PREFACE. 



THE collection of British Mycetozoa, and the series of 

 coloured drawings explaining their structure, exhibited 

 in the Botanical Gallery, have been presented by Mr. Arthur 

 Lister, the author of this Guide. All known British Myceto- 

 zoa are described briefly, and it is hoped that this account 

 will serve as an introduction to the systematic study of the 

 group. 



In preparing his Monograph of the Mycetozoa, based on 

 the collection in the British Museum, Mr. Lister generously 

 enriched the national herbarium by the gift of numerous 

 specimens which had the special value of having been named 

 after comparison with type specimens in the herbaria of the 

 Royal Gardens, Kew ; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, 

 Strassburg, Paris, Christiania, Leyden ; the collections of 

 Messrs. Phillips and Massee, in this country, and with 

 specimens furnished by Dr. Rex, Prof. Farlow of Harvard 

 University, Prof. Macbride of the State University of Iowa, 

 and Mr. Morgan of Ohio. 



For the purpose of ready microscopic examination Mr. 

 Lister also prepared and presented to the Trustees eight 

 hundred and thirty-two mounted slides, illustrating the British 

 Museum collection of Mycetozoa, and they are preserved in 

 a cabinet in the Cryptogamic Herbarium for consultation 

 by students. 



The present Guide is based on the study of this valuable 

 material, and in its preparation Mr. Lister has had the ad- 

 vantage of the diligent assistance of his daughter, Miss 

 Gulielma Lister, who has also made the coloured drawings 



exhibited in the case. 



GEORGE MURRAY. 



