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little Fungus is fairly common on rotten wood. In a few hours 
its stalk elongates and the cap spreads out like an umbrella. 
The black spores are then shed, and in an incredibly short 
time the whole thing has collapsed to a slimy ink-like mass. 
One could almost see them fade while the photograph was being 
taken. 
Some young specimens of the Imperial (Cortinarius violaceus) are 
represented on Page 33. In this genus the veil is filamentous like 
spiders’ web, and the spores brown. The Imperial is one of the 
handsomest of British Toadstools. It is violet in colour with a coppery 
gloss, and the gills are brown. A somewhat uncommon inhabitant 
of the woods in autumn, it grows in groups, and is said to possess “ a 
particularly rich flavour when cooked.” 
A group of Paxils (Paxillus involutus) is seen on Page 34. This 
Fungus is common in and near woods from early summer to late 
autumn. It is easily recognised by its brown and somewhat viscid 
cap, with its margin incurved. It is eaten in Russia and Belgium, 
but those who have tried it in this country do not recommend it. 
If the stalk of a poppy or wart weed be broken, a white milky 
juice will exude. The same thing occurs when the Slayer(Lactarius 
rufus, Page -35) is injured. Only a few Toadstools have this curious 
habit, and its purpose is not clearly understood. Possibly it is 
protective, for the juice coagulates and would thus close a wound 
caused by an injury. The Slayer has no smell, but a bitter acrid taste, 
and is believed to be poisonous. It is of a reddish-brown colour and 
is most often found growing on the ground among pine trees. 
The Woolly Milk Mushroom (Lactarius torminosus, Page 36) 
has this milky juice also Its cap is woolly and flesh-coloured, with 
a turned in margin. This beautiful Fungus is preserved in salt by 
the Russians and eaten with oil and vinegar. 
The Slimy Lactar (Lactarius blennius, Page 37) is another close 
ally. The cap is dingy green in colour and so glutinous that the 
dead leaves, sticking to it, make the Fungus difficult to see. The 
gills are white and crowded, and an acrid milky juice exudes when- 
ever the Fungus is injured. 
Page 38 represents the Emetic Russule (Russula emetica), a 
striking feature of the woods in Autumn. The cap is of a rose-pink 
or bright red colour, but the rest of the Fungus is white. Its taste 
is acrid, and it is said 10 possess emetic properties. Slugs, however, 
seem rather to enjoy it, for they’ frequently’ nibble through the red 
pellicle and expose the white flesh beneath. 
Another closely allied Russule (Russula chamaeleontina) with a 
rose red cap is seen on Page 39. This fragile little Toadstool is 
fairly common in mixed woods, and is peculiar in that its colour 
changes to a yellowish tint with age. 
Who has not seen on our pastures and downs circles of grass of a 
deep green shade? They are popularly’ believed to be caused by 
the midnight dances of elves and fairies, and are known as fairy- 
rings. Early in Autumn these rings are covered with the Fairy ring 
Toadstool or Champignon (Page 40), and Dr. Berkeley, the 
Fungologist, has given us a less romantic, but truer explanation of 
their causation. He says: “ They originate from a single Fungus, 
whose growth renders the soil immediately beneath unfit for its 
reproduction. The spawn however spreads all around, and in the 
second year produces a crop whose spawn spreads again, the soil 
