THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
38 
Some of Our Mushrooms. 
(Continued from last month.) 
S INCE the first installment of 
this article was published, 
many inquires, relative to the 
technical terms expressed therein, 
have been received. We have endeav¬ 
ored to make the article as free from 
technical terms as the subject will 
allow, but have been forced to use a 
few in the descriptions. The subject 
being- one so badly neglected that the 
few terms connected with it are under¬ 
stood by but a few, we have endeavored 
as plainly as possible to give an ex¬ 
planation of the most important and 
stem.—E, the volva.—F. mycellium or 
spawn. 
common ones. All terms and words 
used in description have the same 
meaning as when used • in Phsenogam- 
ous Botany. 
The Volva is the egg-like process 
growing at the base of the stem and 
which envelopes the plant as a mem" 
brane when in the embryo state. It is 
of such a delicate texture that it some¬ 
times disappears without leaving an 3 ' 
trace on the adult plant. Otherwise, 
traces of the Volva are left upon the 
cap, numerous and thick, sometimes 
irregularly disposed on the surface as 
warts. It leaves at the base of the 
stem a sort of wrapper, sometimes 
thick and ascending, in others a mere 
border or a few scales. 
The Veil consists of a membrane ex¬ 
tending from the margin of the cap to 
the stem, protecting the gills. It is 
generally white, soft, cottony, some¬ 
times even powdery. It exists intact 
only in the youth of the plant. In the 
adult plant it is not visible but as the 
cap expands the membrane stretches 
and finally breaks, leaving in some 
species a sort of ring or zone on the 
cap and stem. 
The mycelium or spawn is the deli¬ 
cate thread proceeding from the germi¬ 
nating spores. It is usually white, but 
is sometimes yellow and rarely red. 
Its presence is difficult to detect with¬ 
out the aid of a microscope, because of 
its delicacy and its being intermingled 
with organic tissues in which it has 
developed. It is distinguised by some 
authors asnematoid, fibrous, hymenoid, 
scleroid, and malocoid, but this, not 
being necessary for classification, we 
will omit.. 
The gills or lamellae are the verti¬ 
cal plants radiating from the stem, on 
the under surface of the cap. In the 
Polyporei the gills are replaced by 
pores or tubes. The tubes are with 
cylinders, pressed one against another, 
constituting a fructifying membrane. 
The end is always closed, while the 
