INTRODUCTION. 5 



of algae or lichens, together with the difi&culty in preserving for 

 future reference. It may be true of the delicate and elegant 

 forms and beautiful tints of many seaweeds, as well as the 

 graceful outlines of a fern. But every one is not privileged to 

 dwell by the seashore ; and as for ferns, the few different 

 species of one locality are soon exhausted, and the collector 

 soon gets tired, it becoming monotonous in not finding any 

 more new material. 



Fungi, on the contrary, as said before, abounds everywhere, 

 and the collector can never declare the resources of his locality 

 exhausted. Beautiful specimens are by no means rare, the 

 pocket lens and microscope are sure of constant employment. 

 The stud}'- of the different groups is indeed interesting and fas- 

 cinating. There is nothing more wonderful than to investigate 

 the manner and mode of reproduction through their spores — 

 analogous to seeds in the higher groups of plant life. 



Spores are infinitely small seeds. The largest spore is micro- 

 scopic — requiring at least a one-fifth objective or 360 diameter. 

 They are developed from a preferred surface on the 

 fungi, called the hymenium. They are so profuse that some 

 mycologists attempted to estimate the number of spores, which 

 might be produced by one single plant of Lycoperdon or puff 

 ball, but the number so far exceeded to which the mind was 

 accustomed to contemplate, that it was scarcely possible to 

 realize their profusion. To prove the iramensit}^ of spore 

 formation, take a common mushroom fully developed, cut the 

 stem and place the gill surface on a sheet of paper and in a 

 few hours there will be millions of spore dropped on the paper. 

 Spores are of different shapes and color, do not vary in the 

 species, always constant in size, form, and color — an important 

 character for grouping some genera and species. It seems a 

 universal law of nature, the more delicate the seeds and the 

 more likely its destruction, there is provision made by the 

 abundance of its production. Spores are either free on special 



