62 A PLAIN AND EAST ACCOUNT 



be more advisable to reject all than risk any, unless the 

 esculent species are so well known that there is not the 

 remotest possibility of a poisonous species associating 

 with its betters unawares. This advice is given in 

 remembrance of the fact that the poison of the dan- 

 gerous species is so powerful that a single specimen is 

 capable of producing most unpleasant and fatal 

 results. 



The genus Cantharellus has thick, swollen, and 

 branched gills, with the edges blunt and rounded so as 

 to have the appearance of veins rather than gills. 



The beautiful little yellow Chantarelle {Cantharellus 

 cibarius) having been once seen, is sure to be recog- 

 nized, and, once tasted, to be remembered. It is of a 

 bright, deep yellow colour, with a smell like that 

 of ripe apricots ; the pileus becomes at first con- 

 vex and afterwards funnel-shaped. (PI. 13, upper 

 figure.) The gills are thick and branched, and of 

 the same colour as the pileus. The chantarelle is 

 common in woods and occasionally in more open local- 

 ities, although another species unworthy of commenda- 

 tion is generally found on heaths and commons. 



Berkeley states that "the chantarelle is occasionally 

 served up at public dinners at the principal hotels in 

 London on state occasions, where every effort is made 

 to secure the rarest and most costly dainties." In some 

 parts of Kent, and also in Sussex, they may be found 

 in profusion at the proper season of the year, and there 

 is no reason why their use should be confined to first- 

 class hotels and "state occasions" provided the preju- 



