140 EYE SPY 



quarter of an hour the tinted deposit is percepti- 

 ble across the room ; and in an hour, if we care- 

 fully raise the mushroom, the perfect spore-print 

 is revealed in all its beauty — a pink-brown disk 

 with a white centre, which represents the point of 

 contact of the cut stem, and white radiating lines^ 

 representing the edges of the thin gills, many of 

 them as fine and delicate as a cobweb. 



Every fresh species will yield its surprise in the 

 markings and color of the prints. 



These spore-deposits are of course fugitive, and 

 will easily rub off at the slightest touch. But in- 

 asmuch as many of these specimens, either from 

 their beauty of form or exquisite color, or for edu- 

 cational or scientific purposes, it will be desirable 

 to preserve, I append simple rules for the mak- 

 ing of the prints by a process by which they will 

 become effectually " fixed," and thus easily kept 

 without injury. 



DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING A MUSHROOM SPORE-PRINT 



Take a piece of smooth white writing - paper 

 and coat its surface evenly with a thin solution of 

 gum-arabic, dextrine, or other mucilage, and allow 

 it to dry. Pin this, gummed side uppermost, to a 

 board or table, preferably over a soft cloth, so that 

 it will lie perfectly flat. To insure a good print the 

 mushroom specimen should be fresh and firm, and 

 the gills or spore-surface free from breaks or bruises. 



