Collection and Preservatio7i of Fungi, 5 7 



to pressure, but such specimens certainly take up a 

 great amount of room, and if pressed, should be so 

 arranged that the mouth or opening through which 

 the spores escape, can be examined. Sections are 

 necessary, and specimens of various ages are indispen- 

 sable, as the warts or spines which are present on 

 many species in the young* stage eventually disappear, 

 leaving the surface smooth and shining. 



There is a difference of opinion as to the best 

 method of preserving specimens in the herbarium. 

 Some people prefer having the specimens loose in 

 envelopes. The advantage of this system is that the 

 specimens can be removed and examined on both 

 sides, the disadvantages are that the specimens are 

 undoubtedly sooner attacked by mites, beetles, and 

 mould when in packets, and there is the danger of 

 mixing specimens when the contents of two or more 

 packets are taken out at the same time for com- 

 parison. These dangers are avoided when the speci- 

 mens are fixed with fish-glue to paper, and when 

 sufficient examples can be obtained to illustrate every 

 condition, the last method is perhaps best, but where 

 a single specimen only exists, of course it should 

 never be glued down, as by so doing half its value is 

 sacrificed. Moulds and other delicate fungi that will 

 not bear friction, should be preserved in shallow boxes. 

 Whichever method is adopted, the packets or papers 

 with specimens glued down should be gummed to 

 larger sheets of the size adopted for the herbarium. 

 Foolscap size is very convenient. One species only 

 should be fixed to a sheet, because as the work of 

 collecting goes on, the same species from other 



