HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Toadstools in the Northwest
33??$?S;SS&'$33S
f Albert R. Sweotser, hi. A, Is pro-
A fcssor of botany at the CniTcrsity
of Oregon, at Eugene, and wrote the
following article wheat requested for i
an authoritative statement retarding f
$ the fungi that spring up in so many
0 Northwest pasture fields, and along
so many Northwest roadsidos. The
t mushroom would make a raluable J
addition to the farm tables of the $
9 Northwest states if there were some
a sure way of identifying tho Tarious e
0 fungi ipecifs as poisonous or non-
9 poisonous. Editor. $
By Professor Albert R. Sweetser,
V. of O.
OADSTOOLS or mushrooms -
I that's the question, and who
can tell? As far as the words
themselves are concerned, they are
all toadstools they are all mush
rooms.
But the real desire Is to know
what we may eat and what we may
not eat, and there is no royal road
to this knowledge. Color, odor, or
the ease or difficulty of peeling give
no certain indication, nor is the
action on a silver spoon of any
value. The only safe way is to
leain with certainty a few of the
well-marked forms and stick to
them. Fortunately there are forms
tho characteristics of which are so
plain that they may always be
recognized without any uncertainty.
The toadstools belong to the low
ly group of plants called fungi
Lacking the leaf-green that Is pres
ent in most of the higher plants,
they must obtain their food already
prepared for them, and so live on
otlinr plants or dead organic matter."
i Porf.K "V'l1
Figure A.
If we take a specimen and give It
a little careful attention we shall
Bee a stalk rising from the ground
with a cap on the under side on
which are either plate-like gills or
Blunder tubes or teeth. Could we
examine a portion of a gill or
tooth or edge of tube under the
microscope, it would appear as in
Figure A 2, being composed of an
Innumerable number of threads, the
swollen tips of which have each
four prongs, each prong bearing a
single spore or reproductive body.
If we trace these threads backward,
Four Well Marked and Edible
Forms.
It will be unnecessary to describe
the meadow mushroom with Its pink
gills It is well known to all and is
gathered with confidence. This is
often spoken of as THE mushroom,
with emphasis on "the," as if it
were the only edible variety, but
mushroom devotees now have a list
of several
hundred
that have
been proved
and found
valuable .as
an article of
food. The
"meadow
mushroom"
is perfectly
safe, and if
one hesi
tates to "ex
peri m e nt
with other
kinds, will
usually fur
nish a con
siderable supply. As the meadow
mushroom gets older the gills be
come dark brown.
Tlio Shaggy Mushroom.
This interesting fungus has mark
ed characteristics and is one of the
best, and in the writer's opinion the
very best, of the edible forms.
When young it appears like a large
egg with a brown upper end, and
Its Bides are covered with silky
scal3 tipped with brown. It al
ii ' -
- sawsl lis iiiii.i i iimwuaa f t
Figure V.
ground, or on top of whatever they
are upon, and are easily distin
guished. (Figure D.)- If gathered
while perfectly white and firm with
in they are safe and delicious. They
may be sliced and dipped in egg
and fried, or chopped and made
into an omelet, or cooked in a va
riety of ways.
To conclude as we began, learn
to know a few well marked forms
and stick to them, unless yon have
an expert to Introduce you to new
forms. In this way yon can. add
to your bill of fare a valuable fooa
usually free for the picking.
The rais
ing of mush
room s Is
com para
tively easy
if care is
taken to'
purchase
spawn of
reliable
dealers and
if directions
are follow
ed with ex
actness. A
cellar or
1 shed or any
place from
the light
can be excluded? and temperature reg
ulated will furnish a suitable loca
tion for a bed. Full directions may,
be found in two government publi
cations which may be purchased
from the Superintendent of Docu
ments, Washington, D. C.
Farmer's Bulletin No. 204, price
5 cents.
Bureau of Plant Industry Bul
letin No. 85, price 10 cents.
I
li V .ITS?- Pa
Figure IS.
we shall find them continuing Into
the cap and down the stalk and
forming a felted mass under the
ground known as the mycelium.
(Figure A 1.) On this may often
be seen little bunches, which are
the coming toadstools. The spawn
that is purchased for the cultiva
tion of toadstools consists of this
mycelium mixed with manure and
pressed into a brick.
Figure C.
ways remains like a closed um
brella, never opening up flat. As It
gets older it begins to drip an inky
fluid from the edge3 of the cap
which eventually disappears entire
ly in this manner, leaving the stalk
alone, which also in its turn de
composes. (Figure B.) It is most
commonly found on the river banks
or in lawns filled with this loam
The shaggy mushroom should be
gathered before It has begun to
turn. The whole plant may be used.
It should be washed and the scales
should be scraped off with a blunt
knife, then cooked in any of the
ways known to the cooks. Here is
one. Take a generous piece of but
ter, roll in flour and melt In stew
pan, cut up the mushroom and add
to the melted butter, cover, place
over slow heat and allow to simmer
for short time. Prepare thin toast
and serve, the mushrooms on this
while very hot.
Coral Fungus.
These also belong to the
same family as the toad
stools and mushrooms, but
differ from the preceding
in that there are no special
parts differentiated to bear
the spores. (Figure C.)
They occur usually in
clumps and often attain
considerable Bine. They
show quite a range of col
ors white, gray, yellow,
pink and red, and often afe
beautiful objects. The
white forms are all safe
and good if gathered when
young. A good way to pre
pare them is to boil in salted water
like asparagus.
Puff Balls.
These are the familiar vegetable
balls which give forth a cloud of
dusty spores when trodden under
foot. They vary from the tiny white
ones as small as a bantam's egg to
those the size of a man's head. They
grow entirely on the top of the
Make Flats in Winter.
AKE a lot of flats this
winter for use in the
garden. A flat is a
shallow box of convenient
size used for starting seed
lings, for rooting cuttings
or for carrying p ot t e d
plants, pots, soil or other
material. Many uses will
be found for the flat, and
It is advisable to have a
good supply on hand. Soap
or other boxes obtained
from a grocer cut down to
two and a half or three
Inches In depth make good flats.
A quantity of flats will be found
very useful when gardening opera
tions begin next spring.
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Wortmaa King's big departmea
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SeaUe, Washington. -Patentees
and Manufacturers.
Bend for Catalog No. 8.
SOLD ON POSITIVE GUARANTEE.
By
CYNAMID, FERTILIZER.
Elton Fnlmer, Professor of Chemistry,
Stste College of Washington.
IX 1894 the technical world was
astounded by the invention of
Moissan which led to the manufac
ture of calcium carbide in the elec
tric furnace on a large scale. The
product thus obtained was at first
used in the manufacture of acety
lene for illuminating purposes, but
the idea was soon conceived that the
carbide ought to be useful for other
purposes.
In 1895 Professor Frank Pointed
out the possibility of producing cyan
ides, starting with calcium cyanamid
as the raw material. This was based
upon his discovery that the carbides
when heated would absorb atmos
pheric nitrogen. In the middle of
the nineties there was such a strong
demand for cyanids owing to its use
in the McArthur-Forest process ot
gold extraction, that much effort was
centered on the production of cyan
ides from the carbides. ;
Barium carbide was first used, and
the absorption of nitrogen by it,
forming Barium cyanid, was found!
to be a very simple and easy mat
ter; and that Barium cyanid could be
readily transformed into the Potas
sium cyanid used in the McArthur
Forrest process.
New Possibilities.
But inasmuch as calcium carbid9
was cheaper than Barium carbide, it
was deemed desirable to substitute
it In the process. Strange to say,
when this was done, very littls
cyanid was produced, although nitro
gen was freely absorbed.
Investigation showed that the chief
substance formed was what may be
called an intermediate produce be
tween the calcium carbide and cal
cium cyanid, viz.: cyanid. This im
mediately opened up a new possi
bility, because it was soon discov
ered that by the action of hot water
under, high pressure, this new sub
stance was readily converted into
limestone and ammonia. v
Hence, although calcium cyanamid
can be easily converted into the de
sired cyanid, Professor Frank recog
nized the greater desirability of pro
ducing from it substances that
would be capableof furnishing nitro
genous manures at a low cost.
Professor Frank's son went one
step further, and suggested that per
haps the calcium cynamid might
be slowly changed into compounds
available for plant use under the
combined influence of the moisture
and carbonic acid of the soli and the
heat of the sun's .rays, and that
therefore it might be used directly
as an artificial fertilizer.
Valuable Fertilizer.
The correctness of this theory was
first tested in 3 901 and 1902. Many
tests were made in pot and field
which showed that crude calcium cy-
cynamid containing 20 per cent of ni
trogen could be considered the equi
valent of ammonia sulphate, and
therefore might serve as a suitable
nitrogenous fertilizer.
These results have since been con
firmed experimentally in different
countries, and there now seems to
be no doubt but that it is a valuable
fertilizer, having 94 per cent of its
nitrogen available for plant use-
acting a little more slowly than am
monium sulphate, and not subject to
the losses that occur with nitrate ot
sade.
Thirty-seven experiment stations
in the United States and Europe are
said to have made comparation testa
of it with nitrate of soda and am
monium sulphate, upon thirteen dif
ferent crops, and the relative values
per unit of ammonia are, as reported:
Nitrate of soda 100
Ammonium sulphate 97
Calcium cynamid. 105
Further experimentation is being
carried on in many places, although
it is very probable that the results
obtained will only confirm the re
sults already obtained. Many plants
are being erected in various parts of
the world for the manufacture ot
this new nitrogenous fertilizer.
The number of students attending
the Oregon Agricultural College Is
six per cent greater than at the cor
responding date last year, and has
almost reached the 1700 mark. The
ratio of men to women is two to
one.