52 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The peculiarities of the season have been shown to have a marked 

 influence upon the abundance of the crop of mushrooms and in 

 some species upon the time of their appearance. The drought of 

 summer delayed the appearance of some. species till the fall rains 

 came. Then their appearance combined with that of the usual 

 autumnal species made an unusually abundant crop. The influx of 

 specimens sent to the office for identification was never before so 

 large. It necessitated considerable evening work and even a large 

 number of specimens were unavoidably laid aside for future exam- 

 ination. Among the extralimital specimens examined twenty-three 

 new species and varieties of fungi were found and descriptions of 

 them written. Among the most remarkably, delayed species is that 

 of the conical morel, which usually appears in May and June. A 

 colony of it was found near Boston, Mass., growing during October 

 and November. 



The work of preparing simple revised descriptions of our New 

 York species of certain genera of fungi has been so well received and 

 strongly commended by correspondents who find them very helpful 

 in their mycological studies that it has been continued the past year. 

 The genera Clitocybe, Laccaria and Psilocybe have been treated 

 according to the plan previously followed. The first mentioned genus 

 is one of special difficulty both because of its large number of species, 

 their variability and different appearance at different ages and their 

 close resemblance in many cases to each other. The genus has been 

 divided into several genera by modern mycologists but we have pre- 

 ferred to follow mainly the better known Friesian and Syllogian 

 arrangement. Our New York species as here understood number 

 sixty-four after taking out the few species here placed under 

 Laccaria. 



IV 



REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 



The State Entomologist reports the appearance in late May of a 

 large brood of the periodical Cicada or so-called seventeen-year 

 locust. This was of much popular interest and an entomological 

 event of some importance. A hitherto unknown colony was located 

 near Amsterdam and much learned through the cooperation of many 

 local observers respecting the present distribution and relative 

 abundance of this insect in New York State. A fine series of photo- 

 graphs showing the transformations to the adult was obtained. 

 Despite the warnings of earlier years, a number of young orchard 



