244 FORMATION OF SPORES IN AGARICALES 



exist that connect the divided basidia with the present form. 

 The spores are mature and begin to drop off as soon as the pileus 

 opens, when they are scattered by the wind and develop under 

 favorable conditions into a new mycelium. If the pileus of a 

 freshly opened mushroom is placed on a sheet of gray paper and 



Fig. i68. Structure of a mushroom: A and B, cross and longitudinal 

 sections of a portion of the stipe, showing the character and arrangement 

 of the hyphae that make up the mushroom. C, tangential view of the gills 

 — p, pileus; h, hymenium appearing as a dark band on the surface of the 

 gills. D, a portion of the hymenium enlarged — b, basidia; pa, paraphyses; 

 s, basidiospores. 



tightly covered with a dish, so as to exclude all air currents, the 

 spores will fall directly upon the paper and in a few hours form 

 an exact copy or a spore print of the gill arrangement. There 



