AGARICALES m 



from the stem and placing it with the lamellae downward on a 

 sheet of paper under a bell jar or tumbler. In from two to six 

 hours, according to the maturity of the specimen, the spores will 

 fall in radiating lines from the lamellae and produce a spore print. ^ 

 If a microscope is at hand the form and sizes of the spores should 

 also be noted. 



The taste and odor of many species are peculiar. Certain spe- 

 cies have a nutty or mealy flavor, some are bitter and disagree- 

 able, some have a biting peppery taste. It is perfectly safe to 

 sample any species by directly tasting a small fragment, the only 

 discomfort that can arise being a lingering taste similar to that 

 coming from red pepper which is found in a few species. 



The lamellae may be free from the stem {PL 7. /. 3) or attached, 

 in which case they may be merely adnate {PL 7. /. /), or sinuate 

 {PL ■/./. 2), or decurrent (/y. 7./. 4). It should also be noted 

 whether the lamellae are uniform or alternate with a series of 

 shorter ones (heterophyllous) ; in a few cases the lamellae are con- 

 nected by cross veins or septa. 



The pileus itself varies in shape from oval and narrowly conic 

 to widely conic and umbrella-like, or in some cases the edges turn 

 upwards at maturity like an umbrella turned inside out. The 

 surface may be dry, watery (hygrophanous), or viscid and either 

 smooth, scaly, mealy or otherwise ornamented. The disc or cen- 

 tral part of the pileus often presents special characters ; besides 

 being sometimes of a different color than the rest of the pileus, it 

 is sometimes depressed (umbilicate) {PL 7./. 5), or even funnel- 

 like (infundibuliform) {PL 7./. 6), or raised into a rounded promi- 

 nence (umbonate) {P/. y.f. 4). 



The stipe may be fleshy and continuous with the context of the 

 pileus or may be cartilaginous. The interior may be hollow 

 {PL 7. f. 2), solid, or filled with a loose mass of hyphae (stuffed). 



The genera of the family are quite numerous and except in a 

 few abnormal cases of variation may be distinguished as follows : 



I. Plant fleshy, soon putrescent. 2. 



Plant tough, leathery or woody, reviving or persistent. 13. 



* These spore prints may be made permanent by spraying them from 

 an atomizer with a solution of white shellac in alcohol. A saturated solu- 

 tion should be made and then diluted fifty per cent, with alcohol. If the 

 spores are white the print should be taken on colored paper. 



