ESCULENT FUNGI. 



these were sometimes attended with such serious 

 consequences, that the magistrates felt it necessary 

 to interfere and forbid the practice. 



Morelles Phalli esculenti. 



The morel is not, like the mushroom, made an ob- 

 ject of culture ; but Lightfoot says that he has raised 

 it from seed. 



The FIELD MUSHROOM Jlgaricus camptstris 

 is the only species which is cultivated in this country. 

 The stem of this fungus is short, solid, and white, 

 marked a little below the cap with a prominent ring, 

 the remains of the curtain which covers the gills in 

 their early stage. The cap is at first white, regularly 

 convex, and a little turned in at the edge : as it ad- 

 vances in growth the surface becomes brown, scaly, 

 and flattened. The flesh is white, firm, and solid ; 

 the gills are loose, reaching to the stem on all sides, 

 but not touching it. When young these are of a 

 pinky red, but change to a liver colour about the 



