MANY OR SPECIAL PURPOSES 367 



brilliant red and yellow mushrooms of the woods, 

 belong to this group. 



Puff-balls are fungi of globular or pear shape, 

 that burst on ripening, and their spores escape 

 like a cloud of snuff, to be scattered by the wind. 

 In the cheesy stage these fungi are good to eat. 

 None is poisonous, though none is as rich in flavor 

 as the best mushrooms. 



Many people grow mushrooms for home use and 

 for market in cellars. The soil is made by mixing 

 horse manure with garden loam, and planting it 

 with mushroom "spawn" — bits of the dried 

 mycelium, or thread-like body substance, out of 

 which the umbrellas rise. Though they grow in 

 the light in meadows, these mushrooms are happier 

 as "children of the dark." 



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