no resemblance to Bresadola’s plant which we have seen at Paris. 
There is a suspicion in certain quarters that Roumeguere having run 
short of St. Thomas material filled out his sets with specimens collected 
in Europe. In other words, that there was a little fraud mixed in the 
matter. 
282—TYPES 
Without exception we were afforded the most generous facili¬ 
ties to photograph the various specimens in the Museums of Europe, 
and we brought home with us photographs of most of the “types” w T e 
found. We expect to reproduce these photographs very largely in our 
future plates, but we shall use the word “type” in a sense not always 
approved. We consider a “type” an authentic and true specimen of 
the species from the author by whom it was described, no matter in 
what Museum it may be. Thus Eeveille sent a specimen of Bovistella 
paludosa to Kew, which we have photographed and as it is a better 
specimen than to be found in Paris we shall use it as a “type.’’ 
Welwitch collected some Geasters in Portugal which came into Ber¬ 
keley’s hands. Berkeley determined them as “Geaster fimbriatus” 
and sent a specimen to Montagne who described it as Geaster Wel- 
witchii. We consider the plants at Kew, the same plants and the same 
collection, although they are labeled “Geaster fimbriatus” as much 
“types” of Geaster Welwitchii as the specimens at Paris. We consider 
that we have seen most of Vittadini’s “types,” we have seen his speci¬ 
mens of most of the plants he described, but we have never studied 
Vittadini’s herbarium. There are those who quibble over little technical 
points about “types” and overlook the main fact that it is not any par¬ 
ticular specimen but the species in which we are interested. As long 
as we present photographs of authentic specimens from the author, and 
true to the species we shall feel justified in labeling them as “types.” 
It is true that authors do not always know their own species, and we 
could cite an instance where an author used a specimen to illustrate 
his species, that does not belong to the same genus as his “type,” but 
we should not present a photograph of that specimen as a “type” of 
the species, even though we found it in his own collection. 
283— DZA-WAHP-ABE-SAH. 
Although this is a very old name I do not propose it as a sub¬ 
stitute for Bovista pila, by which the plant is better known to my 
readers. It is the name given to the puff ball by the Piute Indians of 
California who employ the spore mass for dusting over the suppurating 
glands of scrofulous sore neck. They also believe that ghosts paint 
their faces with it. Thanks to V. K. Chestnut of the Department at 
Washington for this information. 
284— ANTHURUS BOREALIS. 
Since this pamphlet has been in type (see p. 183.) Prof Burt, to 
whom I sent the copy, advises me of another station for the plant. It 
was collected by F. E. Sargent in low meadow, Westboro, Mass., in 1894. 
188 
