FUNGI. 385 
means common in this country, being most 
abundant in the south of England. It grows 
usually in woods, orchards, and cinder-walks 
in spring and early summer. Its appearance 
is somewhat singular and easily identified, 
though like most widely diffused species it 
assumes a great variety of forms. It consists 
of a hollow stem from one to three inches 
high, with its surface ribbed or latticed with 
irregular sinuses, surmounted by a round or 
conical, hollow, olive-coloured cap about the size 
of an egg. Its whole substance is wax-like 
and friable. We are informed by Gleditch that. 
morels grow in the woods of Germany, in the 
greatest profusion in those places where char- 
coal has been made. Hence those who collect, 
them to sell, receiving a hint how to encourage 
their growth, have been accustomed to make 
fires in certain spots in the woods, in order to 
obtain a more plentiful crop. This strange 
method of cultivating morels being, however, 
sometimes attended with dreadful consequences, 
large woods and plantations being destroyed, the 
magistrates interposed and put an end to the 
practice. A nearly allied species, called Helvella 
crispa, is also highly esteemed in some quarters 
as an agreeable esculent, though hardly known in 
this country. It is a remarkable-looking fungus, 
2B 
