[N] Berkeley, "On a Peculiar Form of Mildew in Onions," "Journ. Hort. Soc." vol. iii p. 91.
[O] De Bary, "Ann. des Sci. Nat." 4th series, vol. xx.
Unfortunately no complete or satisfactory account can be given of the geographical distribution of fungi. The younger Fries,[A] with all the facilities at his disposal which the lengthened experience and large collections of his father afforded, could only give a very imperfect outline, and now we can add very little to what he has given. The cause of this difficulty lies in the fact that the Mycologic Flora of so large a portion of the world remains unexplored, not only in remote regions, but even in civilized countries where the Phanerogamic Flora is well known. Europe, England, Scotland, and Wales are as well explored as any other country, but Ireland is comparatively unknown, no complete collection having ever been made, or any at least published. Scandinavia has also been well examined, and the northern portions of France, with Belgium, some parts of Germany and Austria, in Russia the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg, and parts of Italy and Switzerland. Turkey in Europe, nearly all Russia, Spain, and Portugal are almost unknown. As to North America, considerable advances have been made since Schweinitz by Messrs. Curtis and Ravenel, but their collections in Carolina cannot be supposed to represent the whole of the United States; the small collections made in Texas, Mexico, etc., only serve to show the richness of the country, not yet half exhausted. It is to be hoped that the young race of botanists in the United States will apply themselves to the task of investigating the Mycologic Flora of this rich and fertile region. In Central America very small and incomplete collections have as yet been made, and the same may be said of South America and Canada. Of the whole extent of the New World, only the Carolina States of North America can really be said to be satisfactorily known. Asia is still less known, the whole of our vast Indian Empire being represented by the collections made by Dr. Hooker in the Sikkim Himalayas, and a few isolated specimens from other parts. Ceylon has recently been removed from the category of the unknown by the publication of its Mycologic Flora.[B] All that is known of Java is supplied by the researches of Junghuhn; whilst all the rest is completely unknown, including China, Japan, Siam, the Malayan Peninsula, Burmah, and the whole of the countries in the north and west of India. A little is known of the Philippines, and the Indian Archipelago, but this knowledge is too fragmentary to be of much service. In Africa no part has been properly explored, with the exception of Algeria, although something is known of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal. The Australasian Islands are better represented in the Floras published of those regions. Cuba and the West Indies generally are moderately well known from the collections of Mr. C. Wright, which have been recorded in the journal of the Linnæan Society, and in the same journal Mr. Berkeley has described many Australian species.