OF BRITISH FUNGI. 29 



has a thick cuticle which breaks up into distinct 

 scales (PL 2). The ring is moveable and the gills are 

 very remote, leaving a considerable distance between 

 them and the stem. This fungus is esteemed also in 

 Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, where it is known 

 locally by various names ; as parasol schwamm in Ger- 

 many, coulemelle in France, bubbola maggiore in Italy, 

 and cogomelos in Spain. Although it has but little 

 flesh, it is very savoury and of an excellent odour, 

 and is generally cooked in oil with salt, pepper, and 

 a little garlic, the stems being excluded. An allied 

 species, Agaricus rachodes, found in shady pastures, 

 has flesh which is mostly red when bruised. The pileus 

 is globose in the young state, but afterwards expands 

 and becomes depressed. The cuticle is thinner than in 

 the last-named species, and like that, is broken up into 

 scales. It is doubted by some whether this is really 

 a very wholesome species ; it may be eaten, and we 

 are assured by those who have eaten them that both 

 species are equally excellent. They will, either of 

 them, afford a good ketchup, and, consequently, realize 

 a good price in Covent Garden, where they appear 

 indiscriminately. 



Another and smaller species of the same sub-genus 

 (A. excoriatus) has been eaten, but is not to be recom- 

 mended. The cuticle is also thin, and breaks up into 

 patches. The stem is short, hollow, and nearly white. 

 Amateurs would do well to confine their gastronomic 

 experiments to the first-named of these species (A. pro- 

 cerus). It is so distinct in habit and general appear- 



