MARASMIUS OREADES, OR FAIRY-RING CHAMPIGNON.
D E S C R IP T IO N . Pileus. Leathery, tough, and of an equal cream color, pliable when moist; shrivelling, wrinkled, even
brittle when dry, changing from the former to the latter with a dew or rain followed by a hot sun, and also vice versa.
Cuticle not separable.
G i l l s . Broad, wide apart, of the same color as pileus, or a little paler.
Stem. Solid, of equal circumference; tough, not breaking easily if bent or twisted.
Volva and ring, none.
Spores white.
Taste and smell musky, rath er strong, but nutty and agreeable.
Grows in rings or groups in rich lawns or roadsides.
TO CO O K . For serving w ith meat or fish, cut the tops clear from the stems just below the gills. To a pint of mushrooms,
if moist, add about a gill of water, pepper and salt to the taste, and a piece of butter half the size of an egg. Simmer
together over the fire ten or fifteen minutes, thicken with flour or ground rice, and pour over the cooked meat or fish.
TO B R O IL . Place the tops like oysters on a fine wire gridiron; as soon as they are hot, butter them lightly, and salt
and pepper to the taste. P u t them back over the coals, and when they are lieated through they are cooked. Butter them, if
required, and place in a hot dish.
N. B. When the mushrooms are dried, swell them in water before cooking.