tached to the stem, but at the upper
end round off to the cap, leaving a well defined space between their
ends and the stem. The cap, while it is rather thick at the center, i.
e., where it joins the stem, becomes comparatively thin where it spreads
out over the gills. At this age of the plant the gills are of a rich
salmon color, i. e., before the spores are ripe, and the taste when raw
is a pleasant nutty flavor, reminding one of the meat of fresh green
hickory nuts. In a somewhat earlier stage the edges of all the gills are
closely applied to the stem which they surround. So closely are they
applied to the stem in most cases that threads of mycelium pass from the
stem to the edge of the gills. As the cap expands slightly in ageing,
these threads are torn asunder and the stem is covered with a very
delicate down or with flocculent particles which easily disappear on
handling or by the washing of the rains. The edges of the gills are also
left in a frazzled condition, as one can see by examining them with a
good hand lens.

The spores now begin to ripen and as they become black the color of the
gills changes. At the same time the gills and the cap begin to dissolve
into an inky fluid, first becoming dark and then melting into a black
liquid. As this accumulates it forms into drops which dangle from the
cap until they fall away. This change takes place on the margin of the
cap first, and advances toward the center, and the contrast of color, as
the blackening invades the rich salmon, is very striking. The cap now
begins to expand outward more, so that it becomes somewhat umbrella
shaped. The extreme outer surface does not dissolve so freely, and the
thin remnant curls upward and becomes enrolled on the upper side as the
cap with wasted gills becomes nearly flat.

=Coprinus atramentarius= (Bull.) Fr. =Edible.=--The ink-cap (_Coprinus
atramentarius_) occurs under much the same conditions as the
shaggy-mane, and is sometimes found accompanying it. It is usually more
common and more abundant. It springs up in old or newly made lawns which
have been richly manured, or it occurs in other grassy places. Sometimes
the plants are scattered, sometimes two or three in a cluster, but
usually large clusters are formed where ten to twenty or more are
crowded closely together (Fig. 39). The stems are shorter than those of
the shaggy-mane and the cap is different in shape and color. The cap is
egg-shaped or oval. It varies in color fr