THE ORANGE-AGARIC 319 



of horse manure and light earth. In these beds 

 they put pieces of mycelium known to horticulturists 

 under the name of mushroom-spawn. This spawn 

 ramifies, pushes out numerous filaments, and from 

 these finally >iring the mushrooms. " 



"Good to eat f" 



" Excellent. Among the mushrooms we gathered 

 are those that I am going to acquaint you with. 



"Look at this first of all. It is an agaric. The 

 upper surface of the cap is a beautiful orange-red ; 

 the gills underneath are yellow. The stalk rises 

 from the bottom of a sort of white bag with torn 

 edges. This bag, called volv a at first enveloped the 

 whole mushroom. In growing and pushing above 

 ground, the cap broke it. This kind, they say, is the 

 best of all, the most appreciated. It is called the 

 orange-agaric. 



"This other agaric, likewise orange-red, and also 

 provided with a bag or volva at the base of tlu- 

 stalk, is called the false orange-agaric. Would you 

 not, however, think it was the same kind?" 



"I don't see much difference, for my part," re- 

 sponded Claire. 



"Nor I either," said EmiK'. 



"I see a difference," Jules declared, "but it is 

 very slight. The second agaric lias white irills, 

 while the first has yellow." 



'Jules has sharp eyes. I will add that in the 

 false n i n '_: -agaric the upper surface of the cap is 

 sown with shreds of white skin, debris of the torn 

 vnlva. The other one has not these shreds, or very 

 few, 



