On the Study of Fungals 337 



of fungology must take courage and be prepared to master 

 a certain number of learned words, we are by no means of 

 opinion that our teachers might not with a little effort, and 

 some attempt at the conciliation which is so needful in 

 all the affairs of life, do much to make the subject more 

 accessible, and therefore more attractive, to those who know 

 only English, and whose memories it is undesirable to tax too 

 severely, 



If we venture to make suggestions in detail as to how 

 the fascinating study of fungi might be as it were thrown 

 open to all, it may be asked, to begin with, whether it would 

 not be an improvement to speak of a fungal rather than 

 a fungus. We have the authority of a distinguished botanist 

 for such an innovation. Fungal is a word in which the 

 hardness or softness of the letter " g " can scarcely come into 

 question, and it admits of the formation of a plural in the 

 English fashion by adding the letter " s." The change would, 

 of course, be distasteful at first to the educated and accus- 

 tomed ear, but this in a little time might be surmounted, and 

 it would be a gain to all beginners. Many other changes for 

 the better would be accomplished without any violence to 

 language. The agarics would become "gilled fungals," the 

 leucosporeae, melanosporeae, &c, simply the white-spored, 

 black-spored, &c, &c. " Spine fungals," "tube fungals," 

 "cup fungals," "dust fungals" and the like would carry 

 their own meaning, and would denote just as much as the 

 quasi-classical terms now employed. 



There are many substantive names now in use which, 

 although not of English derivation, yet come quite easily on 

 the English tongue. These may advantageously be retained. 

 Boletus, Agaric, Polypore, Peziza, are probably amongst 

 these. 



We have admitted that a great number of the different 

 species can be known only by their learned names, but 

 there are not a few which already have very appropriate 

 colloquial designations. "Mushroom " must remain the name 



