97 
])astures in autumn ; in high esteem in Italy and in France. 
Paulet says of it, “ hllle est d’un saveur tres agriable, et d’une 
chair tendre tres delicate et tres bonne a manger. Les amateiu's la 
preferent nieme au chamjiignon do couch e comme ayant une chairo 
fine et etant beucoup plus legere sur I’estomac.” !Mv correspondent, 
Mr. Mills, ol hakenham, does not cpiite subscribe to this account, 
and says, “I do not like it at all when cooked j” he has found fine 
specimens of it at Fakenham. Messrs. Plowright and Amyot; 
however, speak well of 'it. I have never eaten it. It is marked 
14 on Smith’s chart; “ it has a scaly top, a spotted, bulbous .stem, 
and a ring which will move up and down.” 
AyarlcMs (jamhoHKs, the St. George’s mushroom, 19 on the chart, 
comes up near St. George’s day in the spring ; said to be “ a 
rare delicacy. Mr. Plowright is the only one of my Norfolk 
correspondents who has ever eaten it. 
Agancus ostraatm, the oyster mushroom, grows chiefly on trees, 
such as the elm, poplar, ash, willow. Although edible. Smith says, 
“ a taste for this fungus has to be accpiired, and is not of much 
value for culinary purposes.” 
AgavH'us nehuhwts, so named from its cloudy, grey top, grows 
in woods in moist places. !Mr. Amyot says it is not worth e<ating, 
Smith says it is who shall decide when mycologists disagree ? 
Aga7'icus j)ntnulus, plum mushroom, known by its ringless 
stem and pink gills running down it, and by its mealy smell ; 
said to be “ whether boiled, stewed, or however prepared, a most 
delicious morsel.” 
Agaricus 2 ><’rsonafus, lilac stemmed mushroom, is a rare species, 
named, however, as growing in Norfolk by Messrs. Plowright 
and Cooke. 
There are five other esculent agarics down in my list, but as they 
are of less frequent occurrence than those already named, I will 
not detain you by any description of them, but will finish what I 
have to say about the genus agaricus by referring to one species 
which is said by Eadham and Worthington Smith to be esculent, 
but which, on the contrary, is highly dangerou.s, and has of late 
proved fatal in the Eastern Counties, I allude to Agaricus 
vaginatns. I cannot do better than quote what my ' friend 
Mr. Amyot has written concerning it, apropos of a case of poison- 
ing from its use “ Through the kindness of two friends re.-^idiii" 
H 
