face a tessellated appearance or in longitudinal cracks extending 
from the centre toward the margin. The flesh is firm and white. 
The gills are white or yellowish-white, broad, rounded or notched 
next the stem, and not very closely placed. The stem is firm, sol- 
id, smooth or a little hairy at the base, white or whitish, and at- 
tached eccentrically to the cap. It is often curved, especially 
when growing from the side of a trunk or branch. 
The cap is three to five inches broad, the stem two to four 
inches long and one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick. It is 
not limited in its place of growth to elm trees, but sometimes oc- 
curs on maple and poplar trees also. It is sometimes difficult to 
collect because of its growing high above the ground. Its late 
growth seems to make it comparatively free from the attacks of 
insects. Most tree-inhabiting species are quite slow in their 
growth, and the longer they are in developing, the tougher their 
‘substance and the slower their decay asa rule. Such species may 
be easily dried and preserved for winter use. Dr. Cooke men- 
tions this mushroom as an old favorite and the best of all this 
group of tree inhabiting species. He mentions one specimen 
which was so large that it furnished a meal for three or four per- 
sons. Quelet says it is sapid, but should be eaten while young. 
This seems to me to be good advice in regard to all the tree-inhab- 
iting mushrooms. 
The Sapid pleurotus, Pleuwrotus sapidus, generally grows in 
clusters whose stems are more or less united at the base. The 
caps crowd and overlap each other, and are often very irregular. 
They are smooth and vary much in color, being whitish, yellow- 
ish, ash-gray, dull-lilac or brownish. The flesh is white. The 
gills are white or whitish,’ rather broad, and run down on the 
stem, and there are slightly connected with each other by a few 
oblique or transverse branches. The stem is generally short, sol- 
id and white or whitish, and either laterally or eccentrically con- 
nected with the cap. Very rarely specimens of this and of the 
£lm-tree mushroom may be found having a central stem. 
Although this belongs to the white-spored species in a syste- 
matic classification, its spores really exhibit a pale lilac tint after 
a short exposure to the air. In size it varies, the cap being com. 
monly two to five inches broad, and the stem one to two inches 
long. It grows in woods and open places as well, and may be 
found in wet weather from June to November. It grows on 
trunks and stumps of various kinds of deciduous trees, such as 
elm, oak, beech, birch, maple and horsechestnut. In edible qual- 
ities it appears to me to rank with the Oyster mushroom. Ac- 
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