240 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



V ermicidaria Dematium (Pers.) Fr. on woody stem. 

 V ermicularia trichella Fr. on ivy leaf. 

 Periconia pycnospora Fres. on stem. 



H. C. Hawley 

 September 1923. 



REVIEW. 



A Handbook of the Larger British Fungi, by John Ramsbottom, 

 O.B.E., M.A., F.L.S. Pp. 222, 141 figures in the text. Printed 

 by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 1923. ys. 6d. 



The present book originated in the necessity for a new edition 

 of the Guide to Sowerby's Models of British Fungi, and is there- 

 fore necessarily somewhat limited in its form and arrangement. 

 Mr Ramsbottom has however succeeded most happily in so 

 revising the matter and correlating it with more recent work 

 that the book forms now an excellent introduction to the study 

 of the larger British fungi. Beginners to whom the fuller 

 systematic works are bewildering will much appreciate the clear, 

 brief presentation of all the British genera of Basidiomycetes 

 and the larger Ascomycetes. 



In the fourteen pages of introductory matter Mr Ramsbottom 

 has contrived to pack an amazing amount of interesting and 

 up-to-date information on such subjects as "Fairy Rings," 

 Mycorrhiza, Luminosity of fungi, Chemical characters, such as 

 colouring matters and poisonous principles. Ecology of fungi, 

 etc. Further there is a brief introduction to each order embody- 

 ing the results of recent work on anatomy, cytology and develop- 

 ment. 



Genera which are not represented by models in the Sowerby 

 collection are printed in smaller type. References are also given 

 to the collection of coloured drawings of fungi by W. G. Smith 

 exhibited in the Botanical Department of the British Museum. 

 Where the names given to species, in accordance with the book's 

 function as a Guide, do not coincide with those accepted in 

 modern usage, Mr Ramsbottom has added the newer name in 

 brackets and italicised, so that there should be no difficulty in 

 correlation with other works. 



The selection of species for mention has been based on their 

 edible or poisonous qualities, and this fact, together with the 

 general information given as to the food value of fungi and the 



