34 



card-board, so that partially or nearly dry specimens may not absorb 

 moisture from the fresher material. The plleus-preparations ofsome 

 fungi may be affixed to the gelatine-paper without the intervention of 

 pressure. The method of procedure in this case I shall describe 

 farther on. Owing to the quick adherence to the gelatine-paper of 

 these preparations made from the living individual they cannot in the 

 least contract on drying. For this reason they retain a nearly un- 

 altered external form; and, as the gelatine as here employed is like 

 jelly, it does not penetrate the preparation and so the latter keeps its 

 color. In the manufacture of the gelatine-paper, a very stout kind of 

 writing-paper must be employed, since thin paper is powerless to pre- 

 vent the wrinkling up of many preparations— it contracts along with 



them and becomes crumpled and folded. 



The 2^reparations thus dried on the gelatine-paper are finally cut 

 out with a pair of scissors and affixed to card-board with gum arable 

 in the following manner. First the stipe is gummed down and over 

 its upper extremity is placed one of the pileus-sections, so that the 

 preparation exhibits a profile-view of the fungus. By the side of 

 this is gummed one of the vertical sections. Owing to the paper 

 being gelatinized the gum arabic cannot come in contact with the 

 ^preparation and thus affect its color.* 



These two preparations — the vertical and profile views — along 

 with the spore-preparation (to which I shall devote a special chapter), 

 exhibit the most prominent characters of a species. In the vertical 

 section is to be seen the thickness and color of the flesh of the pil- 

 eus; the diameter of the stipe from base to apex; whether the stipe 

 is continuous with the substance of the pileus or separable therefrom, 

 and whether it is hollow, or stuffed, or solid. Furthermore, in the 

 sections of lamellate species are to be seen the width and mode of in- 

 sertion of the gills and the character of their edges; and, in those of 

 species of Boletus and Hydniim^ the length, diameter, etc. of the 

 pores and spines. The profile view exhibits the size, form and the 

 external nature, such as color, markings and investiture, of the whole 

 fungus. The spore-preparations possess the natural color of the 

 spores and give likewise an exact negative copy of the under surface 

 of the pileus. 



28. Some Fungi from New Mexico — A small package of fung 



recently sent me from New Mexico, by Mr. H. H. Rusby, included 

 the following species: Polyporus nitens^ Fr. (imperfect, but apparent- 

 ly this species); Podaxon carcinomalis^ Fr.; Geaster hygrometriciiSy 

 Pers.; Scleroderma Geaster^Yx.] and an undescribed^r/V//^;//, which 

 may be named 



.^ciDUJM RusBVi, n. sp, — Peridia elongated, slender, cylindrical, 

 white, rosy at the base ; mouths surrounded by fringe-like teeth; 

 spores deep orange-yellow. Seated, mostly in parallel series, along 

 the midrib on the under surface of leaves of Pendlera riipicola. Sper- 

 mogonia in circinnating clusters on a thickened purplish-brown sub- 

 iculum. W. R. Gerard, 



*The author has referred, in his prefatory remarks, to the injurious effects ex- 

 erted on the colors of fungi by allowing the specimens to come in direct contact 

 with mucilage of gum arabic, the bright rod color of such a species as Agaricus 

 muscanus, for instance, being quickly changed thereby to a dirty reddish-yellow. 



