NATURE STUDY. 
A MONTHLY BULLETIN OF THE 
Manchester Institute of Arts and Sciences. 
Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1900 . No. 4 . 
A Few Common Mushrooms. III. 
BY MARIA L. CLOUGH. 
The beautiful branching masses of the various species of 
“ coral-fungi ” are familiar to every frequenter of the woods. 
They are representatives of still another of the great fungus 
families — the Clavariae — the memhers of which bear their 
spores upon the bare surfaces of single club-shaped growths or 
upon the branches of coral-like or tree-like masses. It is hardly 
possible to confound these coral fungi with those of any other 
class, and as no poisonous species is known among them, they 
are quite safe for the beginner. A typical representative of 
this family is depicted in Figure 8, and very little description is 
necessary. In the young state, when in perfect, tender condi¬ 
tion any of the Clavariae which have a pleasant flavor may be 
used for food and they will usually be found free from the rav¬ 
ages of insects. The forms ordinarily met with are of a whitish 
or yellowish color with the tips of the branchlets often tinged 
with some deeper shade. Preparation for the table is by frying 
with butter or oil, well seasoned and serving upon toast. 
There is one mushroom, so famous as an esculent, among 
