90 Canadian Record of Science. 



In late years, much attention has been given to the 

 native mushrooms or toadstools of this continent by the 

 botanists of the United States, resulting in several 

 important publications on the subject. I have availed 

 myself of the information and descriptions given in three 

 of these publications—" Studies of American Fungi," by 

 Prof. G-eorge Francis Atkinson, of Cornell University ; 

 " Students' Handbook of Mushrooms of America," by Dr. 

 Thomas Taylor, Chief of the Division of Microscopy, 

 United States Department of Agriculture ; and the 

 " Beports of the New York Museum of Natural History," 

 by Prof. C. H. Peck, State Botanist. I have not had access 

 to the larger and more recent volume of Mr. Charles 

 Mcllvaine, of Philadelphia. 



Special interest in this subject was first awakened in 

 Montreal by a paper communicated to the Natural History 

 Society by Miss Mary Van Home in the winter of 1902, 

 in which she described some sixty odd species which she 

 and her niece, Miss Agnes Van Home, had collected 

 around their summer home at St. Andrews, New Bruns- 

 wick. The list then submitted and described, it is hoped, 

 will yet be given to the readers of the Becord of Science. 

 Of the species given below, it will be observed that the 

 number reported as edible is vastly greater than that of 

 the poisonous ones. The knowledge of this fact has 

 created a good deal of popular curiosity, for the word toad- 

 stool has generally been regarded as ominous — something 

 to be avoided. Now that many species are found to be 

 delicious and nutritious, it may be expected that this 

 branch of botanical study will obtain new recruits. So 

 distinct are the mushrooms from other vegetable organ- 

 isms that a person who knows little or nothing of 

 botany generally may take up the subject and prosecute it 

 successfully. The subjoined list contains the substance of 

 two papers submitted to the Natural History Society of 

 Montreal. The order followed is that observed in Prof. 

 Atkinson's work. 



