=DESCRIPTION.= PILEUS. Leathery, tough, and of an equal cream color,
pliable when moist; shrivelling, wrinkled, even brittle when dry,
changing from the former to the latter with a dew or rain followed
by a hot sun, and also _vice versa_. Cuticle not separable.
GILLS. Broad, wide apart, of the same color as pileus, or a little
paler.
STEM. Solid, of equal circumference; tough, not breaking easily if
bent or twisted.
VOLVA and ring, none.
SPORES white.
TASTE and SMELL musky, rather strong, but nutty and agreeable.
GROWS in rings or groups in rich lawns or roadsides.
=TO COOK.= For serving with meat or fish, cut the tops clear from the
stems just below the gills. To a pint of mushrooms, if moist, add
about a gill of water, pepper and salt to the taste, and a piece of
butter half the size of an egg. Simmer together over the fire ten or
fifteen minutes, thicken with flour or ground rice, and pour over the
cooked meat or fish.
=TO BROIL.= Place the tops like oysters on a fine wire gridiron; as soon
as they are hot, butter them lightly, and salt and pepper to the
taste. Put them back over the coals, and when they are heated through
they are cooked. Butter them, if required, and place in a hot dish.
N. B. When the mushrooms are dried, swell them in water before
cooking.]
[Illustration: PLATE IV.