Closely allied to Lactarius but separated by the absence of milk. The gills of some species exude watery drops in moist weather. Owing to the similarity of form and the variable coloring many species are difficult to determine; all the characters should be carefully noted, not omitting that of the taste.
Russulæ are readily distinguished by the stout, short, brittle stem and the fragility of the pileus and gills. They especially love open woods and appear during the summer and fall months, some being found until sharp frosts occur.
It has been claimed by mushroom growers, until within a few years, that the spores of the mushroom have to pass through the digestive apparatus of the horse before they will germinate. It has been conclusively demonstrated that such a transmission is not a necessity. It was for a long time my opinion—following the opinion of others—that such assistance was necessary. In my many efforts to propagate valuable food species of the wild toadstools I endeavored to find the method by which the spores were disseminated, and through what digestive medium they passed—either of insect or animal—before germination. Noticing that the Russulæ were fed upon by a small black beetle, I planted in suitable places, not the toadstools, but the beetles found upon them. The result was that in several instances I grew the Russulæ. My experiments, while interesting, are not conclusive, because I later found that the same results could be obtained from the toadstool itself when planted under its own natural life conditions. It is certain that beetles can not be raised by planting Russulæ.
The beetles known as tumble-bugs—canthon lævis—deposit eggs in the center of balls made of animal droppings; dig a hole in the ground and drop them into it. These droppings frequently contain the spores of the meadow mushroom. Thus planted with the proper surrounding of manure, and at the proper depth, the spores germinate, spread mycelium, and a crop of mushrooms is the result. The beetle becomes a horticulturist. No wonder the Egyptians, thousands of years ago, made it—the scarabeus—their sacred emblem, and that, today, the fleur-de-lis of France, so the Rosicrucians say, perpetuates its glorious worth and calling.
Most Russulæ are sweet and nutty to the taste; some are as hot as the fiercest of cayenne, but this they lose upon cooking. To this genus authors have done especial injustice; there is not a single species among them known to be poisonous, and, where they are not too strong of cherry bark and other highly flavored substances, they are all edible; most of them are favorites. Where they present no objectionable appearance or taste, their caps make most palatable dishes when stewed, baked, roasted or escalloped. The time of cooking should be determined by the consistency of the variety; some will cook in five minutes, others not under thirty. Salt, butter and pepper are the only necessaries as seasoning.
ANALYSIS OF TRIBES.
I.—Compactæ (compingo, to put together; compact). Page 187.
Pileus fleshy throughout, hence the margin is at first bent inward and always without striæ, without a distinct gluey pellicle (in consequence of which the color is not variable, but only changes with age and the state of the atmosphere). Flesh compact, firm. Stem solid, fleshy. Gills unequal.
II.—Furcatæ (furca, a fork. With forked gills). Page 191.
Pileus compact, firm, covered with a thin, closely adnate pellicle, which at length disappears, margin abruptly thin, at first inflexed, then spreading, acute, even. Stem at first compact, at length spongy-soft within. Gills somewhat forked, with a few shorter ones intermixed, commonly attenuated at both ends, thin and normally narrow.