this group the cap itself is replaced by numerous branches, which 
bear the spine-like teeth on their lower surface. 
These three subdivisions or groups include by far the greater 
part of our edible mushrooms. Familiarity with their distin- 
guishing features is therefore very important. 
There are three groups remaining, in each of which there are 
a few edible species, but they are not usually considered of much 
importance. In them the spores are produced directly upon 
some exposed part of the surface of the fungus, without the in- 
tervention of lamelle, pores, or spines. A symmetrical cap and 
stem are often absent. In one group the substance is tremelloid 
or gelatinous. By the aid of the following analytical table, our 
edible species may be assigned to their respective groups: 
FAMILIES OF HYMENOMYCETES. 
Cap present, 1. 
Cap wanting, 2. 
1. Cap with radiating lamelle beneath, Agaricineae. 
1. Cap with pores beneath, Polyporeae. 
1. Cap or branches with spine-like teeth beneath,  Hydneae. 
1. Cap with under or spore-bearing surface even, Thelephoreae. 
2. Plant club-shaped and simple, or bush-like and 
branched; fleshy, Clavarieae. 
2. Plant irregularly expanded; gelatinous, Tremellineae. 
The Agaricineae, or “agarics,” probably include more edible 
species than either of the other families. For the sake of con- 
venience in the identification of the species, systematists have 
divided them into smaller groups, depending on the color of the 
spores. We cannot do better than to follow this arrangement in 
studying the species. It is not a difficult matter to ascertain the 
color of the spores. Generally they are colored nearly or quite 
like the lamellz of the mature plant, but to this there are many 
exceptions, and to be exact, we must see the spores themselves. 
To do this with the naked eye, they should be collected in 
a mass, for thev are so minute that singly they are invisible with- 
out the aid of a microscope. To do this, cut the cap of a fresh, 
sound, fully-developed mushroom from its stem and place it in 
its natural position, gills downward, on a piece of white paper, at 
least as broad as the cap. Ina short time, say two or three hours, 
it will generally drop enough spores on the paper to show their 
color on removing the cap. If the spores are white—and we 
may infer that they are so if the mature lamelle are white— 
white paper will not be so good for disclosing their color as paper 
of some darker hue. Sometimes, therefore, the cap is placed on 
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