Plate I. Figure 1.—Hydnum Erinaceum.
Original Specimen 20 × 16. Found on Mt. Logan near Chillicothe, Ohio.
THE MUSHROOM
EDIBLE AND OTHERWISE
ITS HABITAT AND ITS TIME OF GROWTH
WITH
PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS
OF
NEARLY ALL THE COMMON SPECIES
A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF MUSHROOMS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE
EDIBLE AND POISONOUS VARIETIES, WITH A VIEW OF OPENING UP
TO THE STUDENT OF NATURE A WIDE FIELD OF USEFUL
AND INTERESTING KNOWLEDGE
BY
M. E. HARD, M. A.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Kirkwood, Mo.
THE OHIO LIBRARY CO.
DISTRIBUTORS
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Press of
THE NEW FRANKLIN PRINTING CO.
COLUMBUS, OHIO.
Halftones by Bucher Engraving Co.
Copyright 1908
by the
MUSHROOM PUBLISHING COMPANY
Columbus, Ohio
(All rights reserved)
AUTHOR'S EDITION
No.____
TO MY WIFE
Whose thorough knowledge of plant life,
and whose patience in preserving fungal specimens—sometimes
beautiful but often odorous—scattered
from the back porch to the author's library,
whose eyes, quick to detect structural differences,
and whose kindly and patient help have been a constant
benediction, this work's inscribed.
INTRODUCTION[Pg vii]
I would agree with those who might maintain that no Introduction isneeded for this book on mushrooms. Nevertheless a word may not be out ofplace for the inception of the work is out of the ordinary. Mr. Hard didnot decide that a book on this subject was needed and then set aboutstudying these interesting plants. He has observed them, collected them,induced many friends to join in eating those which proved to bepalatable and delicious—really meddled for years with the variouskinds which are edible and otherwise, and then recently he has decidedto publish a book on his favorite subject. The interesting occupation ofphotographing the mushrooms and the toadstools doubtless has contributedlargely to the determination culminating in the materialization of thetreatise.
If I have correctly apprehended the origin and the contributing causes,we would expect this book to be different from the other books onmushrooms—not of course in scope and purpose; but the instructionand suggestions given, the descriptions and general remarks offered, thewide range of forms depic