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Collecting

During the proper season, and when rains are abundant,
the mushrooms are to be found in open fields, waste places, groves and
woods.

They are usually more abundant in the forests. Especially in dry
weather are specimens more numerous in rather damp woods, along ravines
or streams.

In collecting specimens which grow on the ground the trowel
should be used to dig up the plant carefully, to be sure that no
important part of the plant is left in the ground. After one has become
familiar with the habit of the different kinds the trowel will not be
necessary in all cases.

For example, most species of _Russula_,
_Lactarius_, _Tricholoma_, _Boletus_, etc., are not deeply seated in the
soil, and careful hand-picking will in most cases secure specimens
properly, especially if one does not object to digging in the soil with
the fingers.

But in the case of most species of _Amanita_, certain
species of _Lepiota_, _Collybia_, etc., a trowel is necessary to get up
the base of the plant in such a way as to preserve essential characters.
Even then it is possible, if the ground is not too hard, to dig them out
with the fingers, or with a stout knife, but I have often found
specimens which could only be taken up with a trowel or spade.

Species growing on sticks or leaves are easily collected by taking a
portion of the substratum on which they grow. Specimens on the larger
limbs or trunks or stumps can sometimes be “picked,” but until one is
accustomed to certain individualities of the plant it is well to employ
the knife and to cut off a portion of the wood if necessary, to avoid
cutting off the base of the stem.