SOME EDIBLE AND POISONOUS FUNGI. 459 



and is hollow, or, when young, is loosely filled with cottony threads, 

 which soon disappear. The base of the stalk differs from that of the 

 fly agaric in being more bulbous and in having the upper part of 

 the bulb bordered by a sac-like membrane, called the volva. The 

 volva is often of considerable size, but more frequently it is reduced 

 to a membranous rim, as shown on PI. XXIII. In this species the 

 stalk is longer and slenderer in proportion to the diameter of the 

 pileus than in either the fly agaric or the common mushroom, and is 

 buried rather deep in the soil or dead leaves, so that it often happens 

 that the bulb is broken off and left behind when the fungus is gathered. 



DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COMMON MUSHROOM AND THE FLY AND 



DEADLY AGARICS. 



The differences between the common edible mushroom and the fly 

 agaric and deadly agaric, which the reader can easily remember, are 

 as follows: 



(1) The common mushroom has a pileus which is not covered with 

 wart-like scales; gills which are brownish purple when mature; a 

 nearl}^ cylindrical stalk, which is not hollow, with a ring near the 

 middle, and without a bulbous base sheathed by a membrane or by 

 scales. 



(2) The fly agaric has a pileus marked with prominent warts; gills 

 always white; a stalk, with a large ring around the upper part, and 

 hollow or cottony inside, bilt solid at the base, where it is bulbous and 

 scaly. 



(3) The deadly agaric has a pileus without distinct warts; gills 

 which are always white, and a hollow stalk, with a large ring, and a 

 prominent bulb at the base, whose upper margin is membranous or 

 bag-like. 



(4) Other minor points of difference are the different places in which 

 these species grow, and also the colors, which, although they vary in 

 each case, are brilliant yellow or red in the fly agaric, white vary- 

 ing to pale olive in the deadly agaric, and white usually tinged with 

 a little brown in the mushroom. 



(5) A word should be said as to the size and proportions of the pileus 

 and stalk in these three species. In the mushroom the pileus aver- 

 ages from 3 to 4 inches in breadth, and the stalk is generally shorter 

 than the breadth of the pileus and comparatively stout. The pileus 

 remains convex for a long time, and does not become quite flat-topped 

 until old. The substance is firm and solid. In the fly agaric the 

 pileus, at first oval and convex, soon becomes flat and attains a 

 breadth of 6 to 8 inches and sometimes more. The stalk has a length 

 equal to or slightly exceeding the breadth of the pileus, and is com- 

 paratively slenderer than in the common mushroom, but nevertheless 

 rather stout. The substance is less firm than in the common mush- 

 room. 



