10 



Ohio Mycological Bulletin No. j 



Stem or Stipe. — This varies in length, shape, diameter, color, etc., 

 in the different species ; it may be solid and firm, or the interior may be 

 soft, or almost hollow being occupied by a very loose tissue (when it is 

 said to be "stuffed"). The stem may be attached to the middle of the 

 cap, or near one side : in some species it is entirely absent. 



Ring or an'-iiu-lus. — When the mushroom is in an early stage of de- 

 velopment the gills are close to the stem, and a membrane or veil is con- 

 tinuous over the cap. uniting it with the stem. The remains of this "par- 

 tial -c'cil." as it is called may be seen in some of the species in the form 

 of a collar around the stem, and it is called the ri)ig or an'-nu-lus. 



rol'-va. — In some species, especially the Volvarias and the Amanitas 

 (which include poisonous species), there is a "universal veil," as it is 

 called, or vol'-Da. that encloses the young stem and cap; but these push up 

 breaking through the top as they develop. The volva may then be found 

 as a cup-like portion at the base when the mushroom is carefully dug up, 

 but it is not always conspicuous. 



My-cc'-li um (pron. mi-se'-li-um). — The mass of whitish threads 

 that attach the Mushroom to the soil or rotten wood, etc., is called the 

 my-ce'-li-um. It is the vegetative part of the plant, i. e., these threads 

 take up the nourishment from the decaying organic matter on which this 

 group of plants (the fun-gi) feed. 



Fig. 14. 



Fig. 13. 



Fig. 15. 



Fig. 16. 



Fig. 13. (iill slightly magnified. 

 Fig. 14. I'ortion of gill highly magnified. 



Fig. 1.5. Section of a stem showing cellular 



structure. 

 Fig. 16. Section of a leaf showing cellular 



structure. 



STKicTfKE OK .\ M usH ROOM . — For pupils in schools or others who 

 have a large microscope at hand, and to satisfy older people who want- 

 to know, let me say that with the aid of figures 13 and 14 some idea of the 

 minute structure of Mushrooms may be obtained. The whole mass is 

 made up of tiny tubes, elongated cells the botanist calls them. In these 

 is the clear, slightly granular, semi-fluid liz'ing substance which is known 

 by the name of pro'-to-plasni. The fact that this is the substance in which 

 the life processes are manifest makes its structure and behavior of the most 

 thrilling interest to the real student. 



All plants have essentially this same niiinite structure — but usually 

 the cells are very slightly elongated or even globular though 

 many sided from mutual pressure. To make this matter clearer 

 two figures are here introduced to show cells from a stem (Fig. 15) and 

 from a leaf (Fig. l(i). Within the cell wall (which is made up of a sub- 

 stance that the chemists call cel'-lu-lose) may be seen living, working, 

 growing substance, namely the pro'-lo-plasm. Some vegetable cells (and 

 all cells in the animal tissues.), have no cellulose walls. 



If you woud know how spores are borne, and desire to k'now the lan- 

 guage that botanists use in (lescribing these structures, consult figure 13 

 which shows a section though a gill moderately magnified, and figue 14 

 which shows a small portion of the surface layer of the gill highly magni- 

 fied, showing the .spores. 



The spores are thrown down when ripe — so it is possible to obtain 

 a "spore print ;" it is desirable to have a quantiy of the spores in order al-so 

 to determine their color. Hence observe the next paragraph. 



Spore-I'rint. — To determine the color of the spores in any of the 

 Gill-Fungi, select a specimen that is not too old; it is best if it has just 



