MISCELLANEOUS FUNGI 261 



markets — a bon-mot for the rich, a prize for the peas- 

 ant. I could fill all tny allotted space with the 

 delicate schemes of the chefs in its preparation for 

 the table. 



Dr. Badham's recommendation, among my list of 

 recipes, is worth a trial for the sake of novelty, if 

 nothing more. The hollow shape of our Morel thus 

 suggests a variation on the conventional methods of 

 cooking. 



The color of the Morel in its prime is grayish- 

 green, occasionally brownish. It is most commonly 

 found in orchards, and is said to favor spots where 

 charcoal or cinders have been thrown. 



HELVELLA 

 Helvetia crispa 



One of the most strikingly individual of all the 

 mushrooms, and one which could not possibly be 

 confounded with any other kind, is the example pict- 

 ured in Plate 33. With this mere portrait as our 

 guide, we might safely classify our specimen — at least, 

 as to its genus ; and inasmuch as no one of the 

 group is poisonous, and all are edible 

 Specific with varying degrees of esculence, we 

 characters can make no mistake even in our vent- 

 ures as amateur mycophagists. When, 

 therefore, we find a fungus with such a peculiar, ir- 

 regularly fluted and hollowed stem, itself hollow 

 within, or tubular, and surmounted with a rather thin, 

 flexible, wavy cap, resembling our illustration, we may 

 know that we have a specimen of Helvella. If this 

 example happens to be creamy above and ochre- 

 14 



