rple, violet, pink, blue,
yellow, green. In determining many of the species, however, it is
necessary to know the taste, whether mild, bitter, acrid, etc., and in
this respect the genus again resembles _Lactarius_. The color of the
gills as well as the color of the spores in mass should also be
determined. The genus is quite a large one, and the American species are
not well known, the genus being a difficult one. In Jour. Mycolog., =5=:
58--64, 1889, the characters of the tribes of Russula with descriptions
of 25 species are quoted from Stevenson, with notes on their
distribution in N. A. by MacAdam.

=Russula alutacea= Fr. =Edible.=--This handsome _Russula_ differs from
the others described here in the color of the gills and spores. The
plant is common and occurs in mixed woods during the summer and early
autumn. It is 5--10 cm. high, the cap 5--12 cm. broad, and the stem
1.5--2.5 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, oval to bell-shaped, becoming plane, and
sometimes umbilicate. It is red or blood red in color, sometimes purple,
and becoming pale in age, especially at the center. It is viscid when
moist, the margin thin and striate-tuberculate. The =gills= are free
from the stem, stout, broad, first white, becoming yellow, and in age
ochraceous. The gills are all of the same length, not crowded, and they
are connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The =stem= is
stout, solid, even, white, portions of the stem are red, sometimes
purple.

The taste is mild, and the plant is regarded as one of the very good
ones for food.

=Russula lepida= Fr. =Edible.=--This elegant _Russula_ occurs in birch
woods or in mixed woods during late summer and autumn. It is 5--8 cm.
high, the cap 6--8 cm. broad, and the stem 1--2 cm. in thickness.

The =pileus= is fleshy, convex, then expanded, obtuse, not shining, deep
red, becoming pale in age, often whitish at the center, silky, in age
the surface cracking, the margin blunt and not striate. The =gills= are
rounded next the stem, thick, rather crowded, and sometimes forked,
white, sometimes red on the edge near the margin of the pileus. The
gills are often connected by vein-like elevations over the surface. The
=stem= is equal, white or rose color. The taste is mild.

=Russula virescens= (Schaeff.) Fr. =Edible.=--This plant grows on the
ground in woods or in grassy places in groves from July to September.
The stem is short, 2--7 cm. long x 1--2 cm. thick, and the cap