306 



llEYTEWS. 



Outline of British Fnngology. By the Rev. M. J. Berkki.ev, 

 M.A. London : Reeve. 



In his preface the author says, ^^ The object of this svork is 

 to furnish materials for the correct determination of the larger 

 British fungi, and such only as require nothing more than a 

 common lens for their examination. In consequence, all 

 microscopic details have, as far as it was possil)le,been avoided." 

 At the same time, any work issuing from the pen of Mr. 

 Berkeley demands a notice from us. Even the largest and 

 commonest forms of fungi cannot he fully understood without 

 the aid of the microscope, and the more completely they are 

 investigated by its aid, the more instructive they become. We 

 would call the attention of our readers to the fact, that a large 

 field of interesting inquiry lies before them in the iuA^estiga- 

 tion of the structure and functions of the fungi. Minute or- 

 ganisms, which play an important part in the great operations 

 of nature, belong to this group of plants, and it is only by the 

 application of the microscope that we can hope to discover 

 the nature of the laws which regulate their existence and 

 development. Mr. Berkeley, in a few introductory chapters, 

 gives a sketch of the various points of interest Avhich the inves- 

 tigation of the fungi, as a family, presents to the student 

 of nature. 



The habitats of fungi are very curious, and, as they have 

 been found under the most unlikely circumstances, the pur- 

 suit of this department of inquiry offers a subject of consider- 

 able interest to the microscopic inquirer. Mr. Berkeley 

 concludes this part of his work with the following remarks : 



" Two other circumstances, however, require a fe^ lines 

 before I close this chapter. The first of these is the oc- 



