136 SUMMAEY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



apparatus in a given time, as twenty-four hours, more or less. This 

 would increase the complexity and expense, though doubtless it would 

 furnish more important data than the present portable form. 



Glycerine or glucose, singly or united, can be used to smear the 

 centre of the thin glass cover opposite the nozzle of the funnel, if 

 intended for direct microscopical examination ; but if for cultivating 

 the entrapped germs, some other medium, containing animal matter 

 in a sterilized solution, with a little acetate of potash, can be employed, 

 and the cover placed on a cultivating slide or in a cultivating 

 chamber ; or, removing the thin cover-glass, the air can be drawn in 

 direct into a sterilized medium interposed between the nozzle of the 

 funnel and the aspirator.*' 



Herpell's Method of Preparing Fungi for the Herbarium.|— 

 The editor of the ' Collection of Prepared Hymenomycetous Fungi,' 

 publishes the method employed by him in his excellent preparations, 

 commencing with some advice as to the collection of Hymenomycetes, 

 with the special view of bringing home the fungi uninjured and in a 

 condition for preparation. 



The process itself is as follows : — Some finely cut gelatine is first 

 dissolved in five parts of boiling water, and the solution daubed as 

 thick as possible on some leaves of stiff writing-paper. One of these 

 leaves of gelatinized paper is then moistened on the clean side and 

 laid on a flat moistened plate. The sections of the fungi are then 

 prepared, viz. a vertical section through the centre of the entire 

 fungus, and superficial sections of the pileus and stipes, taken so as to 

 cut away as much as possible of the flesh. These sections are laid 

 on the gelatinized paper, and then pressed under a weight of 

 25 kilo, between white blotting-paper. After twenty-four or forty- 

 eight hours they are regularly turned over for from two to four days ; 

 the sections are then dry, and can be cut out and fixed with gum. 



The " spore-preparations " are obtained in the following way : — 

 Immediately after the fungus is collected, the pileus is laid with its 

 under side on paper; white writing-paper being used for all the 

 Hymenomycetes with coloured spores ; blue sized-paper for the 

 Russulse, Lactarii, and Cantharelli with white spores ; blue English 

 cardboard for all the other white-spored fungi. These papers 

 require no further previous preparation ; the fixing of the spores 

 after they have fallen takes jilace subsequently. The spores which 

 have been received on the writing and on the blue sized-paper 

 are fixed by a solution of two parts mastic, one part sandarac, 

 and two parts Canada balsam in thirty parts alcohol of at least 

 95 per cent. A small quantity of this lac is poured on to a flat 

 plate, and the preparation of spores laid upon it so that they are not 

 moistened on the upper side. The lac penetrates the paper and the 

 spores, which are thus firmly fixed to it, the time occupied varying 

 greatly with different kinds of spores. Those upon the blue cardboard 



* A further note by Dr. Maddox on M. Miqnel's remarks on his Aeroconi- 

 scope — see this Journal, iii. (1880) p. 1032 — is unavoidably held over. 



t Herpell, G., ' Das Priipariren u. Einlegen der Hutpilze fiir das Herbarium.* 

 (Svo. St. Gear, 1880.) See Bot. Centralbl., i. (1880) p. 1279. 



