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Hitherto Caesar's Amanita has been reported from Yer- 

 mont (Frost), New York (Peck), Ohio (Morgan) and North 

 Carolina (Schiveinitz,^ Curtis). It is very abundant in Ala- 

 bama where the soil seems especially favorable for this 

 species; it appears to be less common in more northern 

 countries, being rare in the northern states mentioned and 

 is found neither in England nor in northern Continental 

 Europe. It is commonly found in open woods, occasionally 

 growing in more shaded places. When it appears, usually 

 soon after the first summer rain, it is found for a time in 

 great abundance. Experiments with reference to the best 

 methods of preserving this species for use at later seasons 

 are very desirable. During the past season it was most 

 common in July, but this period is likely to vary with the 

 time of the summer rains. 



The Puff Balls (Calvatia, etc.) 

 A second group of fungi less related to the two species of 

 edible fungi above discussed, than they to each other, are the 

 plants commonly known as puff balls. These when dry are 

 variously known as "puff balls" or "smoke balls" and in 

 some portions of our state are known under the name of 

 "devil's snuff boxes." The clouds of dust which rise from 

 these when crushed, are the reproductive bodies or spores 

 and are produced in prodigious quantities. These appear 

 only when the plants are fully ripe. It is in the young con- 

 dition that these "puffs balls" are edible and they are fully 

 as nutritious weight for weight as beefsteak. There are a 

 large number of species widely distributed throughout the 

 country and several of these are common in Alabama. The 

 various species vary in size from that of a marble to that of 

 a man's head or even larger. When young they will appear 

 of a pure white color when broken in two, and of a consist- 

 ency somewhat intermediate between cottage cheese and 

 curd. When the spores commence to ripen the interior be- 

 come softer, and soon takes on either a purplish or olive 

 color according to the color of the mature spores. It is 

 only when the flesh is white that they are suitable for food, 

 and at this time they may be sliced thin and fried in butter 

 after first removing the outer skin. All the species of thin 

 skinned puff-balls are edible* but with few exceptions the 

 smaller ones are not as valuable as the species that vary 

 from the size of one's fist upward. 



* The tough skinned species of Scleroderma with a blue black inte- 

 rior would not be likely to attract anyone as articles of food. With 

 this exception all the puff balls belonging to the genera Calvatia, 

 Lycoperdon, Bovistella and Bovista are edible and could not be con- 

 fused with anything else. 



