earance from the other genera of the order when it is seen above
ground, but if one is successful in finding it at an early stage, under
the surface of the earth, he will realize its relationship to the
general group, and find it an interesting subject of study.

ASCOMYCETES, OR SPORE-SAC FUNGI.

+PEZIZA AUKANTIA = golden.+
+The Golden Peziza.+

This species is 2 to 3 inches in diameter, its disc is bright orange
color, while its exterior is pale and downy, owing to the presence of
short, stout hairs. It is sessile or nearly so, and grows in tufts on
the ground near stumps of trees. At first the disc is thin and brittle,
with a raised margin, much waved, becoming incised, and finally spreads
flat on the ground.

+MORCHELLA ESCULENTA = food.+
+The Edible or Common Morel.+

This is 2 to 4 inches high, stem about 1/2 inch in diameter. The cap is of
a dull yellow color, olivaceous, darkening with age to a brownish tinge.
It is oval-shaped, with dark hollows.

+HELVELLA INFULA = name of a woollen head-dress.+
+The Cap-like Helvella.+

This species is named Infula, because it is supposed to resemble in
shape the sacred woollen head-dress worn by priests of Rome, by
supplicants and victims, tied around the head by a ribbon or bandage,
which hangs down on both sides. The stem is surmounted with a lobed cap,
with two to four irregularly drooping lobes of reddish or cinnamon-brown
color, and is about 3 inches in diameter. The stem is 2 or 3 inches
high, usually smooth, but sometimes pitted. We found our specimen in the
woods in August.

[Illustration: Cortinarius distans.
Photographed by C. G. Lloyd.]

DIRECTIONS FOR USING KEYS.

Let us suppose that the beginner finds a mushroom and wishes to name it.
He has learned its component parts. He has remarked the names of the
classes into which mushrooms are divided. How then shall he make use of
the Keys? We will imagine that he has found a Cantharellus. The cap is
yellow color, so let him turn to the list of fungi described under the
section "Yellow and Orange," and see if it agrees in appearance with
anyone of these. (It is necessary before consulting a key to find the
color of the spores. This is done by cutting off the cap, and placing
it, gills downward, on paper, and leaving it there for two or three
hours. Having followed these directions in this case it will have been
seen that the spores are white.)

After consulting the list of "Yello