Friday, November 20, 2015

Rust, Smut, Mildew & Mould

M.C. Cooke - Rust, Smut, Mildew & Mould: An Introduction to the Study of Microscopic Fungi (1872)

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Microscopic fungi enthusiasts, here you go!  Not as many illustrations as you might hope but the text is as readable as any 19th century naturalist with the book skewing more scientific than literary.

Mordecai Cubitt Cooke (1825-1914) was a British botanist with a long list of publications, chiefly on fungi but branching out to ferns, wild flowers, wasps, reptiles and other topics.  His 1860 book The Seven Sisters of Sleep: A Popular History of the Seven Prevailing Narcotics (Hathi Trust) was reprinted in 1997 with the new subtitle "The Celebrated Drug Classic".   A biography appeared in 1987 by Mary P. English.