38 EDIBLE AND POISONOUS MUSHROOMS. 



flesh, which is about an inch thick in the 

 centre of the pileus, and remarkably firm ; 

 it may even be cut in slices and dried for 

 winter use. On one occasion a good friend 

 in the north sent us a hamper of speci- 

 mens for the table, as it is rare in the 

 neighbourhood of London, but the odour 

 was so powerful and oppressive that the 

 house was soon filled with it, and we 

 were compelled to transfer the mushrooms 

 to an outhouse until the hour of sacrifice 

 arrived. The nearest species with which 

 it can be compared is the Blewits, but the 

 latter is an autumnal, and this a spring 

 species. Moreover, there is no tinge of 

 lilac in the St. George's Mushroom, and the 

 odour of the Blewits is far less intense. 



