406 TEXTBOOK OF BOTANY 



b. The shape and arrangement of the gills; their color. Does the 



color change as the fruiting body grows older ? If so, can you 

 find what causes the change ? 



c. The shape, size, and color of the stalk. Is it smooth or scaly? 



Is it solid or hollow? How is the cap attached to the stalk? 

 Is the stalk always perfectly vertical ? If not, is the cap hori- 

 zontal or tilted ? Of what advantage is it to have the cap 

 carried up above the ground ? 



d. Is there a ring ? A cup ? 

 6. Sketch a fruiting body. 



6. Place a small portion of a gill in water, crush it slightly, and 

 examine it under the microscope. Notice that it is made up of 

 delicate branching threads. Look for swellings (basidia) at the 

 outer ends of some of the threads. Do you find spores? What 

 can you make out as to their formation? Draw a portion of a 

 branching thread ; a basidium (if seen) ; a spore. 



7. Cut off the stalk of a full-grown living mushroom ; place the 

 cap gill-side downward on a sheet of smooth paper and cover it 

 with a tumbler or battery jar. After a few hours examine the spore 

 print. What is the color of the spores? How are they arranged 

 on the paper? What is the cause of this arrangement? (It will 

 be well to use both light-colored and dark paper unless one is sure 

 in advance of the color of the spores.) 



8. Observe mushrooms growing in a dung culture. Compare 

 them in all respects with the mushroom already studied. Can you 

 determine what special means any of them have to secure the dis- 

 tribution of their spores? 



9. Compare any other mushrooms that you can obtain with 

 those already studied. If possible, examine one of the poisonous 

 Amanitas ; notice the ring near the top and the cup-like swelling 

 at the base of the stalk. 



10. Study the manner of growth of the fruiting body of a bracket 

 fungus. Notice especially the structure of the lower surface. 

 How and where are the spores borne ? 



11. Make a list of the mushrooms and other basidium fungi that 

 you find growing. 



CHAPTER IX 



Any common species of moss will do almost equally well for this 

 study ; different species may be used, if it is found more convenient, 



