PREFACE 



The Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany, puljlishcd by 

 Berkeley in 1857, was for a long time the only volume, in 

 English, which could introduce the inquiring student to a 

 systematic knowledge of Fungi. Later on, this work was 

 discovered to be insufficient, inasmuch as it was more suited 

 to the requirements of an advanced student than an inquirer ; 

 so that the field was left open for a more popular and ele- 

 mentary work, which, under the title of Fungi : their Nature, 

 Influence, and Uses, appeared in 1875, subsequently passing 

 through several editions. The rapid advance in knowledge of 

 the life-history and development of these organisms during the 

 past ten years, and especially the large scheme of classification 

 carried out by Professor Saccardo, made it essential that, in 

 order to keep pace with the times, a guide and introduction 

 should be prepared and pul)lished for the use of students, 

 which, whilst not superseding the volume of 187 5 as a popular 

 instructor, should treat the subject more after the manner of 

 a text-book, adapted to the illustration of recent discoveries, 

 and an explanation of the methods of classification. The 

 following pages are the result of an effort to supply an acknow- 

 ledged want, which I have executed under the impression that 

 it is probably my last contribution of any importance to 

 British ]\lycology. 



For many of the illustrations the publishers and myself 

 duly acknowledge the kindness with which they have been 

 placed at our disposal by the publishers of the works from 



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