FUNGI 201 
Agaric (Coprinus comatus) and a close relative 
(Coprinus atramentarius) appear in large numbers in 
our own garden and provide us with delicate feasts. 
The Puff-ball, when not old, makes quite succulent 
steaks, and Warty Caps (Amaniia rubescens) has 
an excellent flavour. | 
The Maned Agaric, or “Shaggy Caps,’’ has a long, 
cylindrical cap, something like a partly closed 
umbrella in shape. This cap is covered with a 
buff-coloured crust, which breaks up into shaggy 
scales as the fungus expands. The gills underneath 
the cap are white at first, but they soon turn pink, 
and are not long before they become black. When 
a certain stage of development is reached the gills 
become liquid, and form a fluid which makes quite 
passable ink. This Fungus should be eaten only 
when the gills are white or pink. 
Coprinus atramentarius is rather like Shaggy Caps, 
but it bears no scales; the surface of the cap is 
smooth and of a greyish colour. 
“Warty Caps” is globe-shaped when it first 
appears, but grows until it becomes nearly flat. 
The surface of the cap is a dingy red, or reddish- 
brown, covered with little white warty patches. The 
gills are white, as is the stem. When the flesh of the 
Fungus is cut or bruised it turns to a reddish-brown. 
Although there is a great variety of edible Fungi, 
you had better not experiment with any that you 
find unless you are absolutely sure of your species, 
or you can get the benefit of expert opinion about 
them. Alas! there are many Fungi that are 
virulently poisonous, and some of these are so like 
edible ones that a mistake can easily be made by 
26 
