196 



Mycologia 



a catalogue of the plants of his adopted state. This was published 

 in two parts, the first (5), a popular account of the trees, and 

 shrubs, was issued in i860, and the other, a catalogue of all the 

 plants of the State, in 1867. The second portion was apparently 

 nearly ready for the press when the Civil War broke out, but 

 from letters to Tuckerman dated February 5, 1866, and February 

 23, 1866, it appears that some of the material was revised after 

 the w^ar. An account of some of the difficulties he encountered 

 in securing publication after the war has been presented else- 

 where (19). That it was published at all under such circum- 

 stances is evidence of the author's enthusiasm and persistence. 

 As might be expected in a list of plants prepared by Curtis, the 

 cryptogams find a larger place than was usual at that time. As 

 acknowledged in the preface, the Musci and Hepaticae were iden- 

 tified by Sullivant, the Lichens by Tuckerman, while the fungi, 

 probably all passed through Berkeley's hands. 



Upon Emmons, the state geologist, who like Curtis was a native 

 of Massachusetts but a resident of North Carolina for several 

 years, the Civil War seems to have produced a profound and 

 painful impression. He writes Marcou (14, p. 15): I cannot 

 but look with great fear upon the results of agitation. It unfits 

 me for work." Whether or not Curtis shared this feeling can 

 only be surmised. In Curtis' letters to Tuckerman, there is no 

 hint of his personal attitude or opinions regarding the war. In 

 his letter to Governor Jonathan Worth (6, p. 3), transmitting 

 for publication that portion of his flora which had been delayed 

 by the Civil War, Curtis refers to the delay as due to " more im- 

 portant matters of national interest that were then occupying the 

 public mind." 



The shortage of food in the south during the war (20 and 21) 

 turned Curtis' attention to an intensive study of edible fungi. 

 His success in securing food in this way induced him to prepare 

 an illustrated manual of edible mushrooms designed for popular 

 use, the manuscripts and plates of which were evidently finished 

 with the assistance of his son, Rev. Charles J. Curtis, some time 

 during the year 1865. The enormous cost of publishing such a 

 work, especially in the decade immediately following the Civil 

 War prevented its publication. This manuscript is still in the 

 possession of the family. 



