6 
notes taken in foreign herbaria, characters obtained from micro- 
scopic study, and letters containing information regarding habitat, 
distribution and other points of interest. A collection of auto- 
graph letters from mycologists and collectors is kept separately 
for reference in case the identity of labels or miscellaneous data 
is in doubt. 
Specimens preserved in alcohol or formalin are desirable in 
some groups, but no attempt is made to preserve any large 
number in this way except for special studies in morphology or 
for museum purposes, as such a collection is of doubtful value 
in taxonomic work, especially when one considers the immense 
amount of time, space and money involved. 
T reservation of fungi against insects has always been a 
difficult problem for the curator. Many methods have been 
tried in various herbaria without complete success, Carbon 
bisulfid has been mainly used in this country, but the results are 
not satisfactory. Corrosive sublimate, so extensively employed 
for flowering plants, is not only valueless but decidedly harmful 
to many of the higher fungi, since it alters or destroys their sur- 
face characters and often changes their substance to a marked 
degree. It is much better to lose some specimens than to have 
the whole collection thus altered. In the case of large woody 
specimens, also, it is very difficult to secure sufficient penetration 
to preserve the interior portions. 
The substance I have used with great success is naphthalene 
flake, of the best quality. Experiments conducted here have 
shown that adult insects are killed in a few hours when placed in 
a box with this substance, and it is probable that those emerging 
from the pupa stage succumb in less time. Specimens are treated 
when first obtained, and those peculiarly susceptible are kept in 
an atmosphere of naphthalene more or less all of the time. In 
going through the collections, when a packet or box is found 
containing insects, a spoonful or more of naphthalene is added 
and the incident closed. Possibly there are insects not yet 
acquired or some that do not thrive in this region that are not 
amenable to this treatment, but it has been more satisfactory here 
so far than any other method I have seen tried. 
