Fink: Nature and Classification of Lichens 239 



apparent by brevity or clearness. It has seemed best to give the 

 quotations without comment, leaving botanists to draw their 

 own conclusions, except for the statistics and the summary and 

 conclusions, which it is hoped are given without color. The 

 writer reserves the expression of his views, his estimate of the 

 correspondence, and the consideration of the literature of the 

 subject to following papers of this series. The quotations are 

 numbered in order that they may be referred to readily in the 

 papers to follow in the series. 



Quotation i 



To place the Lichens with the Fungi to which the parasites 

 belong, is, in my opinion, the only scientific and logical mode of 

 treatment. If classed separately, then a precedent is established 

 in favor of treating all symbiotic organisms in a similar manner. 

 Educationally, such a method is bad and certain to create confu- 

 sion in the minds of students. This may be overcome in a 

 measure by very careful treatment on the part of the teacher, 

 but even so, there will always remain an element of doubt. This 

 position is taken by Strasburger in his latest edition, and voices 

 what I should conceive to be the general opinion. I do not go 

 with him, however, in relegating such organisms to a distinct 

 class, because the ground of expediency which he urges is not at 

 all adequate. It is such an arrangement that constitutes, in my 

 opinion, a very unscientific arrangement. I think it would be far 

 better if they were placed between the Ascomycetes and the 

 Basidiomycetes in such a manner as to exhibit their real genetic 

 relations. This might be done by making Class-Ascomycetes, 

 Class-Ascolichenes, Class-Basidiolichenes, Class-Basidiomycetes. 

 The alga does not count in any such classification, as it is wholly 

 subordinate to the parasite. Morphologist, i, or possibly a. 



Quotation 2 



My position with reference to questions 2 and 3, as to whether 

 lichens should be maintained as a distinct class and why, is that 

 of Reinke, who as you are well aware maintains that they are 

 physiologically, as well as morphologically sufficiently distinct 



