Insects and Mushrooms 



have lately shown us. As for the second half 

 of the Boletus, the half which I did not col- 

 onize with vermin, it remains compact, the 

 same as it was at the start, except that its 

 appearance is a little withered by evaporation. 

 The fluidity, therefore, is really and truly the 

 work of the grubs and of them alone. 



Does this liquefaction imply an easy 

 change? One would think so at first, on see- 

 ing how quickly it is performed by the action 

 of the grubs. Moreover, certain mushrooms, 

 the coprini, liquefy spontaneously and turn 

 into a black fluid. One of them bears the ex- 

 pressive name of the inky mushroom {Copri- 

 nus atramentariiiSy BULL.), and dissolves into 

 ink of its own accord. The conversion, in cer- 

 tain cases, is singularly rapid. One day, I 

 was drawing one of our prettiest coprini (Cop- 

 rinus sterquilinus, fries), which comes out of 

 a little purse or volva. My work was barely 

 done, a couple of hours after gathering the 

 fresh mushroom, when the model had disap- 

 peared, leaving nothing but a pool of ink upon 

 the table. Had I procrastinated ever so little, 

 I should not have had time to finish and I 

 should have lost a rare and interesting find. 



This does not mean that the other mush- 

 rooms, especially the boleti, are of ephemeral 

 409 



