lands which are at the surface of the
ground and not deep-seated in the soil, would very likely not belong to
any of the very poisonous kinds.

=3d.=--Reject all fungi which have a cup or sac-like envelope at the
base of the stem, or which have a scaly or closely fitting layer at the
base of the stem, and rather loose warts on the pileus, especially if
the gills are white. _Amanita caesarea_ has a sac-like envelope at the
base of the stem, and yellow gills as well as a yellow cap, and is
edible. _Amanita rubescens_ has remnants of a scaly envelope on the base
of the stem and loose warts on the cap, and the flesh where wounded
becomes reddish. It is edible. (See plate 19.)

=4th.=--Reject all fungi with a milky juice unless the juice is reddish.
Several species with copious white milk, sweet or mild to the taste, are
edible (see _Lactarius volemus_ and _corrugis_).

=5th.=--Reject very brittle fungi with gills nearly all of equal length,
where the flesh of the cap is thin, especially those with bright caps.

=6th.=--Reject all Boleti in which the flesh changes color where bruised
or cut, or those in which the tubes have reddish mouths, also those the
taste of which is bitter. _Strobilomyces strobilaceus_ changes color
when cut, and is edible.

=7th.=--Reject fungi which have a cobwebby veil or ring when young, and
those with slimy caps and clay-colored spores.

In addition, proceed cautiously in all cases, and make it a point to
become very familiar with a few species first, and gradually extend the
range of species, rather than attempt the first season to eat a large
number of different kinds.

All puff-balls are edible so long as they are white inside, though some
are better than others. All coral-like or club fungi are edible.

=To Clean and Prepare the Specimens.=--The mushrooms having been
collected, all tough stems, the parts to which earth clings, should be
removed. After the specimens are selected, if there is danger that some
of them may be infested with larvae, it is well to cut off the stem close
to the cap, for if the insects are in the stem and have not yet reached
the cap they may thus be cast away. Some recommend that the tubes of all
Boleti be removed, since they are apt to make a slimy mass in cooking.

Where the plants are small they may be cooked entire. Large ones should
be quartered, or cut, or sliced, according to the size and form of the
plant, or method of cooking.

CHAPTER XIX.