THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



187 



How to Make A Spore Print of A 

 Mushroom. 



BY W. I. BEKCROFT, CHESHIRE, MASS. 



When a mushroom is mature, tiny 

 bodies, called spores, are being' con- 

 tinually shed, even as you hold it in 

 your hand, though they are singly in- 

 visible to the naked eye. Their exis- 

 tence, however, may be shown by the 

 following experiment. Select a mush- 

 room of the type having gills or plates 

 on the underside. The kind sold in the 

 markets is excellent for this purpose, 

 though the}- are many other kinds sim- 

 ilarly useful that grow wild in the 

 woods. Cut the cap from the stem, lav 

 it right side up, that is. with the gills 

 downward, on a sheet of white paper, 



and cover it with a glass jar to keep 

 out air currents. If the mushroom is 

 shedding its spores freely, it will, in a 

 few hours, make an exact copy of the 

 underside of the cap— "writing its own 

 autograph.' 5 If the spores are drop- 

 ping slowly, it may take as long as ten 

 hours to make a good print. The 

 brown spored species are the best for 

 this purpose, as they make a stronger 

 print. If a permanent record is de- 

 sired, dissolve a little gum arabic in 

 water, brush it over a sheet of thick, 

 white card, and put the cap on this 

 before it is full}- dry, but not while it 

 is wet, as portions of the cap may then 

 stick to it. 



A SPORE PRINT OF A MUSHROOM. 



