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Show TIIE DESERET XX Wfl. 3f" 4 'dXtrTS fftrjYrrYlr 4?'; VS A-WyyJ v 7 7Z5tfjDe?rjiy tyA&frva77i j&ja70xr S2? sysCS&OS' Bulk of the Output a Cultivated Crop Mystery of the .Mushroom Solved Some Poisonous Varities That Are To Be Avoided. E.v r.. Jr- - BY ROBERT TICiHE art gaining mUSHROOMS rata. country ataraa They in ateadlly increasing quantities, and may ba purchased all tha year round; for they ara mainly a cultivated crop, and ara no longer restricted to sup- -' jdles of tha wild ones, which ara gath-e- d In tha autumn. Caves in Tha United States Wa have in our own country, especially In tha Middle West, many underground excavations of enormous else made for various purposes, such aa tha digging of material for Portland cement, which would furnish opportunity for mushroom culture on a great scale. Some of the worked-ou- t coal mines might ba utilized to advantage In thla way, and probably will ba at a future day; for It should ba realized that mushrooms are a valuable and highly nutritious food, resembling meat In their composition, and ought to contribute much more largely to tha diet of the people. . Tha cultivated mushrooms that now appear In our markets are raised In greenhouses and In "dugouts" (excavated in hillsides) that are managed to some extent Ilka greenhpusea. An artificial cava of this sort, penetrating deep Into tha aide of a hill. Is damp and cool, and lta relatively even temperature la raised in cold weather to tha proper point by ateam pipes. Mushrooms are sometimes grown in cellars, but not to any great extent con-owne- rs . ( or brolllor or frying. It grows not fields, but In gardens especially where tha latter ere very rich and highly fertilised. Often It sprouts la cold frames and around hotbeds The "oyster" mushroom, very good to eat, grow on the berk of trees In clusters resembling oysters On old stumps Is often found the "beefsteak" mushroom, bright red in color and nearly a foot la diameter. Cut In slices end broiled.. with butter added.' It tastes like tender steak, Foiaonous Varieties Whereas most people through Ignorance fall to recognise the usefulness of a number of edible species when they And them growing wild (and for the same reason only the Agsrlcua campeetrls Is cultivated la this country), there ere s good many who will with surprising recklessness experiment with dangerous toadstoola which they happen to coma across. Deaths from mushroom poisoning afford not Infrequent Items In the newspapers. There Is one vtry deadly variety of untuAmanita. which bears, tored eye. an unfortunate resemblance to tho common fleld mushroom, and la often oaten with fatal results. It may bo easily distinguished from tho fleld mushroom, however, by the fast that lta gills are white. Instead of pink. Usually It grows on tho edges of woods. This. Indeed, is a note- -, of poisonous worthy characteristic fungi, that they occur most common-l- y - In and about woods. Common Tests Have No Value No fewer than 100 poisonous species of mushrooms aro known. Tho only safe rule' to adopt la to avoid any that Is not positively known to be safe. Brilliant hues and unpleasant odors era signs of danger. Oood mushrooms usually have an agreeable email. The d commonly-acceptetests, - such as cooking a silver spoon or a white onion with mushroom s, aro declared by the scientists to bo worthless. In for commercial purposes. In greenhouses they are produced under the benches on which vegetables or flowers are raised for market. People used to think there was something uncanny about mushrooms which are so unlike ordinary plants In their manner of growth. They spring up In the night, as If by magic. Whence, and how? A good deal of superstition has attached to them. Toadstools (a name for common varieties), were perhapa for toads to ait upon In leisure momenta; and toads, as everybody knows, are IntlrAately associated with witches and the malignant powers of darkness generally. Scats For Fairy Dancers Then how about the "fairy ring" mushrooms? .All of us have seen the circular patches of greensward, much greener than the surrounding grass, surrounded In each case by a ring of small and dainty-lookin- g toadstools. Wa have ancient authority for the ba- lief that these are the chosen dancing-place- s of fairies, and the toadstoola tha teats they occupy In Intervals of nocturnal terpslchorean exercise. As a matter of fact, "toadstool" Is not a name properly applicable to the fairy ring mushrooms. Inasmuch as they ara exceedingly good to eat and among the finest of all edible fungi. In Europe they are highly appreciated. Tha mystery of tha mushroom is. like most other mysteriea simple of non-adlb- la explanation. Consider. for example, tha common field verlety above mentioned. which la typlcht. in aultabla places, where the soil Is rich (perhaps because cattle or sheep have erased over It), a little digging In lata spring or summer may disclose beneath tha surface of tha ground a n mass of white, threads. These are tha "mycelium. or vegetation of the mushroom plant By and by little knots form on tha threads, developing Into ptll-llk- e bodies, which ars the fruit of the plant Tha "pills" grow Into buttons, and along In tha fall are ready to appear above tha ground Cornea a warm, moist night, and they force their way out through the eurface soil, and thus tha mushrooms ara born Into the world. But their growth, notwithstanding appearances, hat had nothing of auddenness about it. Tha button was fully developed, though much compressed, before It came up. Not So Sudden Aa It Seems On Its arrival above the surface. It expands, and"e have a young mushroom. It continues to exhours later has pand, and twenty-fou- r assumed the form of a little umbrella. Plucked, It Is most Interesting to examine, lta top covered with a dainty skin that readily peels off, while beneath the umbrella ara rosy "gills," radiating from tha stalk. It has a delicious odor, like that of fresh meal. Within these gills are contained tha spores of the mushroom, which closely-interwove- full-fledg- r7Zs "Ates&i 'sTvar?. correspond to the seeds of flowering plants. Whan" the umbrella la fully spread they fall upon tha ground, sowing tha next season's crop. But, once having ripened tha sign of which Is Its appearance above ground tha mushroom quickly departs thla life. It fulfills its function of for tha continuation of Its aperies, Forty-eigand promptly decays. hours after Its seeming birth It has become brownish and ragged, and Is no longer desirable. Scientists have worked out a method for making wat they call virgin mushroom spawn, which la far su seed-plantin- g, ht perior to the ordinary article used for planting beds. Inasmuch aa Its vitality has not been already, to soma extent exhausted by tha production of fruit Also, the mushrooms grown from It whlls exceptionally large and fine, ara much more likely to bo tree from disease. This Is accomplished by Inoculating sterilised gelatin with sporea obtained from selected mushrooms. As a result the mycelium" grows and spreads through the nutritious jelly, which may thereupon be used for planting. Ona may. however, do nearly as well by filling a milk bottle with horse manure (corked with absorbent cotton, boll the bottle thus prepared two successive . days, and then, with an Instrument that has been boiled. Inserting Into the manure little bite of tha Interior of a fine mushroom. The bottle being thereupon recorked, tha thread-lik- e vegetation will soon spread all through the contents, which will thus be transformed Into virgin spawn. Huge Mushrooms Good To Eat Ons of the best of mushrooms Is the "puffball," often seen In autumn on lawns and pastures. It Is brown on the outside, end may be a foot or more In diameter. When young. Its flesh Is white end solid. On the outskirts of cities, especially on vacant lots, where the soil has remained long undisturbed and grased by cattle, this variety Is rather common. Peeled, cut In slices, and fried In butter. It Is or, crumbled with the Angers, It may be used In stews tnd omleta Tbe . "shaggy" mushroom when young and fresh Is shaped like a closed umbrella, lta aurfaca covered with delicate scales It la wholesome and a prime delicacy, stewed or fried. But It must be promptly picked, for when about a day old It begins to "run to ink." the whole of It dissolving most unpleasantly Into a black fluid. The horse" mushroom la another esculent variety, looking much like the common fleld mushroom, but larger, and therefore better adapted dell-clo- - to-tb- Henry B. Walthall lenry B. Walthall, who rose to motion picture fame with the production of The Birth of a Nation." Is to bs Seen soon In the film version of a Harold MacQrath novel, "A Splendid Hazard, in which he is given a wonderful opportunity to exercise his remarkable ability as a character actor. Walthall takes the part of Karl Breltman, 'an ambitious and fanatical, descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he endeavors to emulate in his dream of the restoration of monarchy in France. Rosemary Tbeby plays opposite Walthall. Blanche Sweet Blanch Sweet, the Paths star, and Ann Hastings of her company ars Introducing their white fox battlers to each other before the scrap starts. Miss Sweets Paths featurs Is "Help Wanted. Male." Many scenes for this were taken at Catallne Islands, Cal. Bock Jones It was In France shortly after the armistice that William Fox, saw Buck Jones give an exhibition of hls horsemanship before the King and Queen of Belgium. The meeting between the world's champtotr rider and tho great motion picture producer resulted is a contract for Jones to star la Western pictures. Jones previous tlfe as a cowboy and that marvelous knowledge of horsemanship which won him such fame during tne years of the war makes him particularly adapted to portray real man of ths West aa he has "If young girls only knew bow tbs known him. Back s character Is seen much nicer they look' as Nsturs In- la the title role ef Tlrebraad Trevl-soatended them. I nm sure they would from the novel by Charles Aides never again use the I.p stick or eye Beltzer. which If Back Jones la'est brow pencil." t her argument. starring vehlels tinder ths F banner. . Artist Model To Movie ta- r- Miniature of Charlie r Frbm Chaplin-M- iss Dean Gives Advice To Girls. ABED KORMAND was born in. Atlanta. While yet a young miss, with her hair put up so that people might think her mature, Mabel left her home town to come to New York and study to be a painter. Talented people have a sad habit of being without funds, and while she was trying to learn to draw she became a model, posing for such artists as James Montgomery Flagg. Charles Dana Oibson, tha Leyendeck-erand Henry HutL Her beauty and freshness made her much In demand. Later she went Into films and became a star of the first magnitude. In my Qold- Bays Miss Normand: n wyn Pictures I am a girl of tho West, galloping over vast ranches after catUe on tbe stampede, lassoing, holding sing songs with those big clean western binding up their hurts, glvlnj them that gentle woman's touch that they are so ashamed to admit they are atarrlag for. It's all so real, so true. And then to become a lady. I do U. and I lova every bit of it. ' Oh, but It's such jolly good fijn to do all the things in the cinematograph and knew that Its helping others. Thats my favorite role, because Its so real. Charlie Chaplin Tho world's funniest mss has aot a wind-blow- cow-boy- s, been seen on tbo screen for some time, but Charlie Chaplin has nevertheless been busy turning out comedy film, end announcement of his next First National relsass is expected most any day. Aa his contribution toward the raising by tbs Chicago Tribune of a holiday fund for the poor Chaplin some time ago gave a miniature liken an of himself in the shape of a dummy dressed In 'the costume he wore la "A Day's Pleasure." The money wss raised by the sale of this and other odd gifts received from many 'world famous personages The picture shows Chaplin and tbe tiny likeness of himself. Prtwin "Take off those Dean ear-rings- !" . . - She's only a kid," the explained, "Wash that paint off your face!" "There new, you look a thousand "and thinks It's smart to make ap on And laughing'y tbo street like a vamp." per cent, better." Miss Dean, who Is a Universal star, Priscilla Dean put her arms around has a horror of paint act cosmetics, the young girt, at her side. for public use. Although she .uses them In her business, when the hours st the studio aro over, soap and water ara vigorously applied. She Is ntver seen on the street madeup." J 1 ." . |