﻿OF 
  BRITISH 
  FUNGI. 
  25 
  

  

  or 
  Agaricus, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  afterwards 
  written, 
  became, 
  to 
  a 
  

   certain 
  extent, 
  generic 
  for 
  Polyporus, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  so 
  used 
  

   by 
  Micheli, 
  Ray, 
  and 
  others, 
  the 
  word 
  Fungus 
  beino- 
  

   generally 
  applied 
  to 
  what, 
  after 
  Linnaeus, 
  we 
  now 
  call 
  

   Agaricus. 
  It 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  regretted, 
  that 
  when 
  that 
  great 
  

   author 
  reformed 
  the 
  system 
  of 
  botany, 
  he 
  too 
  often 
  took 
  

   any 
  names 
  which 
  offered 
  themselves 
  in 
  the 
  older 
  

   authors, 
  without 
  giving 
  himself 
  the 
  trouble 
  to 
  inquire 
  

   whether 
  they 
  belonged 
  really 
  to 
  the 
  plants 
  to 
  which 
  

   they 
  were 
  attributed, 
  and 
  thus 
  the 
  familiar 
  name 
  of 
  

   Agaric 
  is 
  now 
  applied 
  to 
  plants 
  which 
  should 
  never 
  

   have 
  borne 
  it. 
  Our 
  earlier 
  herbalists 
  rightly 
  applied 
  it 
  

   to 
  corky 
  arboreous 
  fungi 
  ; 
  as 
  Agaric 
  of 
  the 
  oak, 
  &c. 
  In 
  

   like 
  manner 
  the 
  Greek 
  Hydnum, 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  a 
  

   conspicuous 
  pileate 
  fungus, 
  such 
  as 
  we 
  now 
  recognise 
  

   under 
  the 
  name, 
  was 
  originally 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  truffle 
  ; 
  and 
  

   many 
  other 
  instances 
  of 
  similar 
  misnomers 
  might 
  be 
  

   adduced. 
  It 
  is, 
  however, 
  now 
  too 
  late 
  to 
  mend 
  such 
  

   matters, 
  and 
  we 
  may 
  be 
  glad 
  to 
  substitute 
  such 
  a 
  word 
  

   as 
  Agaric 
  for 
  Toadstool, 
  which 
  is 
  not 
  only 
  disgusting 
  

   in 
  its 
  real 
  etymology, 
  but 
  helps 
  to 
  keep 
  up 
  the 
  feeling 
  

   of 
  contempt 
  with 
  which 
  a 
  most 
  interesting 
  class 
  of 
  

   plants 
  is 
  too 
  frequently 
  regarded." 
  

  

  The 
  A 
  garics 
  constituting 
  such 
  a 
  large 
  and 
  important 
  

   genus, 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  convenient 
  to 
  arrange 
  them 
  in 
  

   five 
  very 
  natural 
  series, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  

   spores. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  series, 
  termed 
  Leucospori, 
  the 
  

   spores 
  are 
  white 
  ; 
  of 
  which 
  Agaricus 
  procerus 
  may 
  be 
  

   taken 
  as 
  an 
  example. 
  In 
  the 
  second 
  series, 
  called 
  Hypo- 
  

   rJwdii, 
  the 
  spores 
  are 
  salmon-coloured; 
  of 
  which 
  Agari- 
  

  

  