meat making an abundant gravy, cook as directed under
the plate of Edible Russulas.]

[Illustration: PLATE V.

AGARICUS PROCERUS, OR PARASOL MUSHROOM.

=DESCRIPTION.= PILEUS. Brown from first to last; thick skinned, very
scaly and shaggy; at first egg-shaped, then swollen, finally expanded,
a little point in the centre becoming prominent; always pliable and
leathery.

GILLS. Pure white.

STEM. Fibrous, hollow, equal in size, freckled, deeply sunk into
the cap, from which it withdraws free from the gills, leaving a
deep socket.

VOLVA. None; veil ragged, ring well defined and movable.

SPORES. White. TASTE sweetish, not marked; ODOR slight.

GROWS in open fields and lawns or margins of forests.

=TO COOK.= Stew in milk or cream as directed under Plate II., except
that this mushroom is dry and firm, and more liquid may be used, for
it will make little or no gravy of its own. It is not of suitable
character to be stewed in water, but is very good broiled, requiring
the liberal use of butter, or placed under meat as directed with the
edible Russulas.]

[Illustration: PLATE VI.

EDIBLE RUSSULAS.

1, 2. Russula heterophylla.
3. Russula virescens.
4. Russula lepida.
5. Russula alutacea.

=DESCRIPTION.= PILEUS. Many colored; white, drab, green, purple or
bright red; cuticle very thin, peeling from the edge, adherent
toward the centre; bell-shaped, at first compressing the gills,
then expanded, until finally the centre of the cap becomes
depressed or concave.

GILLS. Generally pure white, sometimes creamy or buff; nearly or
quite equal in length, rigid, brittle, breaking into unequal
segments if pressed.

STEM. Stout, solid or stuffed; in substance the same as the flesh
of the cap, often tapering quite abruptly to a point at the base.

VOLVA, ring, and veil all entirely absent at every age of the
plant.

SPORES. White. TASTE, excellent raw, like nuts; ODOR none.

GROWS in woods, woody paths or clearings; often found gnawed by
squirrels or other animals.

=TO COOK.= Remove the skin as far as it peels easily, and wash the
centre of the cap clean; then place on a gridiron and let them heat
through; butter plentifully, and salt and pepper to the taste, then
place them in a hot dish in the oven, and after broiling a beefsteak
or chicken put it thereon that the gravy may run out and be absorbed
by the mushrooms.

N. B. The noxious members of this family resemble the escu