The Scotttish Naturalist. yy 



tive action of Fungi on dead wood is too well known in the form cf 

 " dry-rot ; " which often almost necessitates the dismantling of the 

 woodwork of houses, and is most difficult to get rid of. 



The only means by which we may hope to overcome the in- 

 juries inflicted by Fungi upon our own bodies, and upon our 

 various possessions, is to investigate fully their life-histories, and 

 to ascertain how to prevent their attacks, and to contend with 

 them, so that we may be able to extirpate the Fungi without 

 injury to the body in or on which they live. Such investiga- 

 tions are the chosen work of the mycologist; and progress in 

 them is being made slowly but steadily, with the result that 

 remedies for one disease after another are being discovered ; 

 but little more than a beginning' has been made as yet ; though 

 what has been accomplished gives reason to hope for a rapid 

 advance in the near future. 



ESVISIOtf OF THE SCOTCH PESON03POBE2E 



By Prof. JAMES W. H. TRAIL, A.M., M.D, F.L.S. 



(Read before the Scottish Cryptogenic Society, 7SS6.) 



Since the publication of Mr. Stevenson's Mycologia Scotica, indeed 

 largely because of its publication, our knowledge of the fungi of 

 Scotland has been extended very greatly ; as is amply evidenced 

 by the extensive supplements that have already appeared in this 

 Journal ; while numerous additions to the Scotch flora are await- 

 ing inclusion in these supplements. But it is advisable not only to 

 enumerate, and briefly to describe, such species as are added to 

 our lists, but also to revise the lists occasionally, in order to 

 incorporate the additions ; and thus to ascertain clearly what 

 progress has been made ; and what still remains to be done. Aid 

 is supplied towards new investigations also if notices are given of 

 such species as have been found in other countries, under such 

 conditions as to render their occurrence with us possible, or even 

 probable. A revision of the whole field is, however, not advisable, 

 even were it possible, at the present time ; and the work can best 

 be done when the attention is confined for the time to a section, 

 a family, or even a genus. 



