262 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 



colored beneath, it is the Helvella crispa of our Plate. 

 The specimen here shown is somewhat larger than 

 in nature. Other species are differently formed and 

 colored, one of them having the cap dark ash-colored 

 or even black. There are three species occasionally 

 met with, of which the first, H. crispa, is the most 

 common and perhaps the most delectable. 



The peculiar texture of these mushrooms permits 

 of their ready desiccation, and in Britain and on the 

 Continent they are commonly strung on strings and 

 dried for future use, in which condition they have 

 been compared to dried " wash-leather " in texture. 

 The famous aristocratic Morel {Mor- 

 Dried ckella esculenta), already described, so 



mushrooms prized as food in Europe, and to which 

 the Helvella is closely allied, has a sim- 

 ilar irregular, pitted, hollowed, and netted surface 

 over its entire conical or globular gray cap, and the 

 same texture. Most competent judges claim that 

 the delicious Morel possesses no advantages over 

 the more plebeian Helvella as a delicacy for the 

 table. The flavor is identical, and the other qual- 

 ities of the two mushrooms make them equally 

 desirable. 



The readiness with which they may be dried, and 

 thus kept indefinitely, is another distinct advantage 

 which the Morels and Helvellas possess over the 

 ordinary gilled Agarics, many of which must be gath- 

 ered in their young prime and immediately eaten. • 



There are numerous ways of serving these fungi, 

 among which is the common method of frying with 

 butter or oil, and variously seasoning with onion, 



