Had he done so it would have saved at least two resultant errors. 

 Alassee discovered the duplication and changed the name of the Amer- 

 ican plant to Lycoperdon Berkeleyi. And now Hollos has become con- 

 fused and refers Lycoperdon Berkeley! as a synonym for the Indian 

 plant, a form of Lycoperdon umhrinum. It is a synonym for Calvatia 

 craniiformis which has but little relation to the Indian plant. Hollos 

 is further in error when he ascribes the name to Morgan. As Berkeley 

 was so partial to the name that he gave it to two "new species," we 

 feel he is entitled to all the advertisement due to anv one in connection 

 with its use. 



ONLY FOR A SMILE. 



A list of plants with authors' names attached has a very "scien- 

 tific" look. Sometimes they are instructive as well as pleasing to the 

 eye, for instance the following from recent lists : 



"Mycena Leaiana Atkinson/' I was under the impression that 

 this plant was named before Atkinson was born. 



"Poria tomentocincta B. & Ray." I thought Ray wrote before the 

 days of binomials. I do not know to whom "B." retVr>. IVrhaps 

 it is Belshazzar. 



"Calvatia saccata (Vahl.) Morgan." Vahl never called the plant 

 anything whatever, and Morgan never saw it. 1 guess the udverti>e- 

 ment is as good as any, though. 



"Geaster fornicatus (Hudson) Fries." Hudson called one plant 

 Lycoperdon fornicatum and Fries called quite a different plant (iea-t. T 

 fornicatus. I never could figure out what is meant 1>\ "deaster forni- 

 catus (Hudson) Fries." 



"BOVISTA" SPUMOSA. 



As I have not seen this plant I can add nothing to Leveille's orig- 

 inal statement made fifty years ago. It is surely not a I'.nvista. 



"Bovista spumosa, n. s. Peridium globose, thin, clothed with a 

 dense, white cortex, becoming evanescent. Flocci and spores fusom>. 

 Habitat Sumatra, on earth. I make notation of this curious specie, to 

 awaken the curiosity of botanists who voyage in Sumatra where M. 

 Korthals has found it. This learned naturalist, who has observed it 

 living, states that it is larger than an egg and its peridium is covered 

 with a soft material that resembles that of Spumaria and which disj 

 appears at maturity. The peridium which persists then is the si/e of 

 a walnut. 



Leveille does not seem to nave succeeded in "awakening the curi- 

 osity of botanists" as nothing more has been written on the subject. 



Ine vast regions of India. East Indies, and Australia are practi- 

 cally tcrrae incognitae as far as "puff-balls" are concerned. The sand 

 can be said of South America. It is true that Spegazzini has "le- 

 cribed with abundant verbosity, and "named" numerous "new spel 

 oni South America; but it is quite evident from his work that 

 t even a passing acquaintance with the "old species." 

 244 



