446 



NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



within the tubes or pores, in a constant shower ; but they 

 are far too small to see. Cut off the stem close to the 

 gills and lay the mushroom, gills down, on a piece of paper 

 and cover it with a glass so tight that not the slightest 

 current of air can enter. The spores will then fall straight 

 down and draw a picture of the under surface of the mush- 

 room. We make, in other words, a ''spore print." A few 



Fig, iSo, The Deadly Amanita 

 Spore print 



of these will greatly aid the children in forming clear ideas 

 about spores as we have found them in the ferns and mosses 

 and are soon to study them in the moulds and bacteria. 

 The spore dust of a ripe puffball should also be studied in 

 this connection. The important fact to be brought out is 

 that spores are so small that they become invisible as they 

 disperse in the air and are so light that they are readily 



