The Scottish Naturalist. 143 



WORKS ON BRITISH FUNGI, HVMENOMYCETES. 



Students of the British Mushrooms have no longer ground for complaints that 

 the only English works on their favourite group are several years behind date.. 

 A little time ago there was good reason for such a complaint ; for the latest 

 work available was Cooke's " Handbook of British Fungi," published in 

 1S71. This work gave a great stimulus to the study of British Fungi ; and, 

 thanks to the labours of Mr. Stevenson at Glamis, Dr. Keith at Forres, and 

 other Scotch botanists, very great progress has been made in our knowledge 

 of Scotch Fungi, and has been recorded in Mycologia Scotica and its 

 supplements. In England the advance has been even more marked, owing 

 to the more numerous labourers in the field. Moreover, much has been done 

 in comparing more fully the British and Foreign species ; and the result has 

 been to render necessary new text books on Fungi to represent as fully as 

 possible the present state of our knowledge. This can be done only by the 

 concerted action of specialists in several groups ; since no one man can be 

 expected to know every group of Fungi in its details. We rejoice that such 

 action is now being taken in respect of certain groups. 



As regards the Hymenomycetts y Dr. M. C. Cooke has for some time been 

 issuing a second edition of his Hand-book iu the form of a supplement, 

 separately paged, to each part of Grevillea. He has now reached No. 762 

 in the genus Agaricus. The descriptions are intended to accompany his 

 " Illustrations," a very useful series of coloured plates of Hymtnomycttzs, 

 which now numbers 766. 



British Fungi, Hymenomycetes. 



Of this much-hoped-for work, by the Rev. John Stevenson, Glamis, the con- 

 cluding volume has recently been issued to subscribers. Its author has 

 been known for years as an assiduous and energetic student of the group of 

 which it treats ; and he has been in close correspondence with other my- 

 cologists of similar tastes. He has studied with especial care the works of 

 Elias Fries, the prince of mycologists ; and the preface informs us that the 

 work under review is founded on Fries' writings, though constant reference i s 

 made also to the works of Berkeley, Cooke, Karsten, Phillips, Plowright, 

 W. G. Smith, and other leaders in Mycology. 



In translating descriptions by Fries, from Latin, and other foreign languages, 

 the author has received, and duly acknowledges, much aid from Dr. Keith, 

 Canon Du Port, and several other mycologists ; and doubtful points have been 

 fully discussed before a decision was arrived at. Only species undoubtedly 

 British have been included ; hence a good many, recorded with doubt as 

 regards their determination, or the circumstances under which they were found, 

 are not mentioned. The synonym,y is restricted to recent writings and illus- 

 trations. Undoubtedly the tendency in mycology towards needless and hurtful 

 multiplication of species has been very marked, and many so-called species 

 will be abolished as knowledge increases. Mr. Stevenson might usefully 

 have indicated where he believes that pruning is desirable. 



