20 
NATURE STUDY. 
or lamellae fastened to the under side of the cap but not at¬ 
tached to the stem. In all these particulars they are similar to 
a most delicious mushroom, the common mushroom of the mar¬ 
ket, or “ pink-gill,” ( Fig. 2 ) but otherwise there are important 
differences to remember. The poi¬ 
son mushroom has the stem en¬ 
larged at the base into a bulbous 
shape, surrounded by a cup or volva 
of membranous character. This 
cup is seldom perfect in shape but 
more or less broken and irregular, 
and in one species, the Amanita 
muscarius, consists merely of large 
loose scales growing upon the bul- fig. 2. 
bous stem. 
Let the beginner avoid with strictest care all mushrooms 
with bulbous stems having any trace of cup or scales. Another 
thing to remember is that the gills of the poison Amanita are 
always white, while those of the pasture mushroom or pink-gill 
are never white, being pinkish in the young stage and changing 
on maturity to a blackish brown. 
There is one class of fungi especially adapted for the begin¬ 
ner in mushroom-seeking, since no poisonous species have yet 
been found in it. It is the Lycoperdon or puff-ball family, 
(Fig. 3) so-familiar to us all, whose represen¬ 
tatives grow singly or in clusters, in closely 
cropped pastures or in the grass. Any puff¬ 
ball in fresh condition, agreeable to the taste 
and which, upon being cut vertically, shows a 
uniform white texture, can be eaten with 
fig. 3. safety. Cut each one in halves vertically and 
see that it is of similar texture throughout, like cream-cheese. 
This precaution is necessary, as, in the earliest stages of the 
poison Amanita, in which the volva completely covers the young 
mushroom, it has the appearance of a white ball, aud might 
possibly be mistaken for a puff-ball. The cutting of the sped- 
