52 BRITISH EDIBLE FUNGI. 



and thin, breaking up into irregular patches which 

 adhere to the cap. Beneath this broken cuticle the 

 surface is white and silky. The stem is about two 

 inches long, scarcely thickened at the base and 

 dirty white ; near the top is a broad collar, which 

 readily separates and becomes movable. The whole 

 substance is soft and spongy, with very little odour. 

 It will be observed that it differs in general appear- 

 ance from the other three kinds in having large ir- 

 regular patches of the cuticle on the cap instead of 

 scales, and in a shorter, and proportionately shorter 

 stem. At first sight it would hardly seem to be 

 related to them. This is quite a summer species, 

 making its appearance about May or June, but not 

 after the end of Augiist. Sometimes it is not recog- 

 nized for years. 



There are several other species of less note which 

 agree with the above in having a ring, and the white 

 gills scarcely reaching the stem, but their determina- 

 tion had better be left to the professed mycologist 

 as they are not of sufficient importance to be con- 

 sidered as regular edible species, and they require 

 good figures for their accurate identification. It is 

 better to limit the number of kinds to be recom- 

 mended than to risk any chance of confusion or 

 mistaken identity. We would'lose no opportunity of 

 cautioning those who have no general notion of fungi 

 against making experiments in eating kinds of which 

 they have no knowledge, or entertain any doubt. 



