MORELS. 151 



as a well grown specimen of Partus toriilosus. We 

 have not the remotest intention of recommending it 

 either stewed or baked, although it might be as 

 harmless as saddle flaps, and possessing a far more 

 pleasant and attractive odour \\\'a.Vl Poly poms squamosiis 

 which was figured by us in a former work on this 

 subject as eaten abroad, but of which Mrs Hussey 

 declared — " One might as soon think of eating saddle- 

 flaps." It seems strange to us islanders that such 

 things as these should ever have been recommended, 

 when we possess some eighty or a hundred species 

 which are at least succulent and juicy and more than 

 half of them excellent. But we Britishers are allowed 

 to possess "insular prejudices." 



XXIIL— MORELS. 



Morels have such a singular appearance, and difl"er 

 so much in structure from the fungi already enumer- 

 ated, that we must at once endeavour to convey some 

 idea of their general character for the benefit of 

 those who may not have this preliminary knowledge. 

 The whole plant consists of a cap and stem, as in the 

 agarics, but it is a different kind of cap and stem, 

 so different as to puzzle the uninitiated. The cap 

 is globose, or oval, or conical, deeply pitted on the 



