132 NATURAL SCIENCE. Feb., 



its perusal pleasurable and profitable, and that is the elegance of its 

 English. Professor Cole's papers have always been characterised by 

 their accuracy and ease of expression. Throughout the present 

 volume we come on picturesque touches which are most welcome to 

 the student in a town. They bring back reminiscences of countries 

 where " the granite hills flush rose-red in the glow of evening," of 

 passes " where there is still a chance of startling an eagle in some 

 hollow filled with the sea-mist," of " clouds creeping across the wind- 

 swept cols," and of "the soft sheets of mist stealing across the hollows 

 of the fen." 



The book is worthy of its title ; from cover to cover it is strong 

 with bracing freshness of the air of the mountain and the field, while 

 its accuracy and thoroughness show that it is the work of an earnest 

 and conscientious student. 



Fungi in General. 



Introduction to the Study of Fungi. By M. C. Cooke. Pp., x., 360; 148 figs. 

 London : A. & C. Black, 1895. Price 14s. 



This veteran writer on Fungi has given to the world such a 

 number of books on this subject, and on so many others, that he 

 probably does not claim at this stage of affairs any extraordinary 

 degree of accuracy or enlightenment. If the present volume be judged 

 by the standard of an ideal book on Fungi — the nearest approach to 

 which for its time is De Bary's famous "Comparative Morphology," 

 now getting out of date ; if it be judged by what a great writer might 

 have done, or an ordinary well-informed mycologist might have written, 

 one would say it 4s not a particularly good book. If it be judged by 

 its author's previous performances, such as " Fungi : their Nature, 

 Influence, and Uses," in the International Scientific Series, one would 

 say it is comparatively a good book. It marks an advance in the 

 author's views. Time has mellowed his violent feelings towards some 

 burning questions of the last twenty years, and he no longer employs his 

 fine talent in abuse of most things new. Far be it from us to do other 

 than praise him for his repentance in some matters, late though it be, 

 and carefully modified and guarded as well. He has always fought a 

 good fight, observed the rules of the game in all his contests, and the 

 present writer, who is also growing older, is glad to welcome this 

 approach of an old friend and antagonist. 



The great merit of this book is not a new one. Dr. M. C. Cooke 

 has always written well, and he writes this book well. It is not dry. 

 It is well printed and indifferently well illustrated — there is con- 

 siderable inequality in the style of the cuts. The author has read a 

 good deal in the way of recent morphological literature — though 

 manifestly not enough, nor carefully enough. Still, it is a great 

 advance on his previous books, and may be recommended to the 

 large class of readers who shrink from harder reading in English 

 or German. G. M. 



Fungi in Brazil. 



Protobasidiomyceten. Untersuchungen aus Brasilien. By Alfred Moller. 8vo. 

 Pp. xiv., 179, 6 plates. Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1895. Price 12s. 



Dr. Moller's account of his researches on fungi in the Tropics has 

 now reached the third volume, and, if possible, the interest of the 

 record increases. During the three years of his residence in Brazil 

 he made 9,000 microscopic cultures in his laboratory, and such 

 indefatigable work has been amply rewarded. His attention all 



