304 



GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



very thin, satiny texture, and more or less ragged on the 

 edge. 



ki The more or less circular expanded disk into which 

 the stem fits is called the 'cap' (technically the pilots, 

 which is the latin for cap). The upper portion, of which 

 we can only see the margin in this figure, is convex (see 

 Figure 130). The surface is usually white, though some- 



Fig. 131— Agaricus campestris (after Atkinson). View of under- 

 side of pileus, showing arrangement of gills. 



times brownish, and usually is covered by a thin layer 

 of very delicate threads, while the flesh or inner portion 

 is more compact, and is white also. 



" On the under side of the cap are numerous thin plates 

 or 'gills' (lamellae), which radiate from near the stem to 

 the margin of the cap. These are shown in Figure 131 as 

 fine radiating lines. They do not reach, the stem, or, when 

 they do, they are not attached to it. 



