Clavaria coralloides.

Bot. Char. Pileus erect, white, stem rather thick, branches unequal, elongated, mostly acute, pure white, sometimes violet at the base.

Mode of Dressing.

Having thoroughly cleansed away the earth, which is apt to adhere to them, they are to be sweated with a little butter, over a slow fire, afterwards to be strained, then (throwing away the liquor) to be replaced to stew for an hour, with salt, pepper, chopped chives and parsley, moistening with plain. stock, and dredging with flour occasionally. When. sufficiently cooked, to be thickened with yolks of eggs and cream.

Another Mode.

Proceed as before; after sweating the Clavarias, wrap them in bacon and stew in a little broth seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, and ham; cook for an hour, then serve in white sauce, or with a fricassée of chicken.

N.B. - The saucepan should be covered with a sheet of paper under the lid, which keeps the Clavarias white and also preserves their flavour.

There can be little doubt that our woods, properly explored, would be found to abound in funguses hitherto considered rare, and this would probably be one of them. At present the weald of Kent, within forty miles of London, remains, so far as Mycology is concerned, nearly as unexplored as the interior of Africa.

Plate V. fig. 2, represents Clavaria amethystina, Bull. Plate V. fig. 5, represents C. cinerea, Bull. Plate V., fig. 6, represents C. rugosa. Bull.

All these more or less spherical white funguses furnished with a membranaceous covering, and filled when young with a white, compact, homogeneous pulp, which we call Puff-balls, are good to eat; those in most request for the table abroad, and the best, have no stem, i.e. no sterile base, but are prolific throughout their whole substance. One of the most common of these is the Lycoperdon plumbeum, of which the following excellent description is chiefly taken from Vittadini.

Bot. Char. Body globose, when full-grown about the size of a walnut, invested with two [Ref. 140] tunics, the outer one white, loosely membranaceous and fragile, sometimes smooth, at others furfuraceous; the innermost one (peridium) very tenacious, smooth, of a grey-lead colour externally, internally more or less shaggy with very fine hairs, these hairs occupy the whole cavity, and in the midst of them a prodigious number of minute granular bodies, the sporules (each of which is furnished with a long caudiform process), lie entangled. The whole plant, carefully removed from the earth, with its root still adhering, is in form not unlike one of its own seeds vastly magnified.

The L. plumbeum abounds in dry places, and is to be found in spring, summer, and autumn, solitary or in groups. "This," says Vittadini, "is one of our commonest Puff-balls, and after the warm rains of summer and of autumn, myriads of these little plants suddenly springing up will often completely cover a piece of ground as if they had been sown like grain, for a crop; if we dig them up we shall find that they are connected with long fragile threads, extending horizontally underground and giving attachment to numerous smaller Puff-balls in different stages of development, which, by continuing to grow, afford fresh supplies as the old ones die off."

"La sua carne candida compatta si presta facilemente a tutte le speculazioni del cuoco." - Vitt.

This differs from the last-mentioned Puff-ball in many particulars ; in the first place it is much larger (sometimes attaining to vast dimensions), its shape is different, being that of an inverted cone; never globular, the flesh also is more compact, while the membrane which holds what is first the pulp and afterwards the seed, is very thin and tender; the seed, moreover, has no caudal appendage, and finally, a considerable portion of the base is sterile, in all which additional particulars it is unlike the Lycoperdon plumbeum. The plant is sessile, a purple-black fragile membrane contains the spores, which are also sessile [Ref. 141], and of the same colour as the peridium.

No fungus requires to be eaten so soon after gathering as this, a few hours will destroy the compactness of the flesh and change its colour from delicate-white to dirty-yellow [Ref. 142]; but when perfectly fresh and properly prepared, it yields to no other in digestibility. It may be dressed in many ways, but the best method is to cut it into slices and fry these in egg and bread-crumbs, so prepared, it has the flavour of a rich, light omelette [Ref. 143].

This is a nauseous, disagreeable fungus, however cooked, and merely finds mention here, as its omission in a work on the esculent funguses of England might seem strange to those unacquainted with is demerits; it is really extraordinary how some Continental writers, speaking from their own experience, should ever have recommended it for the table. Pliny's general apage against all funguses really finds an application to this, which is so repugnant to our notions of the savoury, that few would make a second attempt, or get dangerously far in a first dish. Not to be poisonous is its only recommendation; for as to the inviting epithet melleus, or honeyed, by which it is designated, this alludes only to the colour, and by no means to the taste, which is both harsh and styptic.

Bot. Char. In tufts, near or upon stamps of trees, or posts. Pileus dirty-yellow, more or less hairy; stem fibrous, varying greatly in length, from one inch to nine or ten, enlarged above and below, thinner in the middle; ring thick, spreading, rough or leathery, gills somewhat decurrent, deeper than the pileus, spores white, appearing like fine dust on the gills.

Bot. Char. Solitary or connected to others by a common root, the pileus presenting a dirty-white surface, turning afterwards to a pale rust-colour, and sometimes tessellated; varying like all parasitical funguses in shape, but generally more or less orbicular; flesh continuous with the stalk, white, compact; stalk very thick, solid, elastic, smooth towards the summit, tomentose at the base; gills of a yellowish tint, broad, thick, ventricose, emarginate, i.e. terminating upon the surface of the stem in a receding angle; the imperfect gills few; taste and smell agreeable; spores white.

This Agaric which takes its name from the tree where it is most commonly found, grows also, though less frequently, on the Poplar and Beech. Mr. Berkeley reports it rare, perhaps, however, as it is eminently local, it may here, as in Italy, be common in some places though of unfrequent general occurrence. No country being so rich in Elm-trees as our own, we should probably find A. ulmarius more often if the height at which it grows among the branches did not frequently screen it from observation [Ref. 144]. Though registered in the Flora of Tunbridge Wells, I have not met with a single specimen of it this autumn.

This Agaric dries well and may be kept (not, however, without losing some of its aroma) for a long time without spoiling; the gills, after a time, assume the same hue as the pileus.

Bot. Char. Gregarious; pileus fleshy, loose, of a uniform brown colour, sometimes marked with dark blotches, as if burnt; gills nearly free, serrated, at first dirty-white, afterwards a clear bistre; easily separable from the stalk; stalk hollow, ventricose, sulcate, rooting, spindle-shaped, slightly grooved, tapering at the base, sometimes cracked transversely, varying singularly both in length and breadth.

This excellent fungus is very abundant throughout summer and autumn, coming up in tufts at the roots of old Oak-trees after rain. It may be easily recognized by its peculiar spindle-shaped stalk.

Vittadini does not mention it, nor does its name occur in the list of esculent funguses in the Diz. di Med. Class.; notwithstanding which the young plants make an excellent pickle, while the full-grown ones may be stewed or dressed in any of the usual modes adopted for the common mushroom.

Bot. Char. "Margin of the pileus sulcate, gills white, stuffed with cottony pith, fistulose, attenuated upwards, almost smooth; volva like a sheath. Woods and pastures, August and October; not uncommon. Pileus four inches or more broad, plane, slightly depressed in the centre, scarcely umbonate, fleshy, but not at the extreme margin, which is elegantly grooved in consequence, viscid when moist, beautifully glossy when dry; epidermis easily detached, more or less studded with brown scales, the remnants of the volva, not persistent; gills free, ventricose, broadest in front, often imbricated, white ; sporules white, round; stem six inches or more high, from half to an inch thick, attenuated upwards, obtuse at the base, furnished with a volva, this adnate below to the extent of an inch, with the base of the stem, closely surrounding it above as in a sheath, but with the margin sometimes expanded; within and at the base marked with the groovings of the pileus, brittle, sericeo-squamulose, scarcely fibrillose, but splitting with ease longitudinally, hollow, or rather stuffed with fine cottony fibres; the very base solid, not acrid, insipid. Smell scarcely any. It occurs of various colours, the more general one is a mouse-grey" (Berkeley).

The perfect accuracy of the above description will strike every one familiar with this species. Vittadini speaks of it as a solitary fungus, but I have found it on more than one occasion in rings. Its flesh, being very delicate and tender, must' not be over-dressed. When properly fried in butter or oil, and as soon after gathering as possible, the Ag. vaginatus will be found inferior to but few Agarics in its flavour.

Bot. Char. Pileus from four to six inches broad, obtuse, expanded, covered with soft hairs, colour deep violet; stem spongy, grey, tinged with violet, minutely downy, about four inches high; veil fugacious, composed of fine threads; gills deep violet when young, but turning tawny in age; flesh thick, juicy.

This is a handsome fungus, not very common, but plentiful where it occurs; it grows in woods, particularly under Pine and Fir trees, and may be dressed either with a white or a brown sauce.

Bot. Char. Pileus slightly fleshy, convex when young, at length umbonate) chestnut colour, from one to three inches broad, glabrous; gills rather broad, easily detached from the stem, ventricose, changing from light-purple to a ferruginous hue; stem rather thin, from one and a half to three inches long, hollow, silvery, light-lilac or white; veil delicate, composed of floccose threads; in taste, when raw, it somewhat resembles the Ag. oreades, but it has no smell.

This Agaric may be distinguished from others by its chestnut or bistre colour; it is probably not uncommon; growing all the summer and autumn in woods, and under trees in meadows. Mr. Berkeley reports it esculent; I have no experience of it.

Bot. Char. "Pileus infundibuliform, rigid, smooth, white; gills very narrow, close; milk, and the solid blunt stem, white. In woods, July and August. Pileus 3-7 inches broad, slightly rugulose, quite smooth, white, a.little clouded with umber, or stained with yellow where scratched or bruised, convex, more or less depressed, often quite infundibuliform, more or less waved, fleshy, thick, firm but brittle; margin involute at first, sometimes excentric, milk-white, hot. generally very narrow (1/20 of an inch broad), but sometimes much broader, cream-colour, repeatedly dichotomous, very close, 'like the teeth of an ivory comb,' decurrent from the shape of the pileus, when bruised changing to umber. Stem 1-3 inches high, 1½ - 2 inches thick, often compressed, minutely pruinose, solid, but spongy within, the substance breaking up into transverse cavities." - Berkeley

Though very acrid when raw, it loses its bad qualities entirely by cooking, and is extensively used on the Continent, prepared in various ways. It is preserved for winter, use by drying or pickling in a mixture of salt and vinegar (Berkeley).

I have frequently eaten this fungus at Lucca, where it is very abundant, but as it resembles the Ag. vellereus in appearance, with the properties of which we are unacquainted, too much caution cannot be exercised in learning to discriminate it from this and neighbouring species.

Bot. Char. Pileus from one to two inches broad, margin involute when young, then expanded, depressed in the centre. Gills deep, connected with veins, sometimes forked, broadly adnate, but breaking away from the stem as the pileus becomes depressed. Stem six lines broad at the top, tapering downwards, not more than two at the base; at first stuffed with fibres, then hollow, excentric; the whole plant white, with occasionally a tinge of pink. Taste pleasant, odour disagreeable.

These graceful little Agarics grow in pastures, and are extremely common in the autumn. They are so small that it requires a great many of them to make a dish, but as they occur frequently in the same fields with puff-balls, and may be dressed in the same manner, it is not unusual when the supply is scarce to serve them together, with the same sauce. The flavour of Ag. virgineus is not unlike that of Ag. oreades.

Peridium warty, of a blackish-brown colour, the warts polygonal and striate, flesh traversed by numerous veins; asci 4-6-spored; spores elliptical, reticulated.

This plant, the common truffle of our markets, is abundant in Wiltshire and some other parts of England, and probably occurs in many places where it escapes observation, from its subterranean habit.

Italy is not the country for the English florist, he will find twenty times as many petals at home. Trim parterres are not inventions of the South; summer-houses would be no luxuries in a climate that never knows winter; the only Conservatories that flourish there are not for flowers, but for music. In few northern regions is Flora worse off for a bouquet than at Rome or Naples; regarded merely as the herald of Spring and not appreciated for her own sake, as soon as she has waved her wand over the land and covered it with the March blossoms of Crocuses, Cyclamens, and Anemones, her reign is over. All scents are held in equal abhorrence save those of frankincense and garlic, for which there seems to be a prescriptive toleration; but every other odour, fetid or fragrant, musk [Ref. 145] or mignonette, is equally proscribed; and an Italian Signora would as soon permit a Locusta to cook for her, as a violet to scent her boudoir. To pick wild flowers is as dangerous as it is difficult to find cultivated ones; a coup de soleil or a fever is easily procured by imprudent exposure before sunset, while the interval between that and night is too brief to be employed for the purpose, but when the season for flowers is long past, and Autumn. with her fruits is come round again, when the stranger can wander forth where he lists without an umbrella, he will be able to luxuriate amidst the lovely scenery, and to delight himself in the natural history of the district: the season of the periodical rains has ceased; the repose of the forest is no longer troubled by the Power of the waters, the mountain Pines borne for miles down into the valleys are stranded on the broad shingly bed of the exhausted torrent; broken bridges are safely repaired; the maize is receiving the last mellowing touches as it festoons the cottage fronts, the prickly chestnut-pods are beginning to gape and the brown. chestnuts to leap out shining from their envelopes; the last reluctant olive has been beaten from the bough; the vintage has nearly ceased to bleed, night fires [Ref. 146] already begin to flicker on the mountains, and the hemp stubble is daily crackling on the plain. This is indeed the time for enjoying Italy, nature has revived again, and with nature, man. The feverish torpor, I had almost ventured to call it the summer hybernation, has ceased with September, and Autumn has come round with the vivifying influence of a new Spring, then if we go abroad to wander, whether our walk be across plains or through upland woods, we shall not stroll a mile without stopping a hundred times to admire what is to many of us a nearly new class of objects which have sprung up suddenly and now beset our path on every side. These are the Fungus tribe, which are as beautiful as the fairest flowers, and more useful than most fruits; and now that butchers' meat is bad, that the beans have become stringy, and the potatoes are hydrated by the rain, they appear thus opportunely to eke out the scantiness of autumnal larders in the South and give a fresh zest to the daily repast. Well may their sudden apparition surprise us, for not ten days since the waters were all out, and only three or four nights back peals of thunder rattled against the casements and kept the most determined sleepers in awful vigil; and now - behold the meadows by natural magic studded with countless fairy-rings of every diameter, formed of such species as grow upon the ground, while the Chestnut and the Oak are teeming with a new class of fruits that had no previous blossoming, many of which have already attained their full growth. We recollect with gratitude the objects of a pursuit, which has accidentally brought us to such an acquaintance with the diversities of Italian scenery as we never should have experienced without it. In fishing, it is not the fish we catch, which alone repays us for our toil; it is the wandering as the rivulet wanders, "at its own sweet will," the exercise and the appetite consequent upon it, the prize in natural history, the reciting aloud, or reflecting as we wa,lk, and when it is pleasantly warm the "molles sub arbore somni," which console us for the lack of sport. On the same principle, mushroom-hunting may be recommended to the young naturalist not only for the beauty of the objects which he is sure to come upon (if he do but hunt at the right season), but also because in that most beautiful of months, whether at home or abroad, it brings the wanderer out of beaten paths to fall in with many striking views which he would not otherwise have explored. The extremely limited time during which funguses are to be found, their fragility, their infinite diversity, their ephemeral existence, these, too, add to the interest of an autumnal walk in quest of them. At Lucca, leaving idleness and indigestion in bed, just as the sun was beginning to shoot his first rays on the white convents and the spires of the village churches on the mountains, making morning above, while the deep valley beneath was still in twilight, it was pleasant to pass the little opening coffee-house with its two or three candidates for early breakfast, and crossing the noiseless trout-stream over the little bridge, to enter one of those old chestnut-forests and begin clambering up the laddery pathway, to reach the summit just as he poured his full effulgence on the magnificent rival of the Lucchese and Modenese territories. Pleasant, too, was it on the road Rome-ward, pausing a few days to enjoy the exquisite scenery about Spoleto, to climb the steep streets to the cathedral, and thence, passing the giddy viaduct several hundred feet above the white ravine which it traverses, to issue upon those Nursian Hills then fragrant with the breath of morning, "le beau matin qui sort humide et pâle," and with the scent of sweet herbs; but above all other hills renowned for the fragrance of those ever-reproductive mines of coal-black subterranean truffles! It is a pleasant remembrance to have plucked the crimson Amanite that ministered to a Caesar's decease, in the very neighbourhood of the Palatine Hill; to have collected mushrooms amidst the meadows of Horace's farm, where he tells us they grew best; and to have watched along the moist pastures of the Cremera a stand of the stately Ag. procerus nodding upon their stalks; or, standing on the heights above Sorrento, just as the setting sun flashed upon the waters of the bay ere they engulfed him, and left us to his sister the evening star, to have come upon that wonderful Polyporus tuberaster whose matrix is the hard stone, from which it derives strength and luxuriance as if from a soft and genial soil.

But not only in Italy, in our own country also, the Collector in Mycology will have to traverse much beautiful and diversified scenery, amid woods, greenswards, winding lanes, rich meadows, healthy commons [Ref. 147], open downs, the nodding hop-grove and the mountain sheep-path; and all shone upon by an autumnal sunset, - as compared with Southern climes "obscurely bright," and unpreceded by that beautiful rosy tint which bathes the whole landscape in Italy, but with a far finer background of clouds to reflect its departed glories: and throughout all this range of scenery he will never hunt in vain, indulgent gamekeepers, made aware of what he is poaching, may warn him that he is not collecting mushrooms, but will never warn him off from the best-kept preserves. In such rambles he will see, what I have this autumn (1847) myself witnessed, whole hundredweights of rich wholesome diet rotting under the trees; woods teeming with food and not one hand to gather it; and this, perhaps, in the midst of potato blight, poverty and all manner of privations, and public prayers against imminent famine. I have indeed grieved, when I reflected on the straitened condition of the lower orders this year, to see pounds innumerable of extempore beef-steaks growing on our oaks in the shape of Fistulina hepatica; Ag. fusipes to pickle, in clusters under them; Puffballs, which some of our friends have not inaptly compared to sweet-bread for the rich delicacy of their unassisted flavour; Hydna as good as oysters, which they somewhat resemble in taste; Agaricus deliciosus, reminding us of tender lamb-kidneys; the beautiful yellow Chantarelle, that kalon kagathon of diet, growing by the bushel, and no basket but our own to pick up a few specimens in our way; the sweet nutty-flavoured Boletus, in vain calling himself edulis where there was none to believe him; the dainty Orcella; the Ag. heterophyllus, which tastes like the craw-fish when grilled, the Ag. ruber and Ag. virescens, to cook in any way, and equally good in all; - these were among the most conspicuous of the trouvailles. But that the reader may know all he is likely to find in one single autumn, let him glance at the catalogue below [Ref. 148]. He may at first alarm his friends' cooks, but their fears will, I promise him, soon be appeased, after one or two trials of this new class of viands, and he will not long pass either for a conjuror or something worse, in giving directions to stew toadstools. As soon as he is initiated in this class of dainties, he will, I am persuaded, lose no time in making the discovery known to the poor of the neighbourhood, while in so doing he will render an important service to the country at large, by instructing the indigent and ignorant in the choice of an ample, wholesome, and excellent article, which they may convert into money, or consume at their own tables, when properly prepared, throughout the winter.

THE END.

JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR, PRINTER,
LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS.

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