inaj be prepared for the table iu the same manner, as below: 



Select immature specimens whose flesh is yet pure white. 

 Peel away the rind and cut the flesh in thin slices, say ^ 

 to ^ an inch thick. These slices may simply be fried in butter, 

 and seasoned to taste, or they may first be dipj)ed in a batter 

 made of beaten egg and then fried and seasoned. In this way 

 they make a kind of mushroom omelet or fritters, that is very 

 agreeable to almost all tastes. If preferred, the beaten egg may 

 be thickened with a few bread crumbs or with crushed crackers. 

 Some, who are especially fond of the common mushroom, fry 

 the plain slices in butter, adding a mushroom or two to them to 

 heighten the flavor. A group of the cup-shaped puff-ball or a 

 single large specimen of the Giant puff-ball will furnish sufficient 

 material for a meal for a large family. One correspondent writes 

 me that he once found a Giant puff-ball so large that it afforded 

 a good portion of the dinner of about 50 persons! 



There are a few other large species of puff-balls, ranging in di- 

 ameter from 3 to 8 inches, which grow in some of the southern 

 and western States, and which are probably edible; but a de- 

 scription of which T omit because they have not yet been proved 

 to be good. 



There are two puff-balls belonging to the genus Bovista which 

 have been tested by Prof. William Trelease and pronounced by 

 him to be delicate and excellent. The difference between a Bo- 

 vista and a Lycoperdon is very slight and need not be discussed 

 here. 



The Lead-colored puff-ball, Bovista plumhea, is about as round 

 as a marble and not very much larger. Its diameter usually va- 

 ries from half an inch to one inch. It is almost as white as snow 

 when young and in eatable condition. Its thin white coat pres- 

 ently becomes dingy and scales off in flakes, exposing a tougher, 

 thicker rind beneath, which has a dull, dark, but perceptibly 

 leaden hue, that suggests the name. It grows in pastures among 

 short grass, or on naked ground, appearing with us from mid- 

 summer to autumn. Old plants, with an apical aperture for the 

 escape of the spores, may sometimes be found in spring, but they 

 do not much resemble the young edible plant. 



The other species, the Ball-shaped puff-ball, Bovista pila, is 

 very similar to the one just described, in its shape and in the 

 color of the young plant, but it is larger, its diameter being one 

 and a half to two and a half inches. When old, its rind becomes 

 smooth, browTi, or slightly purplish-brown, and almost shining. 



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