it is evident that it is beginning to dawn on Agaric students that a 
good photograph is the best illustration that can be made of a fungus, 
notwithstanding its “lack of color.” If some of our European friends 
will take the hint and issue good photo reproductions of their plants, 
it would be a veritable boon to American mycologists who are working 
with a mycological flora, essentially the same, and are struggling to 
reconcile our plants with the crude, exaggerated and often conflicting 
plates purporting to represent European species. 
Prof. Atkinson has been very modest in the publication of new 
species and has gotten some nice things, such as Hyplioloma rugo- 
cephalum and Paxillus corrugatus, both of which we have known and 
of which we have had photographs for several years. 
His Eepiota asperula is what we would call acutesquamosa, 
and we think his note on the latter species applies to something else. 
His Mycena cyanothrix is to our mind Peck’s subcaerulea, not as 
stated by Prof. Webster in his review of the book, cyaneobasis ; (the 
latter plant we think is Bresadola’s ealorhiza). 
We do not offer the above as criticism of the book, for it cannot 
be expected that in our present uncertainty regarding American agarics, 
workers will agree on all the species. We rather offer it as evidence 
of highest praise for the work, that Prof. Atkinson has so plainly de¬ 
scribed and illustrated his plants, that we recognize those with which 
w 7 e are familiar at once. If we had any adverse criticism to offer, it 
would be in regard to the title “Mushrooms, edible, poisonous, etc.” 
The book is too valuable from a systematic and scientific view to have 
the inference in the title that it was issued solely for the “mush¬ 
room eaters.” 
130—SAVE YOUR “PUFF BALLS.” 
No one can render me a greater service than by collecting and 
sending me such puff-balls as may come under their observation. As 
this article will reach many who perhaps have never given the subject 
of puff-balls much thought, a few suggestions may not be amiss. 
Every country boy is familiar with the puff-balls that grow about the 
fields. Boys are observing creatures, and I remember it was my espec¬ 
ial delight when I was a boy to kick the “Devil’s Snuff Boxes” in or¬ 
der to see the “smoke” fly. You may be surprised to learn that there 
are dozens of different kinds of puff-balls, each characteristic and pos¬ 
sessed of peculiar shapes, or markings on the surface, or color of the 
“smoke” and that they can be readily studied and classified, and have 
names. The “smoke” (or spores) is a fine dust, analogous to the 
seed in other plants, and each particle of the dust is capable under 
proper conditions of germinating and producing puff-balls. Under the 
microscope each variety has its own sort of spores, some are smooth, 
some rough, some round, some oval, some have long tails, etc., etc. 
We present herewith photographs of .some of the various kinds of 
puff-balls. 
