COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION. 291 



in boxes, in the course of a short time nearly every spore, will 

 have fallen from its support. 



Two or three accessories to a good herbarium may be named. 

 For fleshy fungi, especially Agarics, faithfully coloured drawings, 

 side by side with the dried specimens, will compensate for loss 

 or change of colour which most species undergo in the process 

 of drying. For minute species, camera lucida drawings of the 

 spores, together with their measurements, will add greatly to 

 the practical value of a collection. In mounting specimens, 

 whether on leaves, bark, or wood, it will be of advantage to have 

 one specimen glued down to the paper so as to be seen at once, 

 and a duplicate loose in a small envelope beside it, so that the 

 latter may at any time be removed and examined under the 

 microscope. 



In arranging specimens for the herbarium, a diversity of taste 

 and opinion exists as to the best size for the herbarium paper. 

 It is generally admitted that a small size is preferable to the 

 large one usually employed for phanerogamous plants. Probably 

 the size of foolscap is the most convenient, each sheet being con- 

 fined to a single species. In public herbaria, the advantage of 

 a uniform size for all plants supersedes all other advantages, 

 but in a private herbarium, consisting entirely of fungi, the 

 smaller size is better. 



The microscopic examination of minute species is an absolute 

 necessity to ensure accurate identification. Little special remark 

 is called for here, since the methods adopted for other objects 

 will be available. Specimens which have become dry may be 

 placed in water previous to examination, a process which will be 

 found essential in such genera as Peziza, Sphceria, etc. For 

 moulds, which must be examined as opaque objects, if all their 

 beauties and peculiarities are to be made out, a half-inch 

 objective is recommended, with the nozzle bevelled as much 

 to a point as possible, so that no light be obstructed.* 



In examining the sporidia of minute Pezizce and some others, 

 the aid of some reagent will be found necessary. When the 



* Bubbles of air are often very tiresome in the examination of moulds. A 

 little alcohol will remove them. 



