Journal of Proceedings. lxxxiii
moth. The President also stated, with reference to the aberration o£ T.
Quercus exhibited by Mr. White, that the orange patch on the wing, as
possessed by T. Betula, was a very common kind of ornamentation in
the genus Thecla and its allies ; he was therefore disposed to think that
this form of marking was the oldest, and that Mr. White's insect was an
example of a partial ease of reversion to a former character.
In the discussion which ensued Mr. English and Mr. B. G. Cole both
stated, as the result of their experience in breeding Sesia fuciformis from
the caterpillar, that the possession of scales upon the wings of the fresh
imagos was a very variable character, not one-third of the brood having
them, but in some exceptional instances the clothing upon the wings was
quite dense.
Mr. English communicated a list of the Fungi of Epping Forest, sup-
plemental to that received from Dr. Cooke at the last meeting. [The
species of the Family Hymenomycetes noted by Mr. English are incor-
porated in the list published in the ' Transactions,' ii. 181].
Mr. English enumerated 312 species of the larger Fungi, belonging to
the following Orders:—Agaricini (188), Polyporei (43), Hydnei (8),
Auricularini (16), Clavariei (10), Tremellini (3), Hypograei (1), Phalloidei
(2), Trichogastres (9), Myxogastres (8), Nidulariacei (3), Elvellacei (21).
The author thought that the lists presented—Dr. Cooke's and his own-
were but tentative, and did not record anything like the number of species
actually existing in the Essex woodlands. For instance, in the order
Agaricini, or gill-bearing Fungi, he had recorded 188 species, but in all
probability future work would double this number, for in the extensive
sub-genus Tricholoma only 21 species had been observed yet in the district,
whilst the number of British species amounted to about 60. Very little
attention had been paid to the Mycena group; it consisted mostly of
small delicate plants, such as were represented in the Club's collection by
Mycena lactea ; here Mr. English could record only six species although
more than 70 had been catalogued as British. In the genus Cortinarius
he could only give the names of 15 species with certainty, but he had
observed at least three times that number, most of them not yet deter-
mined, and the known native species exceeded 100. He was confident
that the record of 11 species of Hygrophorus should be doubled. From
some unknown cause during the last two years the Hygrophori had been
remarkably scarce, only four or five species having been seen. Many
species of this genus could not be overlooked ; for instance, H. virgineus,
a fungus of pearly whiteness, with gills running down the stem, loved to
grow in open grassy spots by the forest sides, and was always a striking
object. Then ff. miniatus, with a brilliant crimson and orange pileus and
gills, grows in heathy places partly covered with bracken, with its com-
panion ff. ceraceus, the latter of a beautiful clear yellow. At the same
times and places the botanist could meet with ff. psittacinus or Parrot
Toadstool, which, when young, is of a fine green colour, pileus and stem
alike, but as it advances to maturity gains gradually a bright tint of
orange ; in all stages the plant is glutinous. The little ff. Houghtoni*
for the second time recorded as British, occurred in Loughton Forest on
October 1st, and was exhibited at the "Fungus Foray." Mr. English
also found another Hygrophorus on that day, very distinct, but scarce
* It appears to be impossible to separate this from H. laetus, Fr., of which it seems to
be only a condition, scarcely even a variety.—M.C.C.