The Scottish Naturalist. 1 1 1 



than that which it has superseded, yet it is more easy to employ 

 for the detection of the forms already named ; and it thus fulfils 

 much the same purpose for Fungi that the equally artificial 

 Linnean system did for Phanerogams. Each method has done 

 much to open up to workers stores of information scarcely avail- 

 able formerly. 



For this reason, Saccardo's work is felt by Mycologists to be a 

 boon ; and it has been accepted as a basis from which, it may be 

 hoped, further advances may be made towards the goal of a truly 

 natural system. 



Dr. Cooke has recently given in Grevillea (Nos. 70-73, Dec, 

 1885-Sept, 1886) a list of the British " species " of the two groups, 

 based on the Sylloge Fimgorum. Though he has included 

 Scotch fungi in his list, it is far from complete; there is ample room 

 for a revision of the Scotch forms, which include a number not 

 mentioned by him for Scotland, not a few of them, as enumerated 

 in the April number of this magazine, being new to Britain or new 

 to science. 



The Scotch list still falls very far short of that for the whole of 

 Britain ; but it has been more than doubled during the past eight 

 years, since the publication of the Mycologia Scotica. Be- 

 sides the numerous additions recorded, I have a number of these 

 fungi from the north-east of Scotland, about which I have not yet 

 been able to satisfy myself. The " species " described in the 

 Sylloge are so numerous, and the distinctions between many of 

 them are so very slight, as to render it most difficult to know from 

 descriptions in how far they are worthy of being regarded as dis- 

 tinct ; and forms often occur intermediate between, or combining 

 the characters of, two, or even more, " species ; " hence it is often 

 scarcely possible to come to a conclusion under which name to 

 place a doubtful form. It seems better in such a case to defer 

 publication than to risk propagating or perpetuating errors ; and I 

 have followed what appears to be the most prudent course. 



In the subjoined list I have followed the Sylloge Fun- 

 gorum, Vol. III., in the nomenclature and systematic arrange- 

 ment. Purely artificial as the latter is, it has the merit of greatly 

 reducing the labour of identifying the objects of our search. On 

 the other hand, the disadvantages of the method are most evident, 

 as it brings together plants not closely related to one another; 

 while, if rigidly applied, it separates close allies, and occasionally 



