53 



near a botanical institution, he can also, perhaps, make use of a 

 named collection and the literature bearing on the group. 



The best single publication on the Bolcti for field work and 

 general use is Peck's *' Boleti of the United States " (Bull. N. Y. 

 State Mus. 2 : 73-166, 1889), in which most of our common 

 species are described and classified. Underwood's " Suggestions 

 for the Study of the North American Boletaceae " (Contrib, 

 Dept. Bot. Columbia Univ. No. 176, 1901), is a valuable sup- 

 plement to Professor Peck's work, giving citations to literature 

 and illustrations, a list of species known to date, and revised keys 

 with species recently described incorporated. There are no 

 descriptions, however, and the work can be used only in a sup- 

 plementary way. Atkinson's "Studies of American Fungi" 

 includes full descriptions of a limited number of Boleti common 

 in the state of New York. Mcllvaine's " One Thousand Amer- 

 ican Fungi " covers the group most fully, eighty pages being 

 devoted to descriptions and illustrations of Boleti, mostly upon 

 the authority of Professor Peck. The majority of the illustrations 

 are, unfortunately, poorly executed and often misleading. The 

 beginner is also warned against adopting too readily the author's 

 ideas regarding certain species considered poisonous by most 

 mycologists, as it is possible that the specimens experimented 

 upon were not in all cases accurately determined. This is espe- 

 cially liable to be true in the case of European species said to 

 occur in this country. No attempt is here made to discredit 

 Captain Mcllvaine's valuable work, but the suggestion is that the 

 relation between European and American forms has not yet been 

 satisfactorily determined, even by our best mycologists. 



A correct and useful system of classification of the one hundred 

 and fifty or more native species of Boleti is rather difficult to con- 

 struct, with our present limited knowledge of many of the species. 

 For the time being, it is probably best to divide the family into 

 groups that are easily distinguishable, even though arbitrary in 

 some cases, and let the collector record the group to which a 

 plant belongs while it is still fresh. This will greatly facilitate 

 the classification of specimens after they are dried, and will often 

 take the place of valuable data omitted by the collector. 



