118 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
6. Park Corner Stone 400915—by hedgerow in field, plaque in Ching-
ford Museum.
7. Navestock Stone 520903—on private land.
8. Richard's Stone 519969—on Curtis Mill Green.
Two of these stones are twins—Forest Bounds and Mark's Stones—for
which there appears to be no explanation. The original carved inscriptions
are in most cases indecipherable, but seem to be no worse than the condition
as described by Meldola in 1895.
During my search for the Park Corner Stone I discovered a large sandstone
erratic boulder, lying on the spot where three parishes meet, viz. Lambourne,
Stapleford Abbotts, and Navestock (Map ref. 490938). Further investigations
will be made into the relationship of this landmark with the forest area.
In regard to the two damaged mere-stones I suggest that the Essex
County Authority be approached with the view to. restoring them to their
1909 condition. The Colliers' Bow stone has suffered during recent road-
widening work, and is in danger of being lost should the ditch in which it
stands be filled. The Warren stone appears to have been overturned by farm
machinery; the concrete base is shattered and the plaque missing.
The plaque belonging to the Park Corner stone has apparently never
been mounted, and is now in the Chingford Museum at the Hunting Lodge.
Gills and pores in Trametes rubescens
By C. T. INGOLD
IN A RECENT Presidential Address I drew attention to the idea that in
Hymenomycetes (toadstools and bracket fungi) the evolution from gills to
pores (or vice versa) has probably occurred independently along several lines
of evolution. In conformity with this idea modern mycologists do not regard
the difference between Polypores and agarics as of fundamental taxonomic
importance. Indeed there are half-way types such as Trametes spp., nearer
Polypores than agarics, and Lenzites betulinus, nearer an agaric than a
Polypore.
In October, 1957, I encountered a particularly striking example of the
transition from one type to another on Box Hill, Surrey. There were just
three specimens of Trametes rubescens (shown in Plate 8) growing on a single
dead branch of beech. One (uppermost in Plate 8) is a complete polypore,
another (middle in Plate 8) almost an agaric with what are essentially gills,
although near its region of attachment pores can be seen. Had the two
extreme specimens been encountered far apart and on different kinds of wood,
they might well have been referred to as a different species.