s; the pileus is pallid, and the stem stained
with lilac. Formerly it was said to be sold in Covent Garden Market
under the name of "blewits," but we have failed to see or hear of it
during many years in London.

Small fungi of ivory-whiteness are very common amongst grass on lawns
in autumn. These are chiefly _Hygrophorus virgineus_, Fr.,[b] and
although not much exceeding an inch in diameter, with a short stem,
and wide decurrent gills, they are so plentiful in season that
quantity soon compensates for the small size. Except that it is
occasionally eaten in France, it does not enjoy much reputation
abroad. A larger species, varying from buff to orange, _Hygrophorus
pratensis_, Fr.,[c] is scarcely less common in open pastures. This is
very gregarious in habit, often growing in tufts, or portions of
rings. The pileus is fleshy in the centre, and the gills thick and
decurrent. In France, Germany, Bohemia, and Denmark, it is included
with esculent species. In addition may be mentioned _Hygrophorus
eburneus_, Fr., another white species, as also _Hygrophorus niveus_,
Fr., which grows in mossy pastures. _Paxillus involutus_, Fr.,[d]
though very common in Europe, is not eaten, yet it is included by Dr.
Curtis with the esculent species of the United States.

The milky agarics, belonging to the genus _Lactarius_, are distinguished
by the milky juice which is exuded when they are wounded. The spores
are more or less globose, and rough or echinulate, at least in many
species. The most notable esculent is _Lactarius deliciosus_, Fr.,[e] in
which the milk is at first saffron-red, and afterwards greenish, the
plant assuming a lurid greenish hue wherever bruised or broken.
Universal commendation seems to fall upon this species, writers
vying with each other to say the best in its praise, and mycophagists
everywhere endorsing the assumption of its name, declaring it to be
delicious. It is found in the markets of Paris, Berlin, Prague, and
Vienna, as we are informed, and in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland,
Russia, Belgium; in fact, in nearly all countries in Europe it is
esteemed.

Another esculent species, _Lactarius volemum_, Fr.,[f] has white milk,
which is mild to the taste, whilst in deleterious species with white
milk it is pungent and acrid. This species has been celebrated from
early times, and is said to resemble lamb's kidney.

_Lactarius piperatus_, Fr., is classed in England with dangerous,
sometimes poisonous species, wh