200 Banker : A preliminary Contribution 



the aid of an abundance of material supplemented by excellent 

 field notes. It will therefore, be pertinent to present a few sug- 

 gestions concerning the field work. 



I. Collection 



The Hydnaceae are to be found almost everywhere, but more 

 especially in woodlands. The mesopus forms are nearly all ter- 

 restrial, while the other forms are as universally lignatile. The 

 plants are readily recognized by the characteristic feature of the 

 hymenial surface being in the form of awl-shaped spines project- 

 ing downward. In other respects the mesopus forms, that is, 



those having a central stem, resemble the ordinary toadstools. In 

 collecting, plenty of material should be gathered that every vari- 

 ation of the plant may be shown. No collector should be satis- 

 fied with a half dozen plants if more can be obtained ; scrappy 

 collections have been the bane of mycologists. The entire plant 

 should be removed, including if possible a portion of the substra- 

 tum. Plants of different collecting should be kept separate, even 

 if believed to be of the same species. A good way to protect 

 them is to lay down a piece of tissue paper and, piling the plants 

 in the middle, fold the paper carefully around them and deposit in 

 a basket or collecting case. The author generally uses paper 

 bags into which the plants can be easily slipped and, if liable to 

 injury, can be removed by tearing the bag. In putting up ma- 

 terial in this way it is a good plan to select one of the best plants 

 and, taking apiece of colored paper, tear a hole in it through which 

 the stem may be passed and then slip the paper up close to the 

 pileus; the plant may then be wrapped up with its fellows. When 

 the time comes to care for the specimens this paper will usually 

 be found to furnish a very good spore print. The paper in which 

 the plants are wrapped should be marked to correspond to the 

 field notes. 



II. Preservation 

 The fleshy forms are especially subject to decay and should be 

 cared for the same day as collected if possible, while none should 

 be left more than twenty-four hours. The tough or woody species 

 and resupinate forms may be very well preserved by rapid drying 

 in a current of hot air. An excellent method is to susoend them 



