6o BRITISH EDIBLE FUNGI. 



was occasionally sold under the name of " Blewits * 

 in Covent Garden Market, but we have never seen it 

 exposed for sale in this country. It is more regular 

 in the shape of its cap than the St George's mushroom, 

 and similar in size, from two to five or six inches, 

 smooth, but not viscid, with an oily appearance. In 

 colour it is most commonly of a dirty white, some- 

 times greyish, or with a tinge of violet, also thick in 

 the flesh, and firm, but it imbibes water readily, so 

 that it is liable to become sodden and dark in wet 

 weather. The edge is at first turned in, and looks 

 frosted, or minutely velvety, but this soon disappears. 

 The stem is from one to three inches long, and about 

 three quarters of an inch thick, rather swollen at the 

 base, and stained with lilac, which colour also pene- 

 trates into the flesh of the stem. The gills are 

 numerous, rounded behind, and scarcely attached to 

 the stem, dirty white, now and then tinged with 

 violet, but the spores are white. It has a strong 

 odour, but not so powerful as the St George's mush- 

 room, and is equally pleasant to the taste. This is 

 also a gregarious species, and is said to be fond of 

 growing in rings, but we have never recognised this 

 habit although several specimens will generally be 

 found growing in company. Altogether this fungus 

 seems to correspond, as a late species, to the St 

 George's, which is an early one, and they have several 

 points in common, but there is no suspicion of its 

 being the same species, indeed this could hardly be 



