COLLECTING AND PRESERVING FUNGI 43 



shaved off. This is sometimes not an easy matter when the fungus 

 is growing on the cut surface of an old trunk, or on a very hard piece 

 of wood, but it must be remembered that a scrap, say one-cjuarter 

 of an inch square, often bears scores of these tiny fungi, and with 

 a certain amount of perseverance good specimens can be procured. 

 One thing is of primary importance in connection with tlie collection 

 of fungi growing on otlier plants, whether living or dead, and that 

 is to make a note of the name of the plant on which the fungus is 

 growing. The majority of fungi do not grow indiscriminately on 

 every plant, but in a great many instances are met with on only 

 one kind of plant, or on a few closely related plants. One advantage 

 of knowing the name of the host-plant is, it may give the cue to 

 the name of the fungus, when, as is usual nowadays, a list of the 

 fungi with the host-plants they grow upon is given. A word of 

 warning is necessary at this point ; do not jump to the conclusion 

 that 3'our fungus is a particular species, just because your book 

 states that that particular fungus grows on the kind of host-plant 

 on which you liave found a fungus. Microscopic examination can 

 alone determine what the fungus really is. A second feature of 

 importance in knowing correctly the host-plant on which a fungus 

 is growing, is the gaining of a correct knowledge of the range of 

 species, or the different hosts on which they can flourish. This is 

 more especially important in the case of parasitic fungi that prove 

 injurious to cultivated plants. As an illustration of this statement, 

 it is well known that the fungus causing the dreaded potato disease 

 {PhyioplUliora injestans) will also attack the tomato plant, hence 

 it would not be advisable to plant tomatoes on land that had 

 produced a diseased crop of potatoes. It is equally well known that 

 the potato fungus will not infect wheat, or any other cereal, nor 

 turnips, hence these crops might follow a diseased potato crop 

 without any fear of infection. 



To return for a moment to the subject of the matrix, that is the 

 substance on which a fungus grows, it is also advisable to state the 

 conditions under which the larger fungi are collected. Such notes 

 as " on a rotten oak log," " in a sphagnum bog," " among pine 

 needles," " among grass in a pasture," will be found eventually to 

 possess value, although at the commencement of the study the 

 value can hardly be realized or appreciated, and unless attention is 

 called to the point, such information will undoubtedly be neglected 

 at the commencement of the study, much to the disgust of the 

 student at some later date. 



When the specimens are perfectly dry and ready for putting 

 away for future reference, a certain amount of method is necessary, 

 so that any given specimen can be procured without loss of time. 

 Perhaps the best method of dealing with the different species is to 

 place each in a paper packet, the pattern of which is shown in the 

 accompanying diagram. The name of the fungus, locality, sul)- 



