204 METHODS OF COLLECTION 



5. STEM. --Fleshy throughout or with a cartilaginous rind? 

 Hollow, solid, or stuffed ? Size, including length and thickness ? 

 Shape ; cylindric, tapering, radicate, or bulbous ? 



6. VOLVA and VEIL if present ; character and position ? 



To these notes a simple sketch of the fully expanded plant, 

 together with earlier stages, preferably in colors, will be a very 

 valuable addition. 



The specimens should be dried as quickly as possible after 

 being collected, as they are the favorite food of certain insect 

 larvae, and if left over night will often be found to have changed 

 into disgusting heaps of corruption by morning. 



In the Boletaceae the color of the spores should be determined 

 in the manner indicated for the agarics, and the taste of the fresh 

 specimen is also essential. In addition, the colors of the pileus, 

 flesh, and pores should be noted, and if there is any difference in 

 color between the young pores and those of the mature plant, this 

 fact should be noted also. In certain species the flesh or pores or 

 both, will change color rapidly or slowly when wounded; in some 

 instances the change is to a bright blue ; this changing condi- 

 tion should be noted in any given species. Any peculiarity of 

 shape of stem or markings on the stem like veining, reticulation, 

 or glandular dots should be carefully noted. If a veil is present, 

 its character will be important, as well as the relation of the pores 

 themselves to the stem, whether aclnate, free, or merely depressed 

 around it. Finally the character of the pileus should be noted, 

 whether viscid or dry. Specimens need to be dried rapidly, and 

 after the drying has once commenced, it should be carried to the 

 end without stopping. 



In the Clavariaceae the color of the spores, taste, odor, and 

 color of the fresh plant should be carefully noted, as well as the 

 characters of the tips of the branches. 



All members of the order Phallales should be preserved in al- 

 cohol (60-70$); it is especially desirable that the earliest stages 

 up to the so-called eggs should be preserved when possible, in 

 order to make possible a more complete study of their develop- 

 ment. 



The Lycoperdaceae and other puff-balls should be preserved 

 dry; if possible the specimens should retain their outer peridia, 

 and young forms should not be neglected; they should invariably 

 be preserved in boxes without pressure. 



