Biographical Notice of A. Jerdon, by Sir W. Elliot. 341 



beyond them, which enabled him to enlarge the number of 

 species already included in the local lists, and to add new 

 habitats to those previously recorded, several of which are 

 given on his authority in Duncan's " List of Indigenous 

 Plants/' appended to Jeffrey's History of Roxburghshire, 

 Vol. iv. 



Whilst residing at Mossburnford, he began to interest 

 himself more particularly in Cryptogamic botany, and in 

 March, 1857, he forwarded a short list of Fungi to the 

 Phytologist, apologising for its imperfection, as he was 

 " but a tyro in mycology," but at the same time commend- 

 ing the investigation of " these lower forms of the vegetable 

 world to those who like himself may have pretty well 

 worked out the Phgenogamous flora of a district and are 

 desirous of continuing their botanical researches." 



The ardour with which he entered on this new field 

 brought him into frequent communication with some of the 

 most distinguished botanists of the day, by his intercourse 

 with whom he was fortunate in adding several new species 

 to science, some of which were named in honor of their 

 discoverer*. For several years he kept up a continued 

 correspondence with the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, beginning in 

 July, 1850*h Most of the letters are too technical to quote, 

 but a few extracts are added as specimens : — " Your Sphceria 

 is the same with a species in my herbarium from Dr. Bad- 

 ham. It is unpublished, and as I have examined it in 

 company with Mr. Currey, who is staying with me, we have 

 named it S. Jerdoni, Berk, and Curr.j . . S. nigerrima 

 was first named Dothidia Jerdoni. It was published as S. 

 nigerrima by Mr. Currey.§ (King's Cliff, Aug., 1859.)" Again, 

 "Mr. Broome has been staying a few days with me, and 

 amongst other things we have studied your two Sphceria 

 with long ostiola on Acer plantaoides and A. pseudo- 

 platanus. The first we have named Sphceria stylophora, 

 B. and Br. ; the second S. blepharodes, B. and Br. Both 

 are quite new. (Kings Cliff'e, Dec, I860.)" 



* e.g. Lophiostoma (Sphceria) Jerdoni, Berk. See Trans. Bat. Soc. Ed., 

 ix., 331. [Cooke's Handbook, 2545.] Agaricus (Stropharia) Jerdoni, Berk. 

 Ann. Nat. Hist., v., No. 913, t. xiv., 2. [Cooke's H. B., 393.] 



f Upwards of 80 letters from Mr. Berkeley are found among his papers, 

 most of them from King's Cliff e, but a few from Sibertoft. 



$ Now Lophiostoma Jerdoni, B. and Br., vide supra. ' 



§ Linn. Trans., xxii., 272. It now stands as Sphceria nigerrima, Blox. 

 [Cooke's Handbook, 2612.] 



