60
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
a considerable proportion were young science students of both sexes,
who avail themselves in increasing numbers of this unparalleled oppor-
tunity of adding to their botanical knowledge in circumstances of expert
leadership and pleasant surroundings. The Foray was, as usual, held
in conjunction with the British Mycological Society, and members of
other societies were present by invitation.
The delightful weather conditions, however pleasing to the party,
were not so favourable to the development of fungi, an unusually dry
period, almost amounting to drought, having been experienced for weeks
past and the ground being in consequence hard and dry : nevertheless,
diligent search provided a goodly display on the exhibition tables at the
day's headquarters, the Roserville Retreat at Highbeach, when the finds
had been systematically arranged by Mr. Gould.
Tea was taken at 4.30 o'clock, following which the customary meeting
was held, with the President in the chair, when short reports on the
results of the day's hunting were given by our conductors.
In introducing the speakers, the President referred to the regretted
absence of Miss G. Lister owing to indisposition, and he proposed that a
message of hope for her speedy recovery be sent : this was warmly approved
by all present. Mr. Ramsbottom also mentioned that the lady conductors,
Miss F. L. Stephens, M.Sc., and Miss E. M. Wakefield, F.L.S., were
strangely indisposed to speak, and accordingly he called upon Mr. F. G.
Gould, who, in the course of his remarks, favoured the now somewhat
superseded classification of agarics by their spore-colouration as being
most convenient. He emphasised the training of the sense of smell as
a. useful method of determining certain fungi.
Mr. A. A. Pearson, F.L.S., who followed, called attention to the
food value of the agarics : he instanced two Lithuanian women, met with
during the day's ramble, who were collecting large quantities of Armillaria
indica (this year very abundant) "for the pot," a species which we
did not appreciate as food. The same foreigners also gathered the
Stinkhorn, Phallus impudicus, which they were selling to a chemist for
medical purposes.
Mr. J. Ross reported a satisfactory yield of 22 forms of mycetozoa
as a result of the day's collecting (some seven of these were, however, col-
lected by him in the Chingford district of the Forest) ; he commented on the
fact that the finds were mainly in poor condition as a consequence of the
drought, and remarked that only one leaf-growing form had been noted.
One doubtful confluent form of Stemonitis was referred to Miss Lister for
identification, and proved to be S. fusca var. confluens.
The President, in his concluding speech, was humorously anecdotal.
He added that Armillaria mellea was a well-known food plant on the
Continent, and that Phallus impudicus was in ancient times sold as a
love potion by herbalists ! He stressed the value of an intimate anatomical
study of species of agarics as a means of distinguishing between closely
allied forms. In conclusion, he expressed the thanks of the meeting to
our conductors for their services.
The walk back to Loughton through the Forest, illumined by the pale
beams of a somewhat misty moon, was a pleasant climax to a day of
enjoyable activity.