AMERICAN 
JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
Vol. IV June, 1917 No. 6 
THE TAXONOMY OF THE AGARICACEAE* 
William A. Murrill 
No classification is perfect; nature recognizes no very marked 
divisions. As Professor Massee, of Kew, used to say, "Why make a 
fence? Some rooster is sure to get on top of it with his head on one 
side and his tail on the other." And often the higher realms of 
perfection are of little practical use. It is vastly more important to 
help twenty students to a better knowledge of a group of plants than 
to tickle the fancy and win the praise of one who no longer needs help. 
Any one leaving the beaten track is subject to criticism, when he 
should get only sympathy. 
Genera are not now considered sacred entities, but simply groups of 
species that are more closely related to each other than they are to 
other groups. New species are usually forced on one; and they 
entail a lot of extra work requiring initiative, insight, and independent 
thinking. Examine the shelves of almost any taxonomist and you 
will find them cluttered up with species he knows are new and is too 
indolent to describe. The very men who criticize most loudly the 
multiplication of species would probably lack the courage, ability, 
and patience to publish new ones. 
Nomenclature and the rules of nomenclature are only a means to 
an end, like the rules of a whist game. No matter how meritorious 
one's work may be, tradition and custom are as hard as granite rock 
and the older workers can hardly be expected to change the names to 
which they have become accustomed. As our knowledge grows, forms 
of widely distributed species may merge into one and names may be 
reduced to synonymy. In such cases, it is very unwise and unscientific 
* Invitation paper read before the Botanical Society of America and affiliated 
societies at New York, December 28, 1916. 
[The Journal for May (4: 253-314) was issued May 31, 1917.] 
315 
