Leucosporae 



RUS'SULA Pers. 

 Reddish. 



Pileus regular, rigid, usually becoming more or less depressed. Russuia. 

 Flesh of the pileus descending into (Plate XLV.) 



the gills forming a cellular trama. 

 Veil and consequently the ring ab- 

 sent. Stem smooth, stout, rigid, 

 brittle, spongy within. Gills rigid, 

 fragile, edge thin and acute. Spores 

 rounded, often echinulate, white or 

 yellowish. On the ground. 



Closely allied to Lactarius but 

 separated by the absence of milk. 

 The gills of some species exude wa- 

 tery drops in moist weather. Owing 



to the similarity of form and the vari- RUSSULA 



able coloring many species are diffi- 

 cult to determine ; all the characters should be carefully noted, not 

 omitting that of the taste. 



Russulae are readily distinguished by the stout, short, brittle stem and 

 the fragility of the pileus and gills. They especially love open woods 

 and appear during the summer and fall months, some being found until 

 sharp frosts occur. 



It has been claimed by mushroom growers, until within a few years, 

 that the spores of the mushroom have to pass through the digestive 

 apparatus of the horse before they will germinate. It has been conclu- 

 sively demonstrated that such a transmission is not a necessity. It was 

 for a long time my opinion following the opinion of others that such 

 assistance was necessary. In my many efforts to propagate valuable 

 food species of the wild toadstools I endeavored to find the method by 

 which the spores were disseminated, and through what digestive medium 

 they passed either of insect or animal before germination. Noticing 

 that the Russulas were fed upon by a small black beetle, I planted in 

 suitable places, not the toadstools, but the beetles found upon them. 

 The result was that in several instances I grew the Russulae. My 

 experiments, while interesting, are not conclusive, because I later found 

 that the same results could be obtained from the toadstool itself when 



185 



