Mycological System

VI

species be observed, not just on repeated occasions, but through the entire series of its development, until at least for these, as for more perfect plants, a history of vegetation and morphology rather than a theory could be proposed. The indulgent favor with which the previous volumes were received incited me not to rash haste, but to a more accurate examination of these memorable plants. Historically, and in outward appearance, most species were indeed known to me a decade ago; yet hardly six years of continuous study since the edition of the second volume suffices to fully expose their genuine history. If, in the end, we only pay attention to the lighter and singular matters, how little worth do the species of the most well-known and common genus Lycoperdon puffball and their characters hitherto proposed have? If this time had been spent describing other plant families, I could easily have written not only larger volumes, but perhaps greater praise would have accrued to me; but I did not wish to abandon the undertaking, however ungrateful, for the sake of a lesser reward, hoping that, with the treatise on Gasteromycetes stomach-fungi completed, a new and clearer light would shine, not only on their systematic description and arrangement, but also on their vegetation and morphology, which is almost unheard of in the entire field of botany.