MODERN MYCOLOGY. 
87 
be universally accepted, there are many that cannot possibly be 
accepted, and I venture to think would not have been founded by 
Saccardo had he but examined the material on which such are 
founded. 
It will be generally admitted that the more genera we possess 
the more we require ; in other words, the narrower the limits of 
generic characters are the less chance is there of placing a new 
species in an established genus ; a departure in the colour, number 
of septa, or form of a spore often excluding a species from a genus 
with which it agrees in all other features. There appear to be 
two primary reasons for this state of things : (1) Individual concep- 
tion as to what constitutes a genus-; (2) Establishing genera with 
a limited knowledge of the general structure and range of varia- 
tion of allied forms. It may be said that there is no generic 
limitation in nature, a view I personally endorse; then it will 
probably be an advantage to err on the side of latitude in the 
formation of generic sections established for convenience, as I 
believe it will be generally conceded that our modern sharply and 
artificially circumscribed genera do not, as a rule, indicate more 
clearly natural affinities, nor more readily facilitate “ running 
down a species ” than the genera of older times. Of course, the 
rabid modern genus — founder may retort, “ You would probably 
prefer the good old time when all the brown seaweeds were 
Fucus, and all the gill-bearing agarics were included in Agaricus.” 
I do not mean this, but I do think that the truest conception of a 
genus, as generally understood, cannot be obtained from micro- 
scopic characters entirely, where the organism is large enough to 
exhibit other features. 
Exsiccati. In olden times, when an author issued a set of dried 
specimens it was felt that the material illustrated his mature 
views, and as such were of scientific value, apart from the specimens 
themselves, nowadays the case is too frequently— not always — 
different ; it is not unusual for the youthful aspirant for a post to 
intimate his capability for fulfilling such by the issue of a 
fasciculus of fungi, consisting mostly of Uredines, thus announc- 
ing to the world his knowledge of plant diseases, the most likely 
subject to lead to an appointment, also being most readily named, 
as it is only considered necessary to get some friend to name the 
host plant. In other instances, where a post is not the object in 
view, the duplication of the same species under the same or 
different names, or the issue of a second series, consisting mainly 
of duplicate species issued in the first series, suggests the object 
in view. 
Finding fault with the existing state of things is admittedly 
much easier than suggesting a remedy ; however, it is clear that 
before a “ Genera Fungorum” of any real value can be written 
three things must be done : (1) The hundreds of imperfect 
specific diagnoses, which from their inaccuracy and brevity are 
absolutely useless, and lacking type specimens of the same, should. 
