462 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICrLTURE. 



even of niasomy. The}' are decidedly the commonest edible species 

 found near houses in other than thinly settled regions. The larger of 

 the two sj)ecies, Coprinus atramentarius, has a closed pileus, like the 

 horsetail, but its outline is as near conical as oval and the stalk is 

 short and stout. The surface is not white, but an ashy black, and 

 instead of having scales, it is furrowed with irregular longitudinal 

 folds. The other species, Coprinus micaceous^ is smaller and less 

 fleshy than the two above mentioned, and the pileus is often date- 

 colored or of a shade resembling buff. The surface is marked with 

 regular and fine longitudinal grooves, and usually, but not always, I 

 appears to be sprinkled with fine shining particles looking like mica. 

 It should be noticed that the spores of this species are not a pure 

 black, but have a brown tinge, and it does not liquefy so quickly 

 when old as the other two species. In taste these last two species are 

 decidedly inferior to the horsetail, but they possess the advantage of ■ 

 being very common and growing near houses. 



LESS COMMON EDIBLE FUXGI. 



In the description of sjjecies so far referred to, it has been neces- 

 sary" to enter more or less into details, since they should be well 

 known by anyone who attempts to collect fungi. The fungus eater 

 who goes into the woods or fields will be sure to find in most seasons 

 a multitude of toadstools which are quite bewildering. He ought to 

 recognize amongst them some of the species already mentioned, but 

 what can be said of the rest? Those that are very small, very tough, 

 or that have a disagreeable taste may be passed by without further 

 notice; but there still remains a large number of species, some of 

 which are known to experts to be edible and some poisonous, while 

 about others there is no definite knowledge. It is impossible to do 

 more in the space of this paper than to give a hasty glance at certain 

 tj'i^ical species, with such comments as may help the beginner. So 

 far, all the species mentioned belong to the gill-bearing group, the 

 largest group of the Hymenomycetes, or toadstools. In this group 

 the species may have spores which, roughly classified, are either 

 white, pink or salmon colored, brown, purple, or black. The color 

 of the spores can generallj' be inferred from the color of the mature 

 gills, but that is not always the case, and the only sure way is to let 

 the spores fall on paper, as already described. The color of the 

 spores in any species is practically constant, whereas the color of the 

 pileus may vary a great deal, as is seen in the fly agaric, which may 

 be either bright yellow or red. The gills vary in the different species. 

 In some they are sharp edged, in others blunt and more like ridges. 

 In some cases the gills do not reach the toj) of the stalk, while in 

 others thej^ reach the stalk or extend down over it some distance. 

 The stalks are sometimes solid and sometimes hollow, and in some, 

 but not in most species, there is a ring, which may either be fixed like 



