THE MILKY MUSHROOM. 85 



articles of food. One species which is esteemed on 

 the continent, where it is more common than with 

 us, attains a considerable size, although not the 

 largest of the milky mushrooms. It is of an orange 

 brown colour [Lactarius volemus), with a cap about 

 four inches broad, depressed in the centre, smooth 

 and rather polished, thick in the flesh, which is readily 

 seen by cutting through the cap, and then the sweet 

 white milk will exude, and fall in drops to the 

 ground. The stem is more than three inches long, 

 sometimes four or five, and nearly an inch thick, a 

 little tapering towards the base, rather paler than the 

 centre of the cap, which is darkest, and rather a 

 spongy flesh. The gills are numerous, reaching the 

 stem, and of an ochre colour at first, becoming darker, 

 especially when touched. The spores are white. 

 Like its relatives in this section, it grows on the 

 ground in woods, but is too rare to be of much 

 interest as an esculent. In some seasons we have 

 seen two or three individuals, but more often none 

 at all. 



Much more common, and smaller, is the sweet 

 milk mushroom (Lactarius subdulcis) ; indeed this is 

 quite a common species everywhere, but it is not of 

 much account as an esculent, especially as it makes 

 its appearance at a time when better species are to 

 be had. Nearly all the description we have given 

 above of the larger species will apply to this, except 

 that it is smaller and more of a dark cinnamon in 



