15 



white. Tlie yills, soon after <^atUeriu{3', becmue siiUViKeil with u faint 

 pinkish or fleshy tint. The spores are white, sub-elHptical. Specimens 

 occur in which there is a slight granulation in the centre of the cap, but 

 they are rare. The variety squatnosa shows the surface of the cap, some- 

 what broken into thick scales. 



L. naucinoides is a verj' clean and attractive looking mushroom, usually 

 symmetrical in shape. It is a fleshier mushroom than L. procera, and is 

 found in grassj' places, in lawns, sometimes in gardens, or by roadsides, 

 especially where the soil is lich. The specimens iigured in Plate XI were 

 gathered in a rose garden, growing in loamy soil. Specimens have been 

 received from different States, some of them much larger than those here 

 illustrated. 



This mushroom is recorded by some authors as equal in flavor to the 

 Parasol mushroom. When stewed with butter it makes a very appetizing 

 dish. 



There is a fatally poisonous mushroom to which it bears some resem- 

 blance, and which might be taken for it, viz., Amanita verna, or " Spring 

 mushroom."' It is therefore necessary, in order to guard against such a 

 mistake, to give particular attention to the characteristics of these two 

 mushrooms. They are both white throughout, and both have white spores 

 and ringed stem. Amanita verna, however, carries a white volva or cup- 

 shaped sheath at the base of the stem, and the gills do not show a pinkish 

 or flesh -colored tinge at any stage. In Lepiota naucinoides, as in all the 

 Lepiotas, the volva is wanting. Amanita verna is apt to be moist and 

 clammy to the touch, and is tasteless. L. naucinoides is dry, and has a 

 pleasant flavor. The first is found toholly in woods ; the second prefers 

 pastures, open grassy places, and gardens, though sometimes found in 

 light woods. I have never found an Amanita in a lawn, pasture, or 

 garden. 



An edible mushroom, Agaricus (Psalliota) cretaeeiis, found in pastures, 

 bears a slight resemblance to L. naucinoides, when the color of the spores 

 and gills are not taken into consideration. In the former the gills very 

 quickly change from their early stage of rosy pink to a dark purplish- 

 brown color, like that of the common mushroom. The spores are pur- 

 plish-brown, while in L. naucinoides the pinkish hue which tinges the 

 fading plant is very faint, and changes to a very light tan color with age. 

 The spores being white, the gills retain then- white color for a long time, 

 never changing to dark brown. 



L. Americana Pk. A. & S., L. excoriata Schaeff, and L. rubrotincta 

 Pk. have been tested and are of good flavor. 



L. Americana has a reddish or reddish-brown cap, umbonate, with 

 close adpressed scales and white flesh. The gills are broad and free from 

 the stem, sometimes anastomosing near it, white : stem white, hollow, 

 tapering towards the cap, annulate. AVhen dried the whole plant has a 

 brownish-red hue. When cut or bruised it sometimes exudes a reddish 

 juice. Miss Banning reports specimens found in Druid Hill Park, Balti- 



