BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



other what the loathsome smell could be, and where it came from. 

 Each moment was filled with anxiety, lest my precious fungus, for 

 which I had already endured so much, might be seized and carried off 

 before I finished dissecting it. The pileus was crowded with beetles, 

 and judging from the eaten |)ortion they must have relished it greatly 

 for t'.iey had taken a hearty lunch. Phallus impudicus, which I found 

 shortly afterward was equally offensive and attractive to flies and 

 beetles. 



While it is interesting to observe the variations in the color, size 

 and configurations of certain species of fungi, it is equally so to note 

 their absence from one locality, f 'r an indefinite time, and perhaps 

 their appearance in another. One is led to suspect that the spores 

 either hibernate or are carried by the winds to far off sections like the 

 seeds of some phiVinogamous plants; or there mav be in some seasons 

 an absence in certain qualities in soil and atmosphere requisite for 

 their germination. In sections where no changes have been made, 

 such as draining the soil, cleaning out woods, or cutting down trees, 

 we are constantlv missing ])lants for a period of one or more years as 

 the following notes will show: 



In 1877, Ladarius volmum, Fr. , was plentiful from June to Septem- 

 ber, but very slender in form. In 1878, not so plentiful, but very 

 arge. In 1879, it- ^^^^ its old haunts and other plants took its place, 

 though in some instances its place was unoccupied. A. {Tricholoma) 

 7'irescens, Pk , was plentiful in 1877, but has never appeared since. 

 Boletus oniatipes, Pk., as well as many other plants that one could not 

 go amiss for in 1877, were rare in 1878, none in 1879. For three 

 successive years I found A. vaginatus, in one spot, on or about the 

 fifteenth of July; in 1878 it was missing, but appeared plentifully in a 

 distant woods. A. laccaius. Scop., was scarce in 1877, mostly to be 

 found on dead leaves and sticks. In 1878 it carpeted the woods in 

 some places three yards in diameter; in 1879, "^^t one was to be found 

 in the same locality; it took a freak to visit a woods ten miles distant, 

 and after having been small and unpretending in appearance it assum 

 ed the most beautiful and fantastic shapes, as well as the brightest 

 colors; ])ileus 4-5 inches across, conve.x, umbilicate or deeply infun- 

 dibuliform ; lameila2 often bright reddish purple, with a deep flesh 

 color or bright sienna-red pileus. Fistulina hepatica, Fr., has been 

 rare for several years past, but last August old oak stumps as well as 

 the projecting roots of oak trees, were crowded with it. At first sight 

 it presented the most curious appearance, looking like large pieces of 

 raw flesh or liver scattered about on the grass. It has a delightful 

 acid taste. Monhella esculcnta, Pers., and Helvclla crispa, Fr. , so 

 plentiful in 1877, has not been seen since. That beautiful little plant 

 Cyathus vernkosus, DC, which abounded in nearly all gardens in 

 1878, was absent in 1879. During some seasons when other species 

 are so plentiful the Trichogasters are poorly represented. In 1876, 

 Geaster fimbriatus, Fr. , was abundant, but I have not found one plant 

 since. In 1877, Lycoperdon gein»iutu?n, Fr. , crowded the woods in 

 almost every section; one or two imperfect forms appeared in 1878, 



