



luj L I 8 « A R Y 



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PREFACE 



This book is intended by the author to serve a two-fold pur- 

 pose. The urgent need of the research worker in mycology 

 and plant pathology for an adequate treatment of the taxonomy 

 and morphology of the fungi is generally recognized. Though 

 it is clearly impossible to provide this for the whole group within 

 the limits of a single volume, the attempt is made here to meet 

 the need for the Phycomycetes. No effort has been spared 

 in the endeavor to have the taxonomic presentation thoroughly 

 modern and complete. Keys are provided to all genera, and 

 citations are given to much of the outstanding literature. At 

 the same time the author has tried to present the subject matter 

 in such a fashion that the book would serve in college and uni- 

 versity classrooms as a text or reference work for beginning and 

 advanced students. 



In formal courses in mycology time is usually so limited that 

 it is impossible to cover the entire field of the fungi in other 

 than a hurried and superficial manner. Some teachers avoid 

 this difficulty by confining the laboratory studies to one of the 

 larger subdivisions of the group. This permits the student 

 to concentrate his efforts and to obtain a type of intensive train- 

 ing which fits him to proceed on his own resources in the remain- 

 der of the field. For a course of this character no group of the 

 fungi serves the teacher's purpose better than do the Phycomy- 

 cetes. Their diversity of form makes them especially suitable 

 from the point of view of comparative morphology, and in many 

 genera the species lend themselves readily to cytological, bio- 

 logical, cultural, and taxonomic studies. It is hoped that this 

 book will be found useful as a text in connection with laboratory 

 courses of this type. In any case it will afford a basis for 

 systematic collateral reading on the lower fungi and related 

 groups of organisms. 



Over a period of years it has been the author's practice to 

 provide his classes with a mimeographed syllabus, outlining the 

 classification of the fungi and introducing the student to the 

 various phases of the broad field of mycology. This syllabus, 



