herbarium is extensive, and is chiefly made up of the herbarium of 

 Delessert. In the puff ball line I found in the herbarium of Delessert 

 some fine specimens collected by Gaudichaud, Drege, and Zolliuger, 

 and several of them, although they were not named, are co-types and 

 better specimens than the type. The mycological collection of Fayod 

 is also in the herbarium, and it includes a large number of really good 

 colored drawings of agarics which would be of great aid to any one 

 making a study of the Swiss agarics. The herbarium building of the 

 garden is constructed of wood, and I could not but think it would 

 make a fine blaze if a good fire ever gets a start. 



Monsieur J. Briquet, who is well known for his work on the flora 

 of the Alps, is the director of the gardens; Monsieur G. Hoch- 

 reutiner, the assistant director. To both of these gentlemen I am in- 

 debted for every attention and courtesy. 



L'HERBIER BOISSIER. 



This institution is located at Chambesy, a suburb of Geneva. It 

 is beautifully situated on the lake front. Kdniond Boissier was an 

 enthusiastic collector and student of plants. Possessed of a large for- 

 tune, he was enabled to indulge his taste for travel, and the Flora 

 Orientalis is largely based on his collections in the Orient. He estab- 

 lished, also, a private botanical garden at Valleyres, and an extensive 

 arboretum near Geneva. The latter has a world-wide reputation as 

 perhaps the largest and best collection of coniferous trees ever 

 brought together. At his death, about twenty years ago, the prop- 

 erty came into the hands of his son-in-law, William Barbey, who has 

 not only maintained and added to it, but has erected a fine, artistic 

 building for the herbarium and library. I have seen many herba- 

 riums, but I never saw elsewhere plants mounted with as much care 

 and expense as in the Herbarium Boissier. Each species has specially 

 printed cover, and each specimen is mounted on a printed sheet. 

 The puff balls of the collection are mostly from purchased sets, 

 largely misnamed and wrongly classified as such exsiccatae specimens 

 always are. In addition, however, the collection includes the herba- 

 rium of Fuckel and of " Mueller Arg." In Fuckel's herbarium I 

 found twelve authentic specimens of Bonorden's collections of which 

 eight are " types." As far as I know these are all the specimens that 

 exist determined by Bonorden. 



Monsieur Gustave Beauverd is the curator of the herbarium. He 

 is well known as the editor of the Bulletin de 1'Herbier Boissier, and 

 also the card index issued in this institution. 



HISTORIC. PUFF BALLS AT GENEVA. 



My visit to Geneva was to find, if possible, the type specimens of Lycoper- 

 don Corium which was published in De Candolle's Flora France. When Desvaul 

 proposed the genus Mycenastrum he referred the species to Lycoperdon Coriuni. 

 and while Mycenastrum Corium is well authenticated and well established, and 

 it will never be practicable to change the name, if such a fool proposition were 

 possible, I have always suspected it was originally based on a tnisdetermination. 



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