-developed specimens, has a
soft pruinose or almost velvety appearance to the naked eye, and when
viewed through a magnifying glass it is seen to be covered with minute
persistent granules. The surface is sometimes wrinkled and frequently
it cracks in such a way as to form small angular or irregular areas.
The color is a peculiar one, varying somewhat in shade, but with tawny
hues prevailing. It has been described as yellowish tawny and brownish
orange. The flesh is white or whitish and has a mild taste.
The gills are wide apart, somewhat arched in specimens having a convex
cap and slightly decurrent in those with fully expanded or centrally
depressed caps. Their color is white or creamy yellow and in old and
dried specimens they have a white pruinosity as if frosted by the
spores. The milk is white and mild.
The stem is short, rarely more than an inch long, and is cylindric or
tapering downward. It is solid and colored and clothed like the cap.
The cap is 1 to 4 in. broad; the stem is usually about 1 in. long, 4
to 8 lines thick. It is found in thin woods, bushy places and pastures
from July to September. It is similar to the orange Lactarius, _L.
volemus_, in its edible qualities. _Peck_, 52d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Russula rugulosa= n. sp. Rugulose Russula. =Pileus= rather thin,
fragile, convex, becoming nearly plane or centrally depressed, viscid
when moist, roughened or uneven with small tubercles and rugæ, even on
the margin when young, becoming tuberculate striate with age, the
viscid pellicle separable on the margin. =Flesh= white, reddish under
the cuticle, taste tardily acrid. =Lamellæ= rather close, adnate or
slightly rounded behind, white. =Stem= nearly equal, spongy within,
white. =Spores= white, rough, subglobose, 8–10µ broad, shining in
transmitted light.
The rugulose russula is closely related to the emetic russula, but
differs from it in the uneven or rugulose surface of the cap, in the
tardily acrid taste and in its closer adnate gills. Its cap is red,
varying from pale-red to dark-red, viscid when moist, even on the
margin when young, but somewhat tuberculate and striate when old. Its
surface is roughened by minute tubercles or pimples, which sometimes
appear to run together and form short ridges. These are sometimes
absent from the center of the cap. The viscid cuticle easily peels
from the margin of the cap, but not from the center. The flesh is
white, except just under the cuticle, where it is reddish. It is soft
and fragile, and its taste is slowly and much less sharply acrid than
in the emetic russula. Its gills are closely placed, attached to the
stem and persistently white. The stem is brittle, soft and spongy
within, smooth and white. The cap is 2–4 inches broad, the stem 2–3
inches long, 4–8 lines thick.
It grows in woods among mosses and fallen leaves or on the bare
ground, and appears in August and September. It is an inhabitant of
the Adirondack forests. Its slightly acrid flavor is destroyed in
cooking, and it affords a harmless, tender and agreeable food. _Peck_,
54th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Russula abietina= n. sp. Fir Tree Russula. =Pileus= thin, fragile,
convex, becoming nearly plane or slightly depressed in the center,
viscid when moist, the viscid pellicle separable, tuberculate striate
on the margin. =Flesh= white, taste mild. =Lamellæ= subdistant,
ventricose, narrowed toward the stem, rounded behind and nearly free,
whitish, becoming pale yellow, the interspaces venose. =Stem= equal or
tapering toward the top, stuffed or hollow, white. =Spores= bright
yellowish ochraceous, subglobose, rough, 8–10µ broad.
The fir tree russula is closely related to the youthful russula, _R.
puellaris_ Fr., from which it is separated by the viscid cap, the
gills rather widely separated from each other and nearly free, the
stem never yellowish nor becoming yellow where wounded, and the spores
having an ochraceous hue. They are much brighter and more highly
colored in the mass than the mature gills. The cap varies much in
color, but the center is generally darker than the rest. It may be
dull purple or greenish purple with a brownish or blackish center, or
sometimes with an olive green center, or it may be olive green or
smoky green with a brownish center. Olive green and purplish hues of
various shades are variously combined, but sometimes the margin is
grayish and the center olive green. The flesh is white and its taste
mild. The gills are white when young, or barely tinged with yellow,
but they become pale yellow with age. They are neither crowded nor
widely attached to the stem, and are connected with each other by
cross veins, which can be seen at the bottom of the interspaces. The
stems are rather slender, soft or spongy, sometimes becoming hollow
and occasionally tapering upward. They are very constantly and
persistently white. The =cap= is 1–2.5 inches broad, the =stem= 1–2.5
inches long, 3–5 lines thick. This russula grows under or near pine,
spruce or balsam fir trees. It occurs from July to October. It is
tender and palatable. The stems also are tender and may be cooked with
the caps. _Peck_, 54th Rep. N. V. State Bot.
(Plate V.)
[Illustration:
CANTHARELLUS CINNABARINUS PK.
About one-half nat. size. After Peck.
]
=Cantharellus cinnabarinus= Schw. Cinnabar Chantarelle. (Plate V.)
=Pileus= firm, convex or slightly depressed in the center, often
irregular with a wavy or lobed margin, glabrous, cinnabar red. =Flesh=
white. =Lamellæ= narrow, distant, branched, decurrent, red. =Stem=
equal or tapering downward, glabrous, solid or stuffed, red. =Spores=
elliptic, 8–10µ long, 4–5µ broad.
The cinnabar Chantarelle is readily recognized by its color. It is
externally red in all its parts, the interior only being white. It is
a small species but often quite irregular in shape. Small specimens
are more likely to be regular than large ones. Sometimes the cap is
more fully developed on one side than on the other. This makes the
stem eccentric or in some cases almost lateral. The color is quite
constant, but in some instances it is paler and approaches a pinkish
hue. It is apt to fade or even disappear in dried specimens. The gills
are blunt on the edge as in other species of this genus. They are
forked or branched, narrow and decurrent.
The stem is small, smooth and usually rather short. It is generally
solid, but in the original description it is characterized as stuffed.
The cap is 8 to 18 lines broad; the stem 6 to 12 lines long and 1 to 3
broad. It grows gregariously in thin woods and open places and may be
found from July to September. It sometimes occurs in great abundance,
which adds to its importance as an edible species. The fresh plant has
a tardily and slightly acrid flavor, but this disappears in cooking.
In Epicrisis, Fries referred this species to the genus Hygrophorus,
and in Sylloge also it is placed in that genus, but it is a true
Cantharellus and belongs in the genus in which Schweinitz placed it.
_Peck_, 52d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Cortinarius corrugatus= Pk. Corrugated Cortinarius. (Plate VI.)
=Pileus= fleshy, broadly campanulate or very convex, viscid when
moist, coarsely corrugated, bright-yellow, reddish-yellow, tawny or
ochraceous. =Flesh= white. =Lamellæ= close, pallid when young,
becoming tawny with age. =Stem= rather long, equal, hollow, bulbous,
pallid or yellowish, the bulb viscid and usually colored like the
pileus. =Spores= broadly elliptical, rough, 11–16µ long, 8–10µ broad.
The corrugated Cortinarius is a well-marked and easily-recognized
species, quite distinct from its allies. Although the color of the
pileus is variable, its viscid, corrugated surface and the viscid bulb
of the stem afford distinctive and easily-recognized characters.
Sometimes the corrugations or wrinkles anastomose with each other in
such a way as to give a reticulated appearance. The color varies from
yellow to reddish-tawny or reddish-ochraceous. The margin in young
plants is incurved.
(Plate VI.)
[Illustration:
CORTINARIUS CORRUGATUS PK.
About two-thirds nat. size. After Peck.
]
There is a variety in which the cap is adorned with darker-colored
spots or scales. This bears the name, variety _subsquamosus_. In all
other respects it is like the species.
The gills are closely placed side by side. They are at first of a pale
hue, but assume a darker and more definite tawny color with age. They
are usually minutely uneven or eroded on the edge and transversely
striate on the sides. They are slightly narrowed toward the stem.
The stem is generally a little longer than the width of the cap. It is
commonly smooth, but sometimes sprinkled near the top with minute
yellowish particles and adorned below with a few fibrils. It is hollow
and has a distinct viscid bulbous base, the viscidity of which is a
peculiar feature. This bulb in the very young plant is even broader
than the young cap, that at this stage of development appears to rest
upon it. The color of the bulb is usually like that of the cap, but
the stem is commonly paler than either.
The cap is 2 to 4 inches broad, the stem 3 to 5 inches long, 3 to 8
lines thick. The plants are gregarious in woods and bushy places, and
may be found from June to September. It sometimes grows in
considerable abundance, and as an edible species it is not to be
despised. _Peck_, 52d Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
=Agaricus hæmorrhoidarius= Schulz. Bleeding Mushroom. The bleeding
mushroom is easily recognized, when fresh, by the red color assumed by
wounds of the flesh either of the cap or stem. This character is also
found in the seashore mushroom, _A. maritimus_, a species that has a
solid stem and has not yet been found growing far from the sea. The
cap is generally some shade of brown, but sometimes when young it is
white. It is adorned with darker fibrils or scales, though these
sometimes become obscure or disappear with age. When young it is
hemispheric or very convex, but it soon becomes broadly convex or
nearly flat, with the center either slightly depressed or somewhat
prominent. The flesh is generally whitish or grayish white when first
exposed to the air. It assumes the red color rather slowly and after a
time loses it again.
The gills are pink or rarely whitish when young, but become brown or
blackish brown with age. The stem is long or short, cylindric or
tapering upward, sometimes slightly thickened or bulbous at the base,
sometimes not. It is hollow, but the cavity small, at first fibrillose
and more or less adorned with floccose scales toward the base, but
these generally disappear with age, and the primary white color of the
stem is apt to become darker with age. The collar is membranaceous and
at first conceals the gills. It is persistent, silky and white or
whitish, sometimes tinged with brown.
The =cap= is 2–4 inches broad; the =stem= 2–4 inches long, 3–5 lines
thick. It grows in woods or bushy places and seems to prefer damp soil
rich in vegetable mold. It may be found from August to October. It
sometimes grows in clusters. It gives to milk in which it is stewed a
brownish color. Its flavor is similar to that of the common mushroom.
A variety in which the stem is commonly shorter and the pileus of a
darker smoky brown color is sometimes abundant in low damp ground on
Long Island. It may be called _variety fumosus_. _Peck_, 54th Rep.
N.Y. State Bot.
=Agaricus abruptus= Pk. (A. silvicola Vitt., A. arvensis var. abruptus
Pk.) (Plate I, page 722.) Agaricus abruptus Pk. is described on page
343 as A. silvicola Vitt. It is very common in the woods of West
Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1901, I found
it in Rockingham Co., N.C. The probabilities are that its spread is
extensive.
Being the wood cousin of the field mushroom (A. campester) it deserves
more than ordinary attention. It is found during months which do not
favor the growth of the mushroom. It is equally good, though not so
fleshy. It gives the true mushroom flavor to less flavored edible
species when cooked with them.
When seen at a distance, growing in the woods, it has the appearance
of an Amanita, but the color of the gills, which are never white after
the cap opens and become as the spores ripen a blackish brown,
distinguishes it at once. Neither has it a volva.
The excellent photograph of the species, taken by the late Dr. J.R.
Weist, Richmond, Ind., presents a life-like picture of it.
[Illustration:
Photograph by Dr. J.R. Weist. SUPPLEMENT, PLATE I.
AGARICUS ABRUPTUS PK.
]
=Boletus granulatus albidipes= n. var. “Under pine trees. Westport.
October. This variety differs from the typical form of the species in
having the flesh of the pileus white, except next the tubes, where it
is faintly yellowish, the stem white externally and internally, and in
having a slight membranaceous veil which forms a very thin annulus on
the stem of the young plant, or forms fragments which adhere to the
margin of the pileus.” _Peck_, 54th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
For typical form B. granulatus, see page 416.
=Boletus chrysenteron albocarneus= n. var. White Flesh Boletus.
=Pileus= fleshy, convex above, dry, subglabrous, varying from brick
red to bay red. =Flesh= white, sometimes tinged with red near the
surface; tubes rather long, adnate or slightly depressed around the
stem, greenish yellow, their mouths small, subrotund. =Stem= equal or
nearly so, solid, subglabrous, colored like or a little paler than the
pileus, white within.
The white flesh boletus is quite common in the Adirondack forests and
quite constant in its characters. I have not seen it with yellow
flesh, though in other respects it agrees very well with the
description of _B. chrysenteron_. The cap is not often cracked, but,
when it is, the cracks are sometimes red, sometimes yellowish, though
the flesh is constantly white except just beneath the cuticle, where
it is sometimes reddish. The tubes are long and greenish yellow. They
are at first nearly plane in the mass, but with the expansion of the
cap the mass often becomes ventricose. The mouths of the tubes are
small and nearly round. Wounds or bruises of the mass become bluish or
greenish blue. The stem is firm, solid and colored like the cap,
though it is sometimes a little paler.
The =Cap= is 1–2.5 inches broad; the =Stem= 1–2 inches long, 2–4 lines
thick. The trial specimens were fried in butter and found to be
harmless, palatable and digestible. _Peck_, 54th Rep. N.Y. State Bot.
For typical species—_B. chrysenteron_—see page 431.
RAISING MUSHROOMS AT HOME
By the courtesy of the publishers of The Woman’s Home Companion, the
author is permitted to republish his article, “Raising Mushrooms at
Home,” which appeared in the October, 1901, number of that excellent
monthly—encyclopedic in all home matters.
In October is the time to prepare the manure and beds for
house-raising of mushrooms. During the warm months they can not be
cultivated without trial of one’s temper and test of one’s taste. Any
one having control of a cellar can raise a fine crop of expectations,
and may raise a crop of mushrooms by either accident or experience.
They are at all times the most contrary of growths, and require the
nicest management and much patience. The first thing to do is to
select a well-ventilated spot away from direct drafts, where the
temperature can be maintained at from fifty to sixty degrees and a
moist atmosphere assured. Thoroughly cleanse the cellar and give it an
entire covering of whitewash.
Decide upon the size of bed desired. In width the bed should not
exceed reaching distance to its center when there is a pathway on each
side of it, say six feet. The length of the bed should reach to its
useful stopping-place. If the cellar has a portable heater in it, and
is warm, the bed should be ten to twelve inches in depth; if the
heater is walled in, or the cellar is cool, the bed should be fifteen
inches deep.
Calculate how much fresh horse-manure, with the long straw only
removed from it and that has not been rained upon, it will take to
make a bed of desired dimensions solidly tramped. Get it, put it in a
compact heap, and keep it covered from rain. It will heat rapidly and
get smoking-hot, because a fermentation sets in which produces heat.
If loam can be procured from a pasture or elsewhere it is well to add
one-fifth (in bulk) of it to the manure, mixing it thoroughly. This
addition retards the fermentation and absorbs the ammonia—a valuable
fertilizer—which would otherwise be driven off by the heat. It also
takes up any surplus of moisture.
After the compact pile has been thus prepared it should stand two or
three days, then be well forked over and again piled. This forking
should be repeated from four to six times, at intervals of from two to
four days, depending upon the use or not of loam, which affects the
rapidity of heating. If loam is used the forking should be at longer
intervals unless the heat becomes excessive. The manure will probably
then be in good order to go into beds. It is upon proper, careful
preparation of this medium that successful mushroom-raising greatly
depends. All work and hopes are thrown away if the greatest care is
not exercised. Just as it is folly to buy poor seeds upon which to
expend costly labor, so it is folly to make beds of poorly prepared
manure.
[Illustration: BRICK CUT FOR PLANTING.]
The manure must neither contain too much nor too little water. By far
the largest percentage of failures is due to too much. It rots the
spawn vine (mycelium), and thus destroys the starting place of the
fruit, or mushroom. The object in forking the manure so frequently is
to sweeten it (as the operation is called) and to prevent overheating
from fermentation. If it gets too hot it “burns”—gets too dry.
Molding, too, is avoided. Moldy manure will not produce. If, in
forking over the pile, dry places are found, they should be sprinkled
with water; if, when the fermentation grows less active, the manure is
too wet, spread it out to air and dry somewhat. It is in good
condition and properly moist when tight squeezing will not press water
from it. Far better that it should be too dry than too wet. The manure
now ready should be moved to the cellar and made into beds while warm.
Good ventilation is a necessity. Two thermometers are needed—one to
mark the temperature of the cellar, the other to place well and
solidly down in the bed to record what it is doing in the heat way. It
is probable that the mercury will rise slowly. It may go as high as
one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and thirty degrees. Do not
disturb the bed, however high it goes. When it falls to between ninety
and eighty degrees plant the spawn. If possible, keep the temperature
up for several days. It should then fall slowly to sixty degrees, but
go down no farther. Never plant on a rising temperature.
Mushroom-spawn comes in brick-shaped blocks. They can be purchased, of
good quality, from any reliable seedsman. These blocks are made of a
mixture of dungs, through which the mycelium, or vine, from which
mushrooms grow, has been run. After this mixture is filled with the
vine (badly named spawn) it is pressed into blocks and dried. It
should be kept dry until used. Spawning a bed is nothing more than
placing cuttings of this exceedingly fine vine under the influence of
moisture and heat in a soil fitted for its growth (such as the bed
should be), then inducing it to run and fruit. Spawn is originally
made to grow by planting the seed of mushrooms in specially prepared
dungs and germinating them. The mycelium, or vine, coming from this
germination is called “virgin spawn,” and is perpetuated in its growth
by running (training) it through manures, pieces of which form the
spawn of commerce.
With a sharp hatchet cut the bricks into twelve pieces of equal size;
a fine, clean meat-saw may be used, as it reduces breakage. With the
hand make holes in the bed ten inches apart each way. These holes must
be so deep that when the lumps of spawn are thrust firmly down into
them the top of the lumps will be not less than one inch or more than
two inches below the surface of the bed. Cover the lumps firmly. Have
the surface of the bed as even as possible. Without having to go very
far into the cold region of mathematics, the number of bricks of spawn
needed is easily figured. Ascertain the number of holes, ten inches
apart, that can be made in the bed. Divide this number by twelve, and
lo! you have it.
After the bed is spawned it is well to lay a double thickness of
newspapers over it, putting a few plastering-laths or light sticks
upon them to keep them in place. This is to keep the heat in the bed,
as it is desirable that the temperature should not run down too
rapidly. It should be two weeks falling to sixty degrees.
Ten days after spawning, if the heat of the bed has gone down to
sixty-five or sixty degrees, cover the bed with two inches of loam and
pat it solid with spade or board. The bed should not be covered with
loam when the temperature is too high. Removing the papers will allow
the heat to escape. At the time of covering with loam the spawn should
have begun to spread. It will show plainly in the manure close to the
lumps of spawn. Its odor is unmistakable, being musky, spicy, much
like mushrooms, but stronger. Care should be taken not to disturb the
new mycelium, as all breakage of the fine, web-like threads lessens
its product. The mycelium should start and grow quickly up to the time
of covering with loam. After that a slow increase is best. To effect
this the surrounding outside temperature should be from fifty-seven to
sixty-two degrees. Ventilation should be upward and good, but not
directly upon the bed.
The mycelium will now run and completely fill the bed. Minute white
nodules will appear upon the threads of it; these are the beginnings
of the mushrooms to come. In from seven to eight weeks after spawning
tiny button mushrooms should appear on top of the bed. If the cellar
has been cool it may be a few days longer. Mr. Falconer says, “If the
temperature of the bed falls below fifty-seven degrees, and the
atmospheric temperature below forty-five degrees, the beds should be
covered with matting or other material.” Newspapers will do. Upon the
appearance of the mushrooms is the time a moist atmosphere is needed.
This is obtained by sprinkling the walks and cellar well with warm
water. This moisture should be kept up all the while the crop is
growing. Unless the fruiting beds show a marked dryness they should
not be watered. If watering is required, do it very carefully with a
fine rose or syringe. Have the pure water at ninety degrees, and do
not more than moisten the loam covering. Never let the water settle in
pools or wash the surface.
After the bed is in bearing the addition of strong, liquid manure
plentifully applied between the bunches (never on them) will add to
their weight and size. It should be done with a long spout without
rose. A sprinkling of salt on bare places is beneficial.
[Illustration: BERTH BEDS AGAINST CELLAR WALLS.]
GATHERING THE CROP.