MR. WORTHINGTON G. SMITH'S " OLAVIS 



AGARICINORUM." 



BY DR. BULL. 



The verdict of Science on the " Clavis Agaricinorum " cannot fail to be a 

 matter of great interest to the members of the Woolhope Club. Mr. Smith's 

 valuable addition to the resources of the student in this branch of Mycology was 

 introduced to the public for the first time at our annual meeting in February 

 last. How far the appreciation it met with here has been reciprocated by some 

 of our foremost Mycologists has now to be seen : — 



1. The Journal of Botany at once inserted the "Clavis " at length, with its 

 illustrations, into its pages, but omitted the full list of British Agarics. 



2. A complete copy was sent to Elias Fries, of Upsala, and the illustrious 

 Swedish professor — whose renown is world-wide — has addressed the following 

 letter to Mr. Worthington Smith. It is given in his own words : — 



" Vir celeberrime, sestimatissime ! 



" ' Clavem Agaricinorum' singulari voluptate reoepi, et ob hoc munus 

 gratias ago sincerrimas. Maxime me delectavit enumeratio admedum aucta 

 specierum in Britannia lectarum comparationis gratia cum Suecanis. Nxillus 

 dubito in Britannia adhuc plures latere species, praecipue in pinetis Scotise ; at 

 multse species noblissimas sylvis nostris abiegnis privae, sc, Lactarius scrobicu- 

 laris et Cortinari® niajores in Britannia deesse videntur. 



" Variae insuper species ab amico Berkeley omissse, quse certe Floras 

 Anglicse sunt; sc, Ag. clavipes ad quern absque dubio pertinet Ag. mollis, Bolton, 

 Ag. compressus, Sow. ab Ag. butyraceo, et Hygrophoro ovino toto ccelo diversus et 

 Ag. metachrous proximus, etc. 



"Ad tabulam VI. operis hie addere liceat quasdar* observationes. 

 " Locum vacuum seriei Leucoaporaa inter 2 et 3, cum Pluteo, et Pilosace 

 analogum, optime explet subgenus Hiatula in 'Nov. Sym. Myc' A me descrip- 

 turn, enjus immensse species Tropicae et 2 in caildaris nostriie, in caulibus orchid- 

 arum nascuntur. Loco simili lectae Amsterdami, etc. 

 " A Pleuroti n. 6 excludendae species resupinatae. 



" Maxime memorabilis Ag. xanthogrammus cum mihi nulla nota est species 

 veto partiali inter Hyporhodios. Ag. eckinatum ad Hyporhodios referre non pos- 

 sum, sporas enim non rosea sedet Ag. cretacei et Ag. campestris simiUimae. Etiam 

 Ag. hoematospermi subfuscse, nee roseae. Hanc speciem nuper in Suecia legi et 

 suspicor ad hanc pertinere Ag. montanum v. cervarium, Alb. et Schw. et Ag. 

 ■ffoskeri, Klot. , armulus enim facile evanescit. Locum cum Lepiota et Psalliot^ 



