lxvi
Journal of Proceedings.
The following were elected members :—Messrs. Garrad Baker, Frederic
Chancellor, F. R. Harold, F.S.S., F. H. Hempleman, F. J. V. James,
Charles A. Onley Marsham, J.P., G. H. Raynor, M.A., and W. H. Stead.
On the motion of the President a cordial vote of thanks was passed to
the distinguished botanists who had so kindly acted as leaders and
advisers during the day.
On the circular calling the Meeting, a short address, to be entitled
"Half-an-hour with the Fungi of the Loughton District," had been set
down to Dr. Cooke. He said, however, that when he promised to give
that address it was before a sad calamity fell upon him, which had pre-
vented him for some months from paying any attention to affairs in which
the mind or hand had to be engaged. Under other circumstances he
should have been extremely happy to have carried out his promise, and to
have read a paper. But as that was the first time for two or three months
on which he had attempted to address an audience, they would accept
that as an apology for not carrying out to the full extent the promise he
gave. He had intended to give a resume of such Fungi as he knew to be,
or such as had been recorded to have been found around Loughton, or in
Epping Forest. He had thought that such a list, if rendered complete, as
it could be, would be a very useful one to be included in their ' Trans-
actions,' since no list, so far as he knew, of the Fungi of Essex, had ever
been collated or published. Dr. Cooke then referred to several Fungi
noted by Sowerby as found in the Forest, and called attention to a paper
contributed by Mr. English to the ' Transactions' of the Essex Field
Club. He intended to write out a list of the Forest species, and submit it
to an early meeting of the Society. After referring particularly to several
of the more remarkable species, Dr. Cooke went on to urge that the
Forest should be systematically scoured ; if everybody in that room were
to set about the work for twelve months what a number of new species
they would have, or if not new species, yet species that were only hitherto
known as occurring upon the Continent. Do not let them think that
there were fewer Fungi in Epping Forest than in Herefordshire, or in any
other part of England. He believed there were as many, and that as
long a list could be made out, and he doubted not that at least two-
thirds of English species—and more—could be found in the Essex Wood-
lands. [Applause]. In mentioning the species peculiar to the Forest, Dr.
Cooke inadvertently omitted the lovely, but sticky, little Agaricus Worth-
ingtonii, so named by Elias Fries, in honour of the writer of this record,
and of Epping Forest. A. Worthingtonii is peculiar at present to the
Forest, and long may it remain so: the original Friesian MS. description
is in possession of the Club.
Mr. Worthington Smith followed with some remarks upon special
Forest species, and some elementary hints as to the modes to be adopted
in identifying Fungi; then Dr. Braithwaite spoke of the mosses of Epping
Forest, and of mosses in general, and how to find and study them. Mr.
E. M. Holmes had brought with him some excellent diagrams illustrating