CHAPTER XII 



METHODS OF COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF FUNGI 



HINTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 



The collection and preservation of material is an important fac- 

 tor connected with the study of fungi as of other plants. Speci- 

 mens are of value as a permanent record of the nature and dis- 

 tribution of a species according as they are (i) Collected in 

 abundance and in a mature condition, (2) Carefully preserved, 

 and (3) Accessible for reference in a public collection, or one that 

 can be readily consulted. The mere statement that this or that 

 fungus grows in a certain part of the country is of value only as 

 one has confidence in the ability of the person making the state- 

 ment, to properly identify the species in question ; a well preserved 

 and accessible specimen stands as a permanent voucher for the 

 statement and in addition shows the character of the species. It 

 is desirable, therefore, that material (i) Be collected with care and 

 such field notes be taken as will supplement its characters, (2) Be 

 preserved in such a way that the essential characters will suffer 

 the least possible injury, and (3) Be deposited in a public collec- 

 tion where it will be properly cared for and be accessible to work- 

 ers who are studying the character and distribution of the species 

 to which it belongs. The curse of much of the early systematic 

 study of American fungi is found in the miserable specimens, defec- 

 tive both in the quantity of material preserved and in its proper 

 maturity, that in too many cases have served as the types of 

 described species. The detriment to much of the recent syste- 

 matic study is the inroads on the time of monographers who are 

 besieged to name this or that lot of species, for anxious collectors. 



The forms of fungi are so diverse that no general directions 

 for collection and preservation can be given that will apply in all 

 cases. Some can be best preserved dry, some pressed as herbar- 

 ium specimens, some in fluid, and some as microscopic prepara- 

 tions, the purpose being to retain in the preserved specimen just 



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