APPENDIX ON COLLECTING 349 



tively large size. There will be hundreds of species so small 

 that they cannot be manipulated further than by taking a 

 section through the cap and stem, after which the specimens 

 will dry up readily in their entirety, and may be kept in small 

 envelopes attached to the drawing. It may be asked. Of what 

 use are these dried fragments, if they are insufficient to 

 determine the species ? Granted, that they are only acces- 

 sories to the sketches, yet they will be sufficient to indicate 

 clearly the colour, size, and shape of the spores, the mode of 

 attachment of the gills to the stem, and the nature of the 

 scales, warts, or silkiness of the surface of the pileus ; but beyond 

 this they can teach very little, nor by any other method yet 

 devised can fleshy Fungi be preserved, so as to retain the form, 

 colour, and size of their natural condition. In a few genera of 

 the Agaricini, such as Lentinus, Lenzites, Schizophyllum, and 

 even Marasmius, where the substance is dry and tough, the 

 species will be readily dried in their entirety, and by aid of a 

 few brief notes may be determined without difficulty. Fleshy 

 species of Boletus and Hydnum will have to be subjected to 

 the above-named process of drawing and desiccation. 



The large woody Fomes, and the smaller leathery Polystictus, 

 with the resupinate Poriae and nearly all the Thelephorei, 

 require only to be dried in the air, in some cases under pressure 

 to keep them flat, and in this condition they do not lose much 

 either in colour or form. These are, consequently, the most 

 commonly selected species which are collected by travellers in 

 foreign countries, whilst the smaller or more fragile are neglected. 



The whole of the Gastromycetes, excepting the Phalloidei, 

 require little or no preparation. They only need be collected 

 when mature, and dried in the air. The same may be said of 

 the Myxomycetes, which only require to be placed in small 

 pill -boxes, and secured by pins or otherwise, as insects are 

 secured, so as to prevent injury in transit. In no case should 

 more than one species be placed in a single box, or the spores 

 will be transferred and confusion result. 



As to the collection of moulds and mucors little can be said, 

 as it seems scarcely possible to carry such delicate objects, even 

 for short distances, without injury. For home purposes we 

 have used small boxes, with fragments of cork glued to the 



