OF BRITISH FUNGI. 53 



that such " toad's meat " are fit for the table of a 

 Christian. (PL 12.) 



The genus Bolbitius is small and unimportant, but 

 that of Cortinarius, which succeeds it, must not be 

 so speedily dismissed. In this genus, while the gills 

 are membranaceous as in Coprinus, they do not deli- 

 quesce, or melt away. The veil consists of threads of an 

 arachnoid, or spider's web texture, and the spores are 

 commonly of the colour of rust of iron. This genus 

 is subdivided into six groups, founded on minor dis- 

 tinctions, and the names are given in the tabular 

 arrangement at the end of this volume. 



One of the brightest and most beautiful of this, or 

 any other British genus, not only commends itself to 

 our notice on this account, but also for its excellence 

 as food. The species to which we allude (Cortinarius 

 tiolaceus) is found in woods, although by no means com- 

 mon. Th'e colour is a beautiful dark violet, sometimes 

 approaching nearly to black, with a coppery-red gloss or 

 shade. The stem is bulbous and spongy, with a white 

 cottony substance at the base. The gills are broad, 

 thick, and distant ; and the spores are of a rusty brown. 

 There is such a distinctness about the character of 

 this species that one regrets it is not more common, 

 especially when we remember that it has not only the 

 taste and odour of the mushroom when raw, but it is 

 of " a particularly rich flavour when cooked." M. 

 Roques states that he has eaten it, and does not hesitate 

 to include it amongst those of good quality. 



The Marron of the French, and Cortinarius casta- 



