FUNGI 



457 



of different specimens. The Inky Mushroom, for example (Coprinus atra- 

 meniarius}, with its bell-shaped cap of dark shiny grey, will be seen at the 

 foot of an old tree trunk ; while in a glade hard by appears the Shaggy Cap 

 (Coprinus comatus), some 4 to 6 inches in height, unmistakable by its name, 





The "Fairy Ring." 



ink " in 



and with white gills that turn to pink and black, dissolving into 

 two or three days. 



Horse Mushrooms (Agaricus arvensis) are common on marshy ground ; 

 they have soft, smooth caps, yellowish in colour, and often full of grubs. 



In some wooded dell or copse we perceive another well-known fungus, 

 not by the eye at first, but the nose: it is the Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus), 

 with its vile smell. Probably when you find it you will see that it is 

 covered with bluebottles and other flies, which are frequently intoxicated 

 by its juices. 



On many decayed trees may be 

 found the Common Polyporus (Poly- 

 porus versicolor), the upper side 

 marked with green and brown con- 

 centric lines, and velvety to the 

 touch ; while the Common Puff-ball 

 (Lycoperdon perlatum), at first so 

 white and solid, but later filled with 

 brown spores and bursting at the 

 touch, is to be found on the grass of 

 meadows and roadsides. 



Later in the autumn Liberty 



Caps (Agaricus semilanceatus) take their place in the meadows, and are very 

 poisonous. The cap is conical, and about | inch wide, brownish white, with 

 a white stem. 



Such are a few of the fungi to be found in a walk such as I have described, 



Deflated Puff-balls. 



