The =stem= is white underneath the slimy veil covering, tough, fibrous, continuous, and not separable from the hymenophore, tapering below. The =pileus= is convex, the very thin margin somewhat incurved, disk expanded, uneven, near the center cracked into numerous small viscid brownish areoles; pileus flesh color, flesh same color except toward the gills. Gills dark drab gray, arcuate, distant, decurrent, many of them forked, separating easily from the hymenophore, peeling off in broad sheets, and leaving behind corresponding elevations of the hymenophore which extended between the laminæ of the lamellæ. Pileus 7 cm. in diameter; stem 4--5 cm. long by 2 cm. diameter. In drying, the entire plant as well as the gluten becomes black, on the pileus a shining black. The =spores= are rusty to dark brown, or nearly black, fusoid or oblong, and measure 15--22 × 5--6 µ. [Illustration: FIGURE 51.--Gomphidius nigricans. Under view with portion of gills stripped off from hymenophore, showing forked character of gills (natural size). Copyright.] In Fig. 50 a side and under view of the plant are given, and in Fig. 51 a view after a portion of the lamellæ have been peeled off, showing how nicely the separation takes place, as well as showing the forked character of the lamellæ and the processes of the pileus, which extend between the laminæ of the lamellæ. This plant seems to be very near _Gomphidius glutinosus_ (Schaeff.), Fr., if not identical with it, though the illustrations cited in Schaeffer and in Krombholz seem to indicate a stouter plant. The descriptions say nothing as to the appearance of the dried plant. CHAPTER VI. THE WHITE-SPORED AGARICS. The spores are white in mass, or sometimes with a faint yellowish or lilac tinge. For analytical keys to the genera see Chapter XXIV. AMANITA Pers.