LEWIS D. VON SCHWK1N1TZ. 
29 
himself in America, and that besides what Fries had in¬ 
corporated in his general abridgement, the new species 
amounted to 112, making the whole number then known, 
640 ; that the whole number of American fungi, then 
observed, (1825,) fell little short of 2000. He adds, 
“ I am fully persuaded, as many more remain undisco¬ 
vered. Our immense forests, humid climate, and variety 
of high rank vegetable productions, may well warrant 
this conclusion. 
In this paper he describes twenty new species of 
American Spheriee, respecting which he remarks, 
that very few, peculiar to America, spring directly 
from the soil, that is, from vegetable mould,—for 
none , in fact, spring solely from rocks , or their unve- 
getalized debris. Nearly all the fungi, peculiar to Ame¬ 
rica, are parasitic, and this, considering the vast num¬ 
ber of peculiar plants and trees of the higher orders, 
found in our country, may still account for the almost 
incredible multitude of fungous forms, belonging ex¬ 
clusively to this continent. 
His last published performance contains the names of 
3098 species of North American fungi, of which more 
than 1200 are the fruits of Mr. Schweinitz’ own la¬ 
bours, embracing, of course, the species previously de¬ 
scribed in his paper on the Spherise, and those included 
in his Carolina synopsis. If to these, we add those plants 
described in his other performances, we have an aggre¬ 
gate of nearly 1400 new species added to the amount of 
botanical science, by the talents and industry of a single 
individual; a number constituting no contemptible por- 
