WORK IN THE FIELD AMONGST THE FUNGI. 9
work consecutively in parts of the journal, the first part, with three
coloured plates, including about eighty pests, appearing in the
current part, just published. It is proposed to issue them in
sections, as "Pests of the Flower Garden"; "Pests of the
Vegetable Garden"; "Pests of the Orchard and Fruit Garden";
"Pests of the Vinery and Stove." Perhaps to be followed by
"Pests of the Shrubbery"; "Pests of the Forest Trees"; and
"Pests of Field Crops." Whether the attempt proves satisfac-
tory or not, it will be some consolation to know that the effort is
being made, and that it is contemplated to re-issue the entire
series in book form, when the publication in the journal is com-
pleted; and that the second instalment of plates and letterpress
are in the printer's hands.
III.—THE WORK OF THE FUTURE.
I may be asked what is, or what should be, the work of the
future. And this I think should not be—as far as regards the
Hymenomycetal Fungi—so much in the increase as in the
diminution of the number of species. There are some people
who measure success by the number of new species which are
added to the lists during the year. But I am inclined to ask
whether this is not rather a false success, somewhat of a decep-
tion, since we have not hitherto troubled ourselves enough to
enquire what are the influences which are at work in the
production of variation, in the Agarics for instance, and how far
variation from a given type may proceed, under local influences,
which would not justify specific distinction. I fancy when care-
ful attention is given to this subject, we shall find our list of
British species diminish considerably and justifiably, not at
haphazard, but as the result of close and painstaking investiga-
tion. It is the young and inexperienced who are ever on the
alert for new species, and the veterans who have wintered and
summered half a century of field work that look with suspicion
on the minute differences which are often considered sufficient to
constitute a new species, without regard to the circumstances
under which the type divergence occurred.
If I were to give an illustration of this, I should perhaps
select two or three species which are not fair types of my
meaning, but which would not be objected to on the ground that