Lloyd Mycological Writings V4.pdf - MykoWeb

H. C. BEARDSLEE.
The photograph on the preceding page
is an excellent likeness of
Professor H. C. Beardslee as he appears to-day. Professor Beardslee
is connected with a large educational institute of Asheville, North
Carolina, which would, of itself, be enough to occupy the time of an
ordinary individual. He is also engaged in a close and critical study
of the fungi, particularly the Agarics of his section. In addition, he
is a "whister," and a regular attendant at the National Whist Con-
gress, where, I am told, he is known as "Doc." Beardslee.
Some years ago, Professor Beardslee and I spent a season to-
gether, studying the fungi in Sweden. Since that time our relations
have been very intimate, and I am often favored with visits from
him when he is passing through Cincinnati.
Professor Beardslee, in my opinion, is one of the very few men
to-day who has a critical knowledge of the Agarics. Located in a
most favorable environment, where they occur in abundance, he has
given the subject years of study, but has done little publishing not
as much as he should. He is in practically the same region where
Schweinitz, who blazed the trail in America, published the first list.
In Schweinitz's days conditions were rather crude. From the specimens
he left, we know that he made many errors in the determination
of Polypori. No doubt he also introduced a number of erroneous
records of Agarics; but there is no way of determining this fact, as
he left no specimens of Agarics, or practically none. Professor Beards-
lee, being located in the same region, is in a position, by noting the
species he finds and comparing them with the record of Schweinitz,
to verify or correct every one of them. This would make a most
valuable commentary, and add much to our knowledge of the subject.
We still hope that something like this will be accomplished
by him, for Professor Beardslee has given too much close study to
the subject to content himself with the few contributions he has
made in print.
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