USE OF THE MICROSCOPE IN BOTANY. 33 



(Fig. 15). The fungi, again, will demand your atten- 

 tion ; the minute reproductive bodies thrown off from 

 the gills of the Agaric group in countless millions, 

 known by the name of "spores," will interest you 

 much. Gather a common mushroom or other fungus, 

 cut off the stem near the gills, place it with the gills 

 downwards on a sheet of paper, black or white ; leave 

 it in this position for several hours ; on taking it up 

 you will notice the gills have deposited a quantity of 

 dust-like stuff upon the surface of the paper. The 

 colour varies according to the families to which 

 the fungi respectively belong; in the mushroom the 

 " spores " are pink, in some fungi they are rust- 

 coloured, in others white, in others black. Just 

 notice how beautifully the deposited spores represent 

 the form of the gills, then scrape a portion off the 

 paper, and submit it to microscopic examination. 

 Bear in mind this distinctive difference between a 

 "seed" and a "spore" a seed contains an embryo, 

 a spore has none. 



The little brown patches on the under side of some 

 of the ferns will attract your attention ; these are the 

 spore-cases of different forms, and variously disposed 

 according to the genus of plant on which they occur. 

 The spore-case, in some genus of ferns, is surrounded 

 by a curious elastic band, which, when the spores con- 

 tained within are ripe, suddenly jerks itself straight, 

 tears open the case, and disperses the minute spores 

 in all directions. You can witness the germination of 

 fern-spores by placing some on a damp surface, and 

 exposing them to light and heat. At first each one 

 puts forth a tubular prolongation ; the cells of the 

 spore multiplying by subdivision both transversely 

 and longitudinally, give rise to a flattened leaf-like 

 expansion, which from its under surface developes 

 both root-fibres and reproductive organs. Every one 



c 



