47 
sure would take no one there by surprise, unless it was, as he hoped and trusted, 
the person most concerned. As he had been in communication with most of his 
hearers on the subject, he might at once dash im medias res and state that some 
three weeks ago a happy thought occurred to Dr. Bull (who, with his usual kind- 
ness, admitted him into the partnership of it) that the club ought no longer to leave 
unrecognised and unacknowledged the great and gratuitous services of Mr. 
Worthington G. Smith as its ‘‘ Mycological Professor,” and as one who was ever 
ready to assist their studies with his pen, his pencil, and his head. Among the 
literary men he (the President) had met there were two prominent types, the 
hoarders of their knowledge, who lived in dread of “‘a chiel among them takin’ 
notes,” and the generous and unselfish communicators and diffusers of the infor- 
mation which they had amassed by patient inquiry. One example of the latter 
type was the late Sir George Lewis: another, in his way and walk of science, was 
Mr. W. G. Smith. Every Woolhopian knew he could count upon the free use of 
Mr. W. G. Smith’s experience, and of his very extensive and accurate information, 
Having himself realised this during his two years presidency, he (Mr. Davies) 
readily undertook to co-operate with Dr. Bull in sounding the members of the 
club, by letter or word of mouth, with referance to a testimonial, marking the 
sense of their gratitude and indebtedness ; such testimonial to take the form of 
silver forks and spoons. The result of their canvass had been an unalloyed 
success, . There had been two ghosts of an alloy, but they vanished almost on the 
instant of appearance. One gentleman began a letter by denouncing testimonials 
generally in the strongest terms, but went on in the second page to say that were 
his objections multiplied an hundredfold, he could still rejoice in the privilege of 
having had the opportunity to mark by a subscription his great sense of Mr. W. 
G. Smith’s deserts. Another sent a subscription with a letter full of compli- 
mentry expressions, and concluded with a hope that the forks and spoons might 
never assist Mr. Smith in conveying to his mouth poisonous fungi, which might 
terminate his career of usefulness, The thought might cast a passing shadow, but 
reflection told him (the president) that if there was a man in Europe who could 
be trusted to discriminate between edible and inedible fungi, that man was Mr. 
Worthington Smith. In token of their sense of his helpfulness in extending this 
discriminative knowledge, as well as of their regard and good-will, the Club had 
deputed him on this occasion to present to Mr. Smith the oaken-box, which he held 
in his hands, with the plate which it contained, and he begged him to accept it, 
to quote the language of the superscription, ‘‘in pleasant memory of fungus-forays, 
assisted by his experience, illustrated by his pencil, and chronicled by his pen.” 
Dr. Butt then rose, and, after playful allusion to the relative shares of the 
President and himself in originating this testimonial—-a mystery, like the origina- 
tion of the Franco-German War—went on to say :—The pleasure of the corres- 
pondence has also been shared by himself, for it was indeed a great pleasure to 
read the cordial, kind letters received from the members applied to; and, when 
the lithographed circulars were sent out by our President, every post might be 
said to bring in a fork or a spoon, until our friendly gift—originally small in our 
