PLANTS IN THEIR RELATION TO HUMAN WELFARE 151 



spore cases should be placed on a slide in water and covered with a 

 cover glass. If the glass cover is tapped with a pencil, some of the 

 spore cases will be ruptured. The preparation should then be ex- 

 amined with the high power of the compound microscope, and the 

 ruptured spore cases drawn, together with a few of the escaping 

 spores. 



D. Other Fungi (Optional) 



163. Mushrooms. Mushrooms are forms of fungi which are 

 often called " toadstools," especially if they are supposed to 



FIG. 76. An edible mushroom. 



be poisonous. All fungi of this kind should, however, be called 

 mushrooms, since their structure and life history are similar. The 

 conspicuous part of the plant, the umbrella shaped structure so 

 familiar to all, is really the reproductive organ of the plant, the part 

 that bears the spores (Fig. 76). The nutritive organs are a mass of 

 threads (as in the mold) which lie beneath the surface, where they 

 absorb the foods from some decaying material in the soil to give 

 rise to the reproductive body. 



