_Agaricus campestris_ is not generally appreciated in Italy, and indeed is seldom eaten, and never appears in the markets, for the simple reason that there would be no sale for it. There is an edict in existence ordering certain fungi to be thrown into the Tiber, but it is now, and has long been altogether effete; and whilst there is an abundance of _A. Cæsareus_ (avowedly the most delicious of all fungi) for the markets of Italy, it is not to be expected the consumption will be given up for another and little known species.
_The Modes of Cooking this Species._--"The mushroom, having the same proximate principles as meat, requires, like meat, to be cooked before these become changed. The _Ag. campestris_ may be prepared in a great variety of ways: they give a fine flavour to soup, and greatly improve beef-tea; where arrowroot and weak broths are distasteful to the patient, the simple seasoning of a little ketchup will frequently form an agreeable change. Some roast them, basting with melted butter and white (French) wine sauce. In patties and _vols-au-vent_ they are equally excellent; in fricassees, as everybody knows, they are the important element of the dish. Roques recommends in all cases the removal of the gills before dressing, which though it secures a more elegant-looking _entremets_, is only flattering the eye at the expense of the palate."--_Badham._
"_Pileus_ fleshy, obtusely conico-campanulate, then expanded, at first floccose, then smooth, even, or rivulose; _stem_ hollow, with a floccose pith; _ring_ broad, pendulous, double, the outer split in rays; _gills_ free, wider in front, at first dirty white, then brown, tinged with pink."--_Berkeley's Outlines of British Fungology._
[Illustration: Fig. 29. _Agaricus arvensis_ (Horse-Mushroom). Pastures, in autumn; colour, yellowish; gills pallid, at length black; diameter, 6 to 24 in.]
"This species is very nearly allied to the meadow mushroom, and frequently grows with it, but it is coarser, and has not the delicious flavour. It is usually much larger, often attaining enormous dimensions; it turns a brownish yellow as soon as broken or bruised. The top in good specimens is smooth, and snowy white; the gills are not the pure pink of the meadow mushroom, but dirty brownish white, ultimately becoming brown-black. It has a big, ragged, floccose ring, and the pithy stem is inclined to be hollow. It is _the_ species exposed for sale in Covent Garden Market. Indeed, after knowing the market for many years, I have rarely seen any other species there; when the true mushroom, however, _is_ there, it is frequently mingled with horse mushrooms, which seems to show that the dealers do not know one from the other. In the wet days of autumn, children, idlers, and beggars go a few miles from town into the meadows to gather whatever they can find in the mushroom line; they then bring their dirty stock to market, where it is sold to fashionable purchasers; stale, vapid, and without taste--unless it be a bad one.