USES. 27 



There is a very small white, scaly mushroom, 

 never more than an inch across the cap, and with 

 a stem hardly two inches high, that has the 

 distinction of possessing the strongest smell of 

 all the membrane fungi (Hymenomycetes). It 

 is called the narcotic Coprinus, C. narcoticus, 

 and it derives its name from its odor. It is 

 very fragile and grows on heaps of manure. 



DUKATION. 



There is another Coprinus, the radiating 

 Coprinus, C. radiatus, so called from the radi- 

 ating folds on the cap, that may carry off the 

 honor of being the shortest-lived of all the mem- 

 brane fungi. Stevenson says " it withers up 

 with a breath." It is often overlooked, as it 

 perishes iafter sunrise. It grows in troops, and 

 is perhaps the most tender of all mushrooms. 



The genus Marasmius, belonging to the white 

 spored Agarics, has the power of reviving under 

 moisture after withering, so it may represent a 

 genus that endures longest. None of the fleshy 

 fungi have long lives. 



USES. 



Besides the uses of fungi as scavengers of 

 creation, there are some which have a com- 



