interests them, they will find that the book gives the clearest and fullest account of the subject for common readers that has yet been published.
The following passages are from an able review of it in the London Athenæum:
"The present volume may be taken as a general introduction to the previous one, and is of much wider interest than it. Physiologists and botanists have come to recognize and appreciate, much more fully than heretofore, that the solution of many vexed problems in the life-history both of plants and of animals is to be sought in the investigation of the mode of life of those so-called lower organisms, fungi and algæ. Speaking in general terms, we may say that the phenomena of reproduction are at least as well, if not better, understood among these plants, once considered sexless, as among organisms of higher rank, and it seems highly probable that when observers avail themselves of the joint use of chemistry and of the microscope that the essential phenomena of nutrition will also be made clear. English students not familiar with the modern literature of Germany and France are at a great disadvantage in this matter. With the exception of Mr. Berkeley—salve magne nomen!—few have devoted themselves to the study of these plants, and still fewer to the study of their physiological history. It has thus chanced that what little most English botanists know of these matters, they have gained in a large degree from condensations and abstracts in scientific journals from the writings of German and French observers. Happily, there have been indications of late that English students are beginning to devote themselves to this difficult but most promising field of inquiry. The discussions on so-called spontaneous generation; the inquiry whether or no fevers and other diseases owe their origin to the introduction and multiplication of germs within the body; the disastrous consequences following the attacks of fungi on vines and on potatoes, all excited interest in the study of these organisms, and induced observers to turn their attention to them.
"From this point of view, Dr. Cooke's book is well timed. It comes at a period when the importance of the study, both from the stand-point of pure science and from that of practical utility, is becoming clearly recognized. Such an epitome of what is known as to the growth of fungi is, therefore, peculiarly welcome, the more so as no modern work of the kind exists, Mr. Berkeley's 'Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany' having been published several years ago, while its style is obscure and its arrangement not suitable to the requirements of beginners. Dr. Cooke's book contains an admirable résumé of what is known on the structure, growth, and reproduction of fungi, together with ample bibliographical references to original sources of information.
"One of the most interesting chapters in the volume to the general reader, who does not care to follow the author in the technical, and still somewhat obscure details of the structure and classification of these plants, is that devoted to the influences and effects of fungi. Apart from what are popularly known as poisonous fungi, it is assumed by many that certain diseases, such as cholera, various fevers, measles, diphtheria, etc., are actually caused by the introduction into the system of fungus-spores. Now, there is ample evidence to show that fungus-spores are introduced, and that in some diseases, e. g., diphtheria, fungus-moulds, the result of the development of such spores, have been found, but there is no certain evidence either that the spores or the developed plant has any thing to do with the disease. The opinion of those best qualified to judge is that the fungi are there in consequence of the disease, not the disease in consequence of the fungi. We are glad to see, with reference to this matter, that the author summarizes the important conclusions of Drs. Cunningham and Lewis—the more so as those conclusions, which are based on important observations, are contained in official publications not readily accessible to the general public. Dr. Cunningham establishes without question that the air is always charged more or less with these minute spores, but that no connection can be traced between the numbers of bacteria, spores, etc., present in the air, and the occurrence of diarrhœa, dysentery, cholera, ague, or dengue, nor between the presence or abundance of any special form or forms of cells and the prevalence of any of these diseases. On the other hand, it is a matter of dispute at the present moment whether the minute organisms called bacteria may not be developed in the body itself, and, in some cases, produce fungoid structures in the tissues, and, as a consequence, disease. Throughout the volume we find evidence of the care that has been taken to summarize the most recent information, even to the remedies proposed for the hollyhock-disease in the gardening journals of the present year."
