216 



THE PLANT WOELD 



that ninety per cent, of all the deaths due to mushroom poisoning 

 result from eating plants belonging to this group. There are many 

 good ones amongst them, even the best, but also the most deadly. 



Another very interesting and instruc- 

 tive feature is found in the spores of the 

 mushrooms, which can be studied without 

 the aid of a microscope — an instrument 

 which, however, adds beauty and interest. 

 Take any mushroom accessible, cut off the 

 stem near the cap, lay it upon a white 

 sheet of paper, with gills, tubes or spines 

 resting on the paper. Then cover it with 

 a bowl or dish, leave it for about six or 

 eight hours and note the result. The re- 

 sult will be a deposition of spores. The 

 moisture of the cap will fill the bowl or dish, causing the spores to 

 ripen and drop down upon the paper. The spores are usually divided 

 into five classes — white, pink, brown, purple or black. The white spored 

 series is by far the largest and most common. By first applying a weak 

 solution of gum arable to the paper and 

 drying before depositing spores, you 

 will get a sheet upon which permanent 

 spore prints can be made. The white 

 spored series will show better, how- 

 ever, when a dark colored paper is|used 

 for receiving the spores. 



Among the most striking forms of 

 mushrooms found in forest or field is 

 the chlorine mushroom represented in 

 Plate XXV, Fig. 1. It is one which 

 the writer and others often find by the sense of smell. It is a 

 handsome species, certainly a king of the forest, with his royal carpet, 

 moss and leaves, and his retinue, his sister mushrooms, to keep him com- 

 pany. The central specimen in the photograph measured fourteen 

 inches and weighed fifteen and a half ounces. It belongs to the deadly 

 genus, but happens to be one of the species whose edible qualities rank 

 high. It has a stout 'root' penetrating the earth, sometimes to a distance 

 of seven inches. It has a very strong smell of chlorine, but this dissi- 

 pates as a gas when cooked. 



The milk and pepper mushroom, so abundant in nearly every forest, 

 is one that can be soon recognized. It is represented in Plate XXVI, Fig. 

 1. It is called milk mushroom, because, when wounded, a white-colored 



