The beetles known as tumble-bugs—canthon lævis—deposit eggs in the center of balls made of animal droppings; dig a hole in the ground and drop them into it. These droppings frequently contain the spores of the meadow mushroom. Thus planted with the proper surrounding of manure, and at the proper depth, the spores germinate, spread mycelium, and a crop of mushrooms is the result. The beetle becomes a horticulturist. No wonder the Egyptians, thousands of years ago, made it—the scarabeus—their sacred emblem, and that, today, the _fleur-de-lis_ of France, so the Rosicrucians say, perpetuates its glorious worth and calling. Most Russulæ are sweet and nutty to the taste; some are as hot as the fiercest of cayenne, but this they lose upon cooking. To this genus authors have done especial injustice; there is not a single species among them known to be poisonous, and, where they are not too strong of cherry bark and other highly flavored substances, they are all edible; most of them are favorites. Where they present no objectionable appearance or taste, their caps make most palatable dishes when stewed, baked, roasted or escalloped. The time of cooking should be determined by the consistency of the variety; some will cook in five minutes, others not under thirty. Salt, butter and pepper are the only necessaries as seasoning. ANALYSIS OF TRIBES. I.—COMPACTÆ (_compingo_, to put together; compact). Page 187. Pileus fleshy throughout, hence the margin is at first bent inward and always without striæ, without a distinct gluey pellicle (in consequence of which the color is not variable, but only changes with age and the state of the atmosphere). Flesh compact, firm. Stem solid, fleshy. Gills unequal. II.—FURCATÆ (_furca_, a fork. With _forked_ gills). Page 191. Pileus compact, firm, covered with a thin, closely adnate pellicle, which at length disappears, margin abruptly thin, at first inflexed, then spreading, _acute, even_. Stem at first compact, at length spongy-soft within. Gills _somewhat forked_, with a few shorter ones intermixed, commonly attenuated at both ends, thin and normally narrow. III.—RIGIDÆ (_rigidus_, rigid). Page 194. Pileus without a viscid pellicle, _absolutely dry, rigid, the cuticle commonly breaking up into flocci or granules_. Flesh thick, compact, firm, vanishing away short of the _margin which is straight_ (never involute), soon spreading, and always _without striæ_. Stem solid, at first hard, then softer and spongy. Gills, a few dimidiate, others divided, rigid, _dilated in front and running out with a very broad, rounded apex_, whence the margin of the pileus becomes obtuse and is not inflexed. _Exceedingly handsome_, but rather rare. IV.—HETEROPHYLLÆ (_R. heterophylla_, the typical species of the section). Page 198.