204 



CIVIC BIOLOGY 



8. Stinkhorns, mushrooms which, once smelled, can never be mistaken 

 for anything else or forgotten. The immature plants, known appropri- 

 ately as witches'-eggs, resemble ]Duff balls externally ; but as one matures, 

 out shoots a long, hollow stem bearing pendent from the tip a small 

 pileus, and this carries the spores in reticulations of its outer surface — 

 Pludloidece . 



9. Trembling mushrooms : soft, gelatinous fungi (witches'-butter) in 

 color varying from white to orange, red, or brown, generally found grow- 

 ino" on wood or parasitic on other fungi — Tremellacctp.. 



The first purpose of these lessons should be to learn to 

 recognize the deadly genus Amanita. Then let each student 

 acquaint himself with as many as possible of tlie abundant 

 edible mushrooms. An excellent plan is to have the class 

 unite in making a neat card cataloo-ue of the most abundant 

 and valuable nnishrooms found growing in the locality — this 

 catalogue to be left in the laboratory as part of its biological 

 equipment during the year. A sample card might read about 

 as follows : 



1^ Di: R : A GA li I CA CEA^: 



CxENrs : Ldctarius 



Spkciks : (leliciosus 



S PORKS : White 



Delicious Milky Mushroom 



Edible, excellent (first taste a little acrid) 



Space for 

 Color Picture 



8-10 cm. high; 5-18 cm. broad; funnel-shaped. 



Color : orange, in concentric darker and lighter 

 zones around ca]>; becomes hghter, often green- 

 ish, with age. 



Gills: decurrent, saffron vellow. Milk at first reddisli 

 orange, qiiickly turning to dull greenish — char- 

 acteristic of every part of plant when bruised. 



Odor: aromatic. 



Taste : delicious. 



Habitat : damp coniferous woods. 



Season: July to October. 

 Notes: Have found it abundant since our first field woi-k — Sep- 

 tember 10 up to October 28. 



