i898] ON COLLECTING AND PREPARING FLESHY FUNGI 179 
pared for the herbarium and accompanied by accurate notes of 
the characters of the fresh plants generally afford the most sat- 
islactory specimens for the herbarium. If such specimens can 
be supplemented by photographs, sketches, drawings in color, 
sectional preparations, or specimens in alcohol, so much the bet- 
ter. In a few genera and one family, the Tremellineae, which 
dry poorly, alcoholic specimens are to be preferred, but in 
general well dried plants properly prepared are very satisfac- 
tory; they are convenient for reference also and do not occupy 
too much space. 
A good herbarium specimen of a basidiomycete should show 
hot only its external form, surface and habit but also its internal 
Structure. Some plants should therefore be split lengthways into 
halves with a sharp knife or scalpel. If skillfully prepared one 
of these halves will show the thickness of the pileus, breadth of 
the lamellae, relation of the lamellae to the stem, structure of 
the stem, and sometimes the color of the flesh. Earth adhering 
to the base of the stem should be carefully removed, pains being 
taken to leave uninjured the whole base of the stem with its 
volva and radicated portions, when these are present. 
va ae mode of drying fleshy fungi is by the heat of 
iti si his method gives good results with a few genera, but 
° available during the night and on cloudy days. At its 
ha slow that thick, fleshy species of such a genus as 
eat come so decayed and so eaten by larve that the stem 
id gaa from the pileus and the tube characters become 
st. 
ag method is to place the fungi in a wire basket and 
t is ze above astove. This gives good specimens if the 
kitchen Maintained night and day. During the summer the 
ept Mnge is likely to be the only stove in which a fire is 
mee Now, many of the fleshy fungi which one will dry 
atop . larvae ; as the plants dry out these larve literally 
ycolog; the. fry ing pan to the fire. It is evident that the 
sist may encounter serious domestic obstacles in his 
Pts to use the range. 
