three iiielies broad, yellowish on the margin, and red or brown- 

 ish-red in the centre. The flesh is white, and has a mild taste. 

 The gills are at first pale yellow, Itut soon this color is tinged 

 with green, and when matnre they are i)nr[)lish-l)rown. The 

 stem is rather slender, commonly two to three (;r three and a half 

 inches long, and two to lour lines thick. it is yellow above, but 

 more or less reddish or nisty-red toward the base. It is distinctly 

 hollow, even in young specimens. The pores are j»nrplish-brown, 

 and often they are produced in such quantity that the caps of the 

 lower sj)ecimens in a cluster are Itadly soiled and st^iined by 

 them. 



This species is so closely related to the J5rick-red mushroom, 

 //. sublaterifhim, that by its external characters it is not easily 

 separated from it. Indeed, it is so closely allied to it that it may 

 easily be regarded as a mere variety of it. The typical form of 

 the Brick-red mushroom mav be known bv its bitter taste and its 

 stufled stem. In color it is almost the same as the Perj)lexing 

 mushroom, except in its gills. Our species is also closely related 

 to the Gray-gilled mushroom, H. epixantlium, and to the Tufted 

 Yellow mushroom, //. fasciculare. The perplexing thing about 

 it is that it combines the characters of these three species. It has 

 the cap colored like the Brick-red mushroom, it has the mild 

 taste of the Gray-gilled mushroom and the gi-eenish tint to the 

 immature gills, which is seen in the Tufted Yellow mushroom. 

 It is very abundant in some hilly and mountainous districts, and 

 it continues to appear until its growth is stopped by cold, freez- 

 ing weather. 



The genus Coprinus is one easily recognized. Many of the 

 species grow on dung, as the name implies, but some grow on 

 the ground, nnd others on decaying wood. Most of the plants 

 are very short-lived, and some of them literally grow up in a 

 night and decay in a day. The gills in all of them deliquesce 

 when mature and form a black ink-like liquid which has sug- 

 gested for these plants the name ''Inky fungi." The spores are 

 black, with few exceptions, and consequently the color of the 

 mature gills as well as of the liipiid they form is black. ^lost of 

 the plants are of such small size, and of such an ephemeral exist- 

 ence, that they are of little value as food. Even the larger and 

 more durable kinds have very thin caps, and must be gathered 

 and cooked wnth promptitude. They should be used before the 

 gills turn black, or they will make a repulsive looking dish. 

 They are not generally credited with possessing a high flavor, 

 but they are among the most tender dtuI dia'cstible of nil mush- 



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