56 British Fungi, 



that are considered of specific value at any given 

 period. Special care should be taken to preserve the 

 ring present on the stem of many species, which is 

 often very loosely attached at maturity, and also the 

 volva or sheath at the base of the stem, which is also of 

 great importance in determining the section to which 

 the specimen belongs. Hence, in collecting, it is not 

 sufficient to simply pull up the fungus, as by so doing 

 the volva would almost certainly remain in the ground, 

 as in many agarics and Plialloidese. Specimens of 

 different ages are required to illustrate properly an 

 agaric, as it is of importance to know whether the 

 margin of the pileus is incurved or straight during 

 the young stage. The mode of attachment of the 

 lamellse or gills to the stem is of great importance, 

 and should always be clearly shown in dried speci- 

 mens. Finally, the spores should be preserved in the 

 mass in a separate packet, and placed with the speci- 

 men in the herbarium. These may be obtained by 

 cutting off the stem of a mature specimen, and placing 

 the pileus, gills downwards, on apiece of paper, and 

 allowing it to remain until the spores fall on the paper. 

 If the specimen is a dark-spored species, generally 

 indicated by the colour of the gills, white paper 

 should be used, and black paper when the spores are 

 white. The large fleshy agarics and Boleti should be 

 cut into sections and allowed to dry for a day or two 

 before pressure is applied. Changes of colour in the 

 flesh when broken should be noted, also the presence 

 of ^'milk^^ ov latex, its colour and taste, whether 

 sweeter acrid. The Gastromycetes, including puffballs, 

 &C.J are undoubtedly of most value when not subjected 



