"Many of the mushroom tribe are so soft and watery that it is very difficult to make good specimens without a degree of labour which is quite out of the question with travellers. By changing, however, the papers in which they are dried two or three times the first day, if practicable, useful specimens may be prepared, especially if a few notes be made as to colour, etc. The more important notes are as to the colour of the stem and pileus, together with any peculiarities of the surface, _e.g._, whether it be dry, viscid, downy, scaly, etc., and whether the flesh of the pileus be thin or otherwise; as to the stem, whether hollow or solid; as to the gills, whether they are attached to the stem or free; and especially what is their colour and that of the spores. It is not in general expedient to preserve specimens in spirits, except others are dried by pressure, or copious notes be made; except, indeed, in some fungi of a gelatinous nature, which can scarcely be dried at all by pressure.
"The large woody fungi, the puff-balls, and a great number of those which grow on wood, etc., are best preserved, after ascertaining that they are dry and free from larvæ, by simply wrapping them in paper or placing them in chip-boxes, taking care that they are so closely packed as not to rub. As in other tribes of plants, it is very requisite to have specimens in different stages of growth, and notes as to precise habitats are always interesting.
"The attention of the traveller can scarcely be directed to any more interesting branch, or one more likely to produce novelty, than the puff-ball tribe; and he is particularly requested to collect these in every stage of growth, especially in the earliest, and, if possible, to preserve some of the younger specimens in spirits. One or two species are produced on ant-hills, the knowledge of the early state of which is very desirable.
"The fungi which grow on leaves in tropical climates are scarcely less abundant than in our own country, though belonging to a different type. Many of these must constantly come under the eye of the collector of phoenogams, and would be most acceptable to the mycologist. But the attention of the collector should also be directed to the lichen-like fungi, which are so abundant in some countries on fallen sticks. Hundreds of species of the utmost interest would reward active research, and they are amongst the easiest to dry; indeed, in tropical countries, the greater proportion of the species are easy to preserve, but they will not strike the eye which is not on the watch for them. The number of fleshy species is but few, and far less likely to furnish novelty."