574 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



flora than we do at present. The Ferns, we may say, are pretty 

 well known, but about their distribution we have still to learn very 

 much. The same may be applied to the Club mosses. For the 

 rest (Mosses, Liverworts, Algse, Fungi, Lichens) we know almost 

 nothing. K. R. Kirtikar, as far as I know, is the only one who has 

 contributed to our Journal some papers on this branch of botany. 



A few notes on the collecting of cellular cryptogams might not be 

 superfluous. 



In collecting Mosses less care is required than is bestowed on flower- 

 ing plants, It is not necessary that Mosses should be laid out and 

 pressed. It will suffice to preserve the specimens in small paper bags, 

 and to mark outside the locality and the date when gathered. There 

 should be added, whether the Moss was found on a tree, on a rock, or 

 on the soft ground. The same holds good for Lichens. As to the 

 collecting of Fungi and Alga? I quote from the " Instructions for 

 Collectors " issued by the British Museum, as I am not able to give 

 more concise and clear directions. 



" Hard woody Fungi need no special preparation, beyond keeping 

 them in a dry place. Most of these are found growing on trunks of 

 trees ; but when a terrestrial one is met with, it should be dug up with 

 care, since sometimes such forms spring from underground tuberous 

 bodies. It is not possible to make satisfactory specimens of soft 

 Fungi, such as Agarics and Phalloideae, in any but a dry climate. 

 Much the best plan in any damp climate is to preserve them in 

 fairly strong spirit or in formalin diluted with from five to ten 

 parts of water. A note of the colours should be made on the 

 ticket ; and, if possible, in the case of an Agaric, the colour of 

 the spores should be observed. This is best done by cutting off the 

 pileus, and placing it for several hours, say overnight, on a sheet of 

 paper ; and the spores cast during that period will be found to have 

 deposited a map of the gills on the paper. The colour may then be 

 noted ; and if possible the spore-cast should be preserved by painting a 

 thin film of gum on the reverse side of the paper, which should be thin. 

 The pileus should be placed where there is no draught while casting its 

 spores. In the case of Phalloidese, young and mature specimens should 

 be obtained when possible. Leaf Fungi are best preserved by pressing 

 and drying, and the name of the host-plant should be noted, or if 

 unknown then a specimen should be taken for identification. Mycetc- 



