110 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



and the little cup fungi, so brilliantly red, half hidden by 

 the moss on which they grow. If one takes up the study 

 seriously and desired .to add new specimens to his collec- 

 tion, he must make good use of his eyes, explore carefully 

 every crevice in the banks that line the road, Qvery fallen 

 tree and stump, and search the thickest part of the 

 woods. 



And having found them, it is most important to note 

 every fact concerning them. First, as to where they 

 grow; in woods or open pastures or on marshy ground. 

 Second, do they grow on the ground or on wood or on 

 other fungi. Third, the character of the soil ; is it clay or 

 sandy or leafy mould ? Fourth, what is their mode of 

 growth; are they solitary or in clusters (ceespitose) or do 

 they wander in twos and threes together ? The date of 

 their discovery should be noted, at what time they were 

 seen and how they continue to live. It is important to 

 gather as many specimens of each species as possible for 

 examination, and they should be dug up carefully with a 

 trowel or knife, so as not to break the volva, if there is 

 any, or the root that we sometimes find. 



The mushrooms that have gills are called Agarics. 

 They have been classified by the color of their spores. If 

 one finds a mushroom with pores instead of gills, under 

 the cap, somewhat resembling a sponge in appearance, it 

 is probably a Bo7etMS ; then comes another group that also 

 has pores, but the pores are hard or corky and do not 

 ^separate easily from the cap. This belongs to the family of 

 Polyporacese, Again, there is another group where there 

 are spines or teeth instead of gills, on which the spores are 

 borne and these are called Hydnums. There is one more 

 .group the members of which we constantly see in the 

 woods^ the club shaped or coral fungi called Clavaria. 

 They are generally white, yellow or pink, and look like a 

 mass of branches arising from a thick base. These five 

 groups belong to the Hymenomycetes or membrane fungi. 

 There are, besides these two, other groups: one called 

 Garteromycetes or stomach fungi, which contains the 



