212 
ould. There is a shallow pit in the hemlock grove in the 
Botanical Garden where it appears every year; and at Ithaca, 
New York, there used to be a stretch of low beech woods with 
a ene of old stumps, where one might be sure of finding it 
the weather was seasonable. At a distance these giant 
ae Looked like a group of smooth white boulders, and a 
small section of one of them was sufficient for a meal. 
Puffballs are good either stewed, or fried in thin slices with 
butter, but cooked in the latter way they soak up a quantity of 
butter and are very rich. Being tender they cook quickly and 
are easily digested. They should asa rule be cut open before 
cooking to see that they are not too old and that they are really 
puffballs. If they are white and firm like cream cheese inside, 
showing no yellow or brownish discoloration, they are of the 
right age to use, If the interior shows no special structures, ‘but 
is smooth and of the same color and a all the way 
through, then one may be sure he has a puffball. The “egg” 
of the amanita contains the young cap ne stem inside, which is 
readily seen when the egg is cut ; and the egg of the poisonous 
stinkhorn (Pl. 55, fig. 6) shows the stem and a green mass inside 
surrounded by a layer of jelly-like substance. 
The hard-skinned puffball, although edible when young, is an 
exception to the color rule, being almost perfectly black inside. 
It also differs from most puffballs in having a hard yellowish- 
brown, warty rind, which must, of course, be peeled off if an 
attempt is made to use this kind for food. It is commonly found 
in rather firm’soil in dry woods. 
The coral mushrooms are easily known by their ees 
Peo ie to clusters of ay branched coral. They 
on the ground or on rotten wood in dense shade, and are a 
or yellowish in color. Unfortunately, I have not found them 
abundant about New York. When tender and of mild flavor 
they make a delicious dish. None of them are poisonous. A 
near relative of the true coral mushrooms, called Sparassis, was 
found recently at New Rochelle by Miss Daisy Levy and brought 
to me for determination. This is a very excellent edible species 
and cannot be confused with poisonous kinds. 
