THE RUSSULES. 183 



XXVII.— THE RUSSULES. 



It is very difficult to describe the russules with 

 sufficient precision to enable anyone who is not a 

 mycologist to distinguish them well enough to eat 

 them. Those who are well acquainted with fungi, 

 and have plates to guide them, will sometimes 

 hesitate, and when the question is one of food or 

 poison, there should be no hesitation. There are 

 bright red russules which will produce serious 

 internal disturbance, and induce dangerous symp- 

 toms, even if nothing more, and there are others of 

 the same colour which are recommended as edible. 

 The differences are those which a practised eye would 

 detect, but not such as an ordinary fungus eater 

 would recognize ; hence very little can be attempted 

 with them in a work of this kind, which is designed 

 for general use. 



It may be premised that' in the true agarics the 

 long gills traversing the under side of the cap from 

 the stem to the circumference alternate with shorter 

 ones placed between them, whereas in the russules 

 there are, in most cases, only long gills radiating from 

 the stem, without short ones proceeding from the 

 margin inwards, and alternating with them, or, if 

 short gills are present, they join the long gills, or 



