In many parts of the country mushrooms are so plentiful that their cost, like blackberries, may be considered almost nil. Great care should be exercised by novices in picking them. The most common mistakes are made by Cockney tourists and the inhabitants of large towns, who are unable to distinguish between edible mushrooms and poisonous fungi.

It is exceedingly unwise to rely upon mere book-learning in selecting mushrooms, as mistakes may prove fatal. The motto should be, "When in doubt go without." Of the mushrooms generally eaten in England, and which may be partaken of with impunity, the chief is the common mushroom (Agaricus campestris). "When eaten," says Dr. Lancaster, "this mushroom should be fresh gathered, as after keeping it acquires properties that render it liable to disagree. The Agaricus campestris may, however, be dried quickly, and kept wholesome for any length of time, or they may be powdered and thus kept. When salted fresh and pressed they yield the sauce known by the name of ' ketchup,' or ' catsup.' When arrowroot and weak broths are distasteful to persons with delicate stomachs, a little seasoning with ketchup will generally form an agreeable change." The mushroom itself may be cooked in a variety of ways. Some roast them, basting them with melted butter, and serve with white wine sauce. They may be added to patties and fricassees. In France they steep them in oil, adding salt, pepper, and a little garlic; they are then tossed up in a small stewpan over a brisk fire, with chopped parsley and a little lemon-juice. The morel is occasionally found in Great Britain. In the opinion of fungus-eaters it is a great luxury. It is prepared in the same way as the common mushroom, but its flavour is more delicate. Ordinarily, it is obtained from our Italian warehouses, but, if sought for about the beginning of summer, it may not unfrequently be found in our orchards and woods. Another fungus met with in English markets is the truffle. It is more uncommon in this country than the morel, but it is imported in considerable quantities from France. Truffles grow entirely underground, and truffle hunting dogs, and even swine, are trained to discover them. They impart a fine flavour to soups and gravies, and enter into the composition of stuffing for boars' heads, fish, and other kinds of animal food. In his valuable work on the "Esculent Funguses of England," Dr. Badham remarks of the odours and tastes of mushrooms that both one and the other are far more numerous in this species of plant than in any other with which we are acquainted. Some of them give out powerfully disagreeable odours, whilst others yield the most agreeable of perfumes. The authority just mentioned enumerates no fewer than forty-eight species of mushroom, all of which; are good to eat. The great objection, however, to mushrooms, is that some of them are very poisonous; and mistakes occur so often that only persons skilled in distinguishing the various species ought to be trusted for administering them indiscriminately as food. On the continent persons are specially appointed to examine all fungi sent to market, so that only those which are safe to eat are allowed to be sold. According to Dr. Badham, the majority of fungi are harmless, but his account of the poisonous effects of the minority, and the post-mortem appearance of the organs of those who have died through partaking of them, are enough to alarm the most stout-hearted.

MUSHROOMS.

Fried Mushrooms

The simplest form of cooking mushrooms is to fry them. Peel the mushrooms and cut off the stalks, and place them in a frying-pan, with a little butter; fry gently till they are quite tender, season with a little pepper, and pour the contents of the frying-pan over them. The trimmings of mushrooms are valuable for flavouring gravies, etc.

Mushrooms (Au Gratin)

Scoop out the inside of some nice round cup mushrooms, after peeling them, and cut off and peel the stalks; chop up these last with some onion, parsley, a pinch of thyme (say, a piece of onion the size of the top of the thumb, and a teaspoonful of parsley, and a piece of lemon-peel the size of a sixpence, for six mushrooms); fry these in some scraped bacon-fat, flavour with pepper and salt, and add some bread crumbs in sufficient quantity to fill the six cups hollowed out. Cover with bread crumbs and bread raspings. Cook these filled cups very slowly in a stewpan, with a little oil or melted fat, covering over carefully to keep in the flavour. Serve with or without brown gravy, poured round, not over.

Mushroom Sauce

Peel and cut up some mushrooms - button mushrooms are best - and boil them in some good rich brown gravy. (See Gravy.) Sufficient mushroom must be added to make the gravy about as thick as egg sauce.