Reviews

Inuestigatiue Mycology. By ROBERT F. SHARP. (London :Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, 1978.) Pp . 136,55 figs. Price £ S.oo hardback, £ 2.00 paperback.

This conc isely-written, slim volum e is aimed pr imarilyat advanced level biology and botany students and isintended as a practical guide for teacher s on usingfung i to demonstrate gene ral biolog ical principles. Inthi s context it largel y achieves its aims and althoughthe information is of considerable value for a teacher,the layout is not the most ideal. It would probably havebeen more useful set out as a straight series of tech-niques and suggested experiments rather than asa compromise between formal text -book and practicalguid e to experimentation . This shortcoming is clearlydemonstrated by the appearance of terms in bold-facetype in the text, often accompanied by a definition. Bytr ying to be just a trifle too helpful to the reader, theauthor has produced a somewhat disjointed narrative.A full glossary at the beginning or end would haverectified the situation.

The contents are divided into six main chaptersdealing with fungi and their culture, anatomy andclassification, measurement of growth and decay,moisture, temperature and metabolism. There areuseful chapters on uses of and abuses by fungi, theinter-relationships of fungi and the history of mycology(though oddl y no reference in further read ing to G. C.Ainsworth's Int roduction to the History of Myc ology ,1976).

Unfortunately the book is rather thin on taxonomywhich is the main context in which teachers will comeinto contact with fung i. Furthermore, such taxonomicdata that are given, though clearly presented in thetext (as far as it goes), are very poorly illustrated. Infact the diagrams are not good examples of how studentsshould be expected to draw. Arti stic representation isno substitute for accuracy and attention to detail atany level of scientific illustration, and in particular forstudent s embarking on pot ential careers in biology.

Despite such criticism it would be par simonious notto recommend a mode stly-priced book (in paperback)th at does go a not inconsiderable way to serving thepurpose for which it is intended.

R. MCDONALD AND B. C. SUTTON

Larousse des Champignons. By CLAUDE MOREAU.(Librarie Larousse, 1978). Pp. 328.

This publication is rather more than a well-writtenand fully-illustrated encyclopaedia of fungi. The first64 pages describe the nature of fungi and the manyroles the y play in relation to man, as a source of foodand drugs, and as a cause of disease in his crops, hisanimals and also in himself. Much incidental infor-mation such as the relative palatability of various edibleagarics is included in this section.

The rest of the book contains descriptions of fung iof interest or importance, arranged alphabetically,either under their Latin names, or under what mightbe called 'Frenchified' Latin names, such as 'Boletpoivre ' for Boletus piperatus, or 'Russula ernetique ' forRussula emetica - a system that is easily understood byanyone with a little knowledge of the old Friesian

names. Every species described is illustrated withexcellent colour photographs and, in many cases, withfine line drawings. The colour plates are , in general,very well reproduced, though the photograph of Russulaemetica shows a specimen that is much paler than thetypical form which we expect to find here. There arealso many small and very interesting photos, mostl ytaken by the author, showing details of the fun gi,their environment and the diseases that the y cause.

The descriptions of the fungi are presented first ina standardized, succinct form , but the further infor-mation about th eir uses and qual ities is given in a livelystyle with many incidental humorous tou ches typicalof Professor Moreau. As is to be expected in a Frenchbook the edibiliry and palatibility of the larger fungireceive careful consideration, and there are four clearsymbols as to whether each is deadly, po isonous, edibleor indifferent.

The writing of this lengthy volume by a singleauthor, who has many other responsibilities both asa professor and director of research, is a remarkableachievement. It is a book which I feel sure will bewelcomed and valued by anyone who is interested infungi at any level. The printing and binding are ofa high standard, and it would make a splendid gift forany naturalist friend who 's interest in fungi could notfail to be stimulated by its perusal.

W. P. K. FINDLAY

Dictionary of Microbiology. By PAUL SINGLETON andDIANA SAINSBURY. (Chichester : John Wiley & Sons,1978.) Pp. 481. Price £17.50.

This volume covers terms, concepts, techniques, testsand a range of short definitions, descriptions andconcise reviews relating to pure and applied micro-biology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics and themicrobiological aspects of allied subjects such asmedicine, veterinary science, and plant pathology. Itincludes man y cross references and an appendix ofmicrobial metabolic pathways. The range of organismscovered includes fungi, bacteria, viruses, algae andprotozoa.

Although it is inevitable with any compilation thatminutiae are open to criticism by the specialist, itshould not be forgotten that dictionaries are largelymeant for the non-specialist. As such this volumecomplements rather than duplicates the Dictionary of theFungi. The latter is more a compendium of detailedinformation about fungi, liberally seasoned with guidesto additional data by the inclusion of literature refer-ences . The Dict ionary of Microbiology on the otherhand is simply a dictionary, inasmuch as it providesinformation but neither indicates its orig in norsuggests additional sources which may clarify orenlarge . Consequently I fear it will not be as usefulas it could have been. In spite of this it should be aparticula rly valuable aid to those mycolog ists thatonly occasionally st ray into the realms of microbiology,such as tho se involved with editorial aspects of thediscipline, or information retrieval for production ofsecondary journals and the like. Whether it will bequite as valuable in practical microbiology remains tobe seen, for mycologists to some extent have been

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