COMMON AMERICAN MUSHROOMS 



581 



Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, who very kindly identified as many 

 of the forms as she could. Where exact identification 

 was not possible, it was the fault of the collector and 

 photographer, who failed to note the colors at the time 

 of collecting, or neglected to photograph or describe those 

 parts so essential, in any species, to absolutely correct 

 identification. One learns a whole lot in this way ; so 

 should the reader ever contemplate making a study of 

 our fungi in general, and our toadstools Bind mushrooms 

 in particular, it will be well to bear these facts in mind. 



FIG. 5 THE DELICIOUS MOREL 

 For ages the fungus epicures have regarded the Morels of the 

 Genus Morchella as being among the greatest favorites for the 

 table ; they are difficult to differentiate with certainty. This may 

 be the Morchella conica, and probably is, as the cup is conical 

 and broader than the stem. Most of the species of this genus 

 may be used as food ; but the collector should be very familiar 

 with ..he specific characters of the various forms. 



With respect to their photography, the specimens may 

 be taken in situ in some instances, provided the method 

 of photographing that class of subjects be strictly fol- 

 lowed and the right sort of plates used. If possible, they 

 should always be taken natural size. They may also be 

 most satisfactorily photographed in the studio, and when 

 one plans to do so, the specimens should be taken up with 

 a broad trowel, placed in a suitable basket, shielded from 



FIG. 7 THE YELLOW CLAVARIA 

 This beautiful and edible Clavaria was photographed in situ on a 

 mossy bank in a cool woodland in the District of Columbia. It 

 is of a pale yellow color with needle-like tips to its branches. 

 Pale Yellow Clavaria (C. flava) is sometimes found to be nearly 

 white. 



FIG. 6 MORELS, NATURAL SIZE 

 The cap of this species is sometimes curved at its apex. Deli- 

 cious Morels may be cooked in all sorts of ways, and they are 

 most "delicious" in all of them. Farmers use them in pot-pies, 

 but the epicure prefers his stuffed with chicken, anchovies, or veal. 



