July 1906] A New Method of Mounting Fungi, Etc. 
147 
A NEW METHOD OF MOUNTING FUNGI GROWN IN 
CULTURES FOR THE HERBARIUM.* 
GEO. G. HEDGCOCK AND PERLEY SPAULDING. 
The writers had occasion recently to mount specimens of 
some of the smaller fungi which are easily grown on artificial 
media for the purpose of preserving them for herbarium speci¬ 
mens. This so far as known has never been attempted and no such 
specimens have ever been seen which were satisfactorily put up 
for such purposes. All available methods which have been tried 
were so far as known considered, but none of them seemed to 
present a good solution of the difficulty. It was accordingly 
attempted to invent some method which would be easily and 
cheaply used on as extensive a scale as might be wanted by any 
one issuing sets of exsiccati, or wishing to have the imperfect 
fungi represented in an herbarium by pure cultures. It is be¬ 
lieved that such a method has been discovered which is not only 
very satisfactory but is also cheap and easily used on any scale 
that it may be wished to prepare these fungi. 
The fungi are separated and grown in pure cultures in Petri 
dishes upon a rather stiff agar agar made with some infusion 
suitable for the normal growth of the fungi. At the proper stage 
in their growth the plates are divided into square blocks of agar 
of a suitable size. Each of these blocks is placed right side up 
upon a stiff cardboard and allowed to dry down. The card¬ 
boards may be of almost any description, but it has been found 
that a good quality of index cards is most convenient for the 
purpose. 
After the agar has become dry the mount is protected by 
pasting over the agar block a small, square or circular piece of 
cardboard which has been perforated with a gun-wad cutter, the 
perforation being of a size necessary to include the mounted block. 
These squares or circles of cardboard may be made of board of 
several thicknesses, varying from one to several millimeters, so 
that in selecting a protector the thickness may be adapted to the 
height of the filaments in the fungus. 
This method of mounting has proven very convenient with 
specimens of Stilbum, Graphium, Ceratostomella, Hormodendron 
and other similar fungi; it is best, however, to poison the speci¬ 
men after mounting, by spraying it with a strychnine solution. 
Mississippi Valley Laboratory, 
July 30 , 1906 . 
♦Published by permission of the Secretary of Agriculture. 
