GEORGE EDWARD MASSEE 227 



of liis period. He began his study when Berkeley was the authority : 

 Cooke followed Berkeley and on Cooke's retirement the mantle 

 naturally fell upon Massee. But times had changed, and though his 

 opinion in the naming of species received the consideration due to 

 his extensive knowledge it was neglected when he attempted to 

 criticize — or even ridicule — branches of the subject with which he 

 had not first-hand acquaintance. His cynicism often led him to say, 

 and even to do, things which were much resented ; but his experiences 

 with some of the j^ounger school who called themselves mycologists 

 and yet professed to despise " species " probably had much to do with 

 his sharpness of tongue — I, personally, always found him very kind 

 and pleasant. Hje Avas well liked by the gardeners at Kew, to whom he 

 lectured on plant pathology ; his knowledge of the practical side of 

 their work, his wide interests, his wit and his virility even to the end, 

 impressed them to an extraordinary degree. For many years Massee 

 was the recognized leader of the fungus forays around London. His 

 knowledge of the fungi of Epping Forest and of Kew Gardens was 

 unrivalled : of the latter he published an account in the Kew Bui let in 

 for 1897 (pp. 115-67) which was subsequently extended in the Ad- 

 ditional Series (v) of the Bulletin, to which further additions were 

 subsequently made. On resigning his Fellowship of the Linnean 

 Society in 1915 he was immediatel}' elected an Associate. 



JoHJV Ramsbottom. 



[For the use of the portrait accompanying this notice Ave are 

 indebted to the Editor of the Garden.'] 



SHORT XOTE. 



YiOLA LACTEA Sm. XEAR BRISTOL. This ericetal rarit}'- has had no 

 local record hitherto and is very scarce throughout the West of 

 England. In my account of the Violets of this district {Fl. Brist. 

 p. 177) I mention the occurrence of V. canina L. var. lanceolata 

 Mart. -Don. on Yate Lower Common, West Glouc. As may be seen 

 in British Violets Mrs. Gregory, while assenting to the name, saw 

 that the plant differed from Oxfordshire specimens of the variety ; 

 and she owned in correspondence that had V. lactea been known in 

 the vicinity she would have strongly suspected our plant to be, pre- 

 ferably, a hj^brid — canina X lactea. As opportunity offered, there- 

 fore, we searched the locality repeatedly for V. lactea, and were at 

 length rewarded by finding two small plants of it at a short distance. 

 Later, Miss Roper detected it in very small quantity on another part 

 of the Common, and on June 4, in an enclosure nearly a mile from 

 the original station, I was glad to see amongst coarse heathy herbage 

 a number of tufts (of course jmst flowering) over a space of 50 or 60 

 yards. It seems now fairly certain that the so-called lanceolata is 

 indeed the hybrid suggested by Mrs. Gregorj^ and subscribers to my 

 book are invited to make the necessary correction and addition in 

 their copies. The hybrid canina x Biviniana is also present at the 

 spot first above mentioned, but canina itself is decidedh^ rare in that 

 neighbourhood. The tract known as Yate Lower Common and lands 



