140 EYE SPY 



quarter of an hour the tinted deposit is percepti- 

 ble across the room ; and in an hour, if we care- 

 fully raise the mushroom, the perfect spore-print 

 is revealed in all its beauty a pink-brown disk 

 with a white centre, which represents the point of 

 contact of the cut stem, and white radiating lines, 

 representing the edges of the thin gills, many of 

 them as fine and delicate as a cobweb. 



Every fresh species will yield its surprise in the 

 markings and color of the prints. 



These spore-deposits are of course fugitive, and 

 will easily rub off at the slightest touch. But in- 

 asmuch as many of these specimens, either from 

 their beauty of form or exquisite color, or for edu- 

 cational or scientific purposes, it will be desirable 

 to preserve, I append simple rules for the mak- 

 ing of the prints by a process by which they will 

 become effectually " fixed," and thus easily kept 

 without injury. 



DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING A MUSHROOM SPORE-PRINT 



Take a piece of smooth white writing-paper 

 and coat its surface evenly with a thin solution of 

 gum-arabic, dextrine, or other mucilage, and allow 

 it to dry. Pin this, gummed side uppermost, to a 

 board or table, preferably over a soft cloth, so that 

 it will lie perfectly flat. To insure a good print the 

 mushroom specimen should be fresh and firm, and 

 the gills or spore-surface free from breaks or bruises. 



