io8 



THE BROOK BOOK 



V4.. 



BIRD'S-NEST FUNGUS 



us. A faint trail, leaf strewn now and overgrown 

 with ferns, seemed to invite us and we followed, 

 peering along the bank for treasures. One of the 

 party spied a cunning cluster of bird's nest fungus 

 nestling in a moist bed of leaf-mold. It held its 



little cups up as if for 

 us to see. Down at the 

 bottom of each one were 

 the rounded white pel- 

 lets so like tiny birds' 

 eggs. The brooklet sud- 

 denly found a ledge and 

 dripped away into a deep 

 gully full of big stones 

 and shadows. We did not follow but went back 

 to the Indian Spring path. 



It certainly was mushroom time. Never have 

 I seen them so varied in color and shape and so 

 abundant. The bright scarlet Russula emetlca was 

 conspicuous among the green of ferns and mosses. 

 Its beauty is only "skin deep," as could easily be 

 seen where the outer portion had been eaten away 

 by some woodland creature whose digestion must 

 be better than its judgment. There was another 

 mushroom of a delicate lavender color, very choice 

 looking, and brown ones of every possible shade, 

 a feast of color. 



Suddenly we were startled by a cry of alarm 

 from one of the party who was mushroom wise. 

 We all crowded about her while she pointed out 

 the characteristics of the deadly amanita. What 

 we saw was an innocent looking yellowish head 



