The Earlier Study of Fungi in Britain. David Paid. 97 



too much on hand in trying to deal with phanerogams and 

 cryptogams together. In his preface he frankly acknowledges 

 that in the field of Fungi he was greatly deficient, and that 

 taught by experience he could repeat the words of Linnaeus 

 that the whole subject was still in chaotic confusion. It was 

 impossible for any one in his day seeking a knowledge of Fungi 

 to obtain help from his book. 



From Hudson let us pass to Relhan whose Flora Canta- 

 brigiensis was published in 1785, twenty-three years after the 

 Flora Anglica. Like so many of the botanists of that century 

 and the preceding, Richard Relhan was a clergyman, and he 

 became a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. In his first 

 edition he follows closely on the footsteps of Hudson, but 

 adds a separate class of Sphaeria, composed of Xylarias and 

 Hypoxylons with one Nectria. His second edition however 

 which was published in ivS20, contains several features which 

 mark an advance in classification. Under the influence of 

 Withering he attempts to break up the genus Agaricus, in 

 which were still included all gilled Fungi. He first sphts it 

 up into three groups of stalked, slightly stalked, and stemless, 

 dividing these again according to the attachment and colour 

 of the gills. He adopts a genus Merulius, which is not found 

 in his first edition, containing five Marasmii, two Cantharelli, 

 and a Craterellus. The number of his Agarici is increased from 

 35 to 96, his Boleti from 7 to 22, and so on. Another genus 

 added is Auricularia of Bulliard, embracing three Steremns, 

 one Corticium, a Thelephora and a Merulius. He did not 

 altogether overlook the minute Fungi, but includes Sphaeria, 

 Stemonitis, Trichiiim, Aecidium, etc., giving two or three of 

 each. His second edition of the Flora Cantahrigiensis is thus 

 an advance on his first edition, and of much greater value to 

 students, but his descriptions are too short for satisfactory 

 identification. This defect is partially counterbalanced by his 

 constant references to the figures of Sowerby, Bulliard and 

 Bolton. 



The Flora Scotica of Lightfoot appeared in 1777, and passed 

 into a second edition in 1792. It is of much interest, especially 

 to Scotsmen, so far as phanerogams are concerned, but it 

 contains nothing noteworthy in regard to Fungi, only 67 species 

 being referred to. 



John Sibthorp, Professor of Botany at Oxford, published 

 in 1794 his Flora Oxoniensis, but that too as a contribution to 

 Mycology was of no particular importance. 



Then, in 1788, there appeared Bolton's Historia Fungorum 

 circa Halifax sponte nascentium, which is valuable for its well- 

 known illustrations, but is mentioned here that a passage from 



