THE COMMON MUSHROOMS.
_Agaricus campestris_ (True Meadow Mushroom).
THE common meadow mushroom varies considerably, but, “common to all are
a fleshy _pileus_, which is sometimes smooth, sometimes scaly, in colour
white, or of different shades of tawny, fuliginous, or brown; _gills_
free, at first pallid, then flesh-coloured, then pink, next purple, at
length tawny-black; the _stem_ white, full, firm, varying in shape,
furnished with a white persistent ring; the _spores_ brown-black, and a
volva which is very _fugacious_.”--_Badham’s Esculent Funguses of
England._
[Illustration: Fig. 28. _Agaricus campestris_ (the True Meadow
Mushroom). Pastures, autumn; colour, white or pale brown; gills, salmon,
at length black; diameter, 3 to 6 inches. The spores are magnified 700
diameters.]
There is scarcely any one in England who does not feel himself competent
to decide on the genuineness of a mushroom; its pink gills easily
distinguish it from a kindred fungus, _Ag. arvensis_, the gills of which
are of a flesh-coloured grey, and out of the pickings of ten thousand
hands, a mistake is of rare occurrence; and yet no fungus presents
itself under such a variety of forms, or such singular diversities of
aspect! The inference is plain; less discrimination than that employed
to distinguish this would enable anyone who should take the trouble to
recognise at a glance many of those esculent species, which every
spring and autumn fill our plantations and pastures with plenteousness.
Neither is this left to be a mere matter of inference; it is
corroborated in a singular manner by what takes place at Rome; there,
whilst many hundred baskets of what we call toadstools are carried home
for the table, almost the only one condemned to be thrown into the
Tiber, by the inspector of the fungus market, is our own mushroom;
indeed, in such dread is this held in the Papal States, that no one
knowingly would touch it. “It is reckoned one of the fiercest
imprecations,” writes Professor Sanguinetti, “amongst our lower orders,
infamous for the horrible nature of their oaths, to pray that one may
die of a _Pratiolo_;” and although it has been some years registered
among the esculent funguses of Milan and Pavia (on the authority of
Vittadini), it has not yet found its way into those markets. Mr.
Worthington G. Smith, in his “Mushrooms and Toad-stools,” qualifies this
statement of Dr. Badham.
_Agaricus campestris_ is not generally appreciated in Italy, and indeed
is seldom eaten, and never appears in the markets, for the simple reason
that there would be no sale for it. There is an edict in existence
ordering certain fungi to be thrown into the Tiber, but it is now, and
has long been altogether effete; and whilst there is an abundance of _A.
Cæsareus_ (avowedly the most delicious of all fungi) for the markets of
Italy, it is not to be expected the consumption will be given up for
another and little known species.
_The Modes of Cooking this Species._--“The mushroom, having the same
proximate principles as meat, requires, like meat, to be cooked before
these become changed. The _Ag. campestris_ may be prepared in a great
variety of ways: they give a fine flavour to soup, and greatly improve
beef-tea; where arrowroot and weak broths are distasteful to the
patient, the simple seasoning of a little ketchup will frequently form
an agreeable change. Some roast them, basting with melted butter and
white (French) wine sauce. In patties and _vols-au-vent_ they are
equally excellent; in fricassees, as everybody knows, they are the
important element of the dish. Roques recommends in all cases the
removal of the gills before dressing, which though it secures a more
elegant-looking _entremets_, is only flattering the eye at the expense
of the palate.”--_Badham._
_Agaricus arvensis_ (Horse-Mushroom).
“_Pileus_ fleshy, obtusely conico-campanulate, then expanded, at first
floccose, then smooth, even, or rivulose; _stem_ hollow, with a floccose
pith; _ring_ broad, pendulous, double, the outer split in rays; _gills_
free, wider in front, at first dirty white, then brown, tinged with
pink.”--_Berkeley’s Outlines of British Fungology._
[Illustration: Fig. 29. _Agaricus arvensis_ (Horse-Mushroom). Pastures,
in autumn; colour, yellowish; gills pallid, at length black; diameter, 6
to 24 in.]
“This species is very nearly allied to the meadow mushroom, and
frequently grows with it, but it is coarser, and has not the delicious
flavour. It is usually much larger, often attaining enormous dimensions;
it turns a brownish yellow as soon as broken or bruised. The top in good
specimens is smooth, and snowy white; the gills are not the pure pink of
the meadow mushroom, but dirty brownish white, ultimately becoming
brown-black. It has a big, ragged, floccose ring, and the pithy stem is
inclined to be hollow. It is _the_ species exposed for sale in Covent
Garden Market. Indeed, after knowing the market for many years, I have
rarely seen any other species there; when the true mushroom, however,
_is_ there, it is frequently mingled with horse mushrooms, which seems
to show that the dealers do not know one from the other. In the wet days
of autumn, children, idlers, and beggars go a few miles from town into
the meadows to gather whatever they can find in the mushroom line; they
then bring their dirty stock to market, where it is sold to fashionable
purchasers; stale, vapid, and without taste--unless it be a bad one.
“When young and fresh, the horse mushroom is a most desirable addition
to the bill of fare: it yields an abundant gravy, and the flesh is firm
and delicious. It is a valuable plant when freshly gathered, but when
stale it becomes tough and leathery, and without aroma or juice.
“There is a curious, large, brown, hairy variety, of rather uncommon
occurrence, similar to the hairy variety of the meadow mushroom, the _A.
villaticus_ of Dr. Badham. It is a splendid form, but, I think, very
rare. I have only seen it once.
“Many country-folk readily distinguish the meadow from the horse
mushroom, and show antipathy to the latter, although they are always
willing to put it into the jar as one of the ingredients of ketchup.
Opinions appear to differ greatly regarding the excellence of this
species. Mr. Penrose writes:--‘I think young, and especially button,
specimens of this very indigestible; until they are well opened out,
they are unfit for use.’ Such, however, I must say, is not my experience
of button specimens.
“There is a strong odour attached both to the fungus and the spawn, the
ground just below the surface being frequently white with the latter; or
if horse-dung be kicked aside in a rich meadow frequented by
graminivorous animals, the earth will frequently present a snowy
whiteness from the spawn of this species, from which the young
individuals may be seen springing up.
“I once saw a sheep eat a large specimen with great apparent gusto,
although the fungus was full of maggots.”--_Worthington G. Smith._