when driving to the country early in the morning, I found
the boys and girls of these Bohemian families searching the woods,
fields and pastures at some distance from town, although they had not
been in this country more than a week or two and could not speak a word
of English. I soon found that they were gathering mushrooms of various
kinds and taking them home for food material. They could not tell me how
they knew them, but I quickly learned that they knew them from their
general characteristics,--in fact, they knew them as we know people and
flowers.

I resolved to know something of the subject myself. I had no literature
on mycology, and, at that time, there seemed to be little obtainable.
About that time there appeared in Harper's Monthly an article by W.
Hamilton Gibson upon Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms--an article which I
thoroughly devoured, soon after purchasing his book upon the subject.

Salem, Ohio, was a very fertile locality for mushrooms and it was not
long till I was surprised at the number that I really knew. I remembered
that where there is a will there is a way.

In 1897 I moved to Bowling Green, Ohio; there I found many species which
I had found about Salem, Ohio, but the extremely rich soil, heavy timber
and numerous old lake beaches seemed to furnish a larger variety, so
that I added many more to my list. After remaining three years in
Bowling Green, making delightful acquaintance with the good people of
that city as well as with the flowers and mushrooms of Wood county,
Providence placed me in Sidney, Ohio, where I found many new species of
fungi and renewed my acquaintance with many of those formerly met.

Since coming to Chillicothe I have tried to have the plants photographed
as I have found them, but having to depend upon a photographer I could
not always do this. I have not found in this vicinity many that I have
found elsewhere in the state, although I have found many new things
here, a fact which I attribute to the hilly nature of the county. For
prints of many varieties of fungi obtained before coming here, I am
indebted to my friends. I should advise any one intending to make a
study of this subject to have all specimens photographed as soon as they
are identified, thus fixing the species for future reference.

It seems to me that every school teacher should know something of
mycology. Some of my teachers have during the past year made quite a
study of this interesting subject, a