SPORE PRINTS 
43 
time to the study of these fungi will not fail to have been 
struck by the difficulty of recognising species from descrip¬ 
tions, and even with the aid of figures it is not always easy to 
be sure of your plant. . . . The common species are the 
most difficult to recognise; they are more prone to vary, 
and many of them are devoid of marked characters.” 
A collection of photographs, carefully coloured by hand, 
is of great value. 
To obtain a good spore print of an agaric, take an adult, 
but not obviously old, specimen, cut off the stem close to 
the gills, taking care not to injure them. Push a long pin 
partly into the pileus on one side, leaving the head and 
about i inch exposed, place the pileus gills downwards on a 
sheet of paper (black for white-spored species) and cover 
with a bell-glass or place in a glazed case. The spores 
will be deposited in a few hours, when the fungus may be 
easily removed by the aid of the pin without smudging the 
print. 
The following directions for fixing spore sprints are taken 
from Herpel, “ Das Prapariren der Hutpilze ” : 
Paper which is somewhat absorbent must be used ; 
unglazed blue or black paper (of which the colour must be 
unaffected by the fixative) for white-spored species. The 
piece of paper bearing the spore print is to be laid, spores 
upwards, in a flat plate or platter, on which a thin layer of 
fixative has first been poured. The fixative is allowed to 
soak up through from below, and should not overflow the 
edges of the paper. When it is certain that the spores as 
well as the paper are thoroughly soaked, the preparation is 
removed and dried, sometimes, to prevent sticking, being 
laid on moistened blotting-paper. 
The fixative to be used will vary with the species. For 
instance, the spores of Cantharellus cibarius and some others 
may be fixed by water alone. The following solution is 
recommended for Boleti and species with coloured spores : 
