seen it growing here later than June. It is especially fond of 
light, sandy soil, under, or in the vicinity of pine trees, but it re- 
quires considerable moisture, and it is to be sought in rainy 
weather, or in wet, springy places. 
The French author, Cordier, says that it has an agreeable 
taste, and is highly esteemed, and that it is sold in Germany as a 
true morel. Though I have repeatedly eaten it without experi- 
fencing evil consequences, its flavor to me is not that of a first- 
class mushroom. But then it was simply fried in butter and sea- 
soned; perhaps with more elaborate preparation it might be bet- 
ter flavored. Care should be taken by those eating it to use it 
with moderation, and not to keep it too long before cooking. 
Sickness has been known to result from eating freely of a quan- 
tity of it which had been kept twenty-four hours. 
Of the remaining helvellas that have been used for food when 
they could be procured in sufficient quantity, the White helvella, 
H. crispa, differs from all the others in its color, which is white, 
both in its cap and stem. It, and all our other species, are small- 
er than the Edible helvella, and they are more scarce and only 
found in the woods. They are also later in the time of their ap- 
pearance, occurring from midsummer to autumn. They are re- 
puted to be excellent eating, and all similar in flavor, but from 
their scarcity and small size it is hardly worth while to give a de- 
tailed description of each. For the benefit of those who may 
wish to identify them, should they be fortunate enough to meet 
with them, their names and the following analytical table are 
given. Their names are—White helvella, H. crispa; Cinereous 
or Black-top helvella, H. lacunosa; Sulcate helvella, H. sulcata; 
Mitre-shaped helvella, H. infula; and the Elastic helvella, H. 
elastica. 
ANALYTICAL TABLE. 
Stems furrowed lengthwise. 1. 
Stems not furrowed. 3. 
1. Plant wholly white, Hi. crispa. 
1. Plant not white or only part white. 2. 
2. Stem interruptedly furrowed, H. lacunosa. 
2. Furrows of the stem not interrupted, H. sulcata. 
8. Stem short, stout; cap mitre-shaped, H. infula. 
3. Stem long, slender; cap not mitre-shaped, H. elastica. 
The irregular mitrula, Mitrula vitellina var. irregularis, and 
several of the larger species of Cup-fungi (Pezizas), belong to 
this class, and are known to be edible, but because of their scar- 
city and small size, further notice of them is omitted. 
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