The fungi of the island of Ceylon, collected by Gardner, Thwaites, and König, were numerous. The Agarics comprise 302 species, closely resembling those of our own country.[l] It is singular that every one of the subgenera of Fries is represented, though the number of species in one or two is greatly predominant. _Lepiota_ and _Psalliota_ alone comprise one-third of the species, while _Pholiota_ offers only a single obscure species. The enumeration recently published of the succeeding families contains many species of interest. In Africa, the best explored country is Algeria, although unfortunately the flora was never completed.[m] The correspondence between the fungi of Algeria and European countries is very striking, and the impression is not removed by the presence of a few sub-tropical forms. It is probable that were the fungi of Spain known the resemblance would be more complete. From the Cape of Good Hope and Natal collections have been made by Zeyher,[n] Drége, and others, and from these we are enabled to form a tolerable estimate of the mycologic flora. Of the _Hymenomycetes_, the greater part belong to _Agaricus_: there are but four or five _Polypori_ in Zeyher's collection, one of which is protean. The _Gasteromycetes_ are interesting, belonging to many genera, and presenting two, _Scoleciocarpus_ and _Phellorinia_, which were founded upon specimens in this collection. _Batarrea_, _Tulostoma_, and _Mycenastrum_ are represented by European species. There are also two species of _Lycoperdon_, and one of _Podaxon_. Besides these, there is the curious _Secotium Gueinzii_. The genus _Geaster_ does not appear in the collection, nor _Scleroderma_. Altogether the Cape flora is a peculiar one, and can scarcely be compared with any other. At the most, only scattered and isolated specimens have been recorded from Senegal, from Egypt, or from other parts of Africa, so that, with the above exceptions, the continent may be regarded as unknown. From this imperfect summary it will be seen that no general scheme of geographical distribution of fungi can as yet be attempted, and the most we can hope to do is to compare collection with collection, and what we know of one country with what we know of another, and note differences and agreements, so as to estimate the probable character of the fungi of other countries of which we are still in ignorance. It is well sometimes that we should attempt a task like the present, since we then learn how much there is to be known, and how much good work lies waiting to be done by the capable and willing hands that may hereafter undertake it. [A] Mr. E. P. Fries, in "Ann. des Sci. Nat." 1861, xv. p. 10. [B] Berkeley and Broome, "Enumeration of the Fungi of Ceylon," in "Journ. Linn. Soc." xiv. Nos. 73, 74, 1873. [C] Fries, "On the Geographical Distribution of Fungi," in "Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist." ser. iii. vol. ix. p. 279. [D] The _Hypogæi_ are evidently intended here by Fries.