lxxii Journal of Proceedings.
to have the size and shape of the pores exactly recorded by the spore
deposit.
I have now concluded the few suggestions I have to offer with regard
to the preservation of the spores of the Hymenomycetes, the con-
spicuous Fungi of our woods and fields. But if any member of the Club
should take up the subject in the manner proposed, he is certain, I
think, to be led on to investigate some of the countless multitude of
fungoid growths which lie beyond this class, and which surround us
everywhere. And as it may be of interest to such beginners, who
may know even less about Funguses than I do myself, to have
presented to them a general view of what the study embraces, I
venture to give a very brief sketch of the principal divisions under
which Fungi have been arranged, following the plan of Cooke's
' Handbook,' which is the only convenient work on the subject that
I know of, and which is remarkably comprehensive considering its
size.
[Mr. Lister then gave a succinct account of the principal divisions of the
class, drawing special attention to the situation and mode of production
of the spores and concluded by saying] :—I have ventured to bring these
remarks before you, though fully conscious of my most imperfect
acquaintance with the subject, but with some hope, as I said at the
beginning, that it may encourage the study of Fungi among our
members who live in the neighbourhood of Epping Forest, which
offers so rich a field for the pursuit. And I can only add that,
judging from my own limited experience, there are few branches of
natural history which offer so captivating and pleasing an occupation
for our leisure hours.
The President, in commenting at some length on the various points
in the classification of Fungi alluded to by Mr. Lister in the latter half
of his paper, said that he wished Mr. Lister had taken his measures
in micromillimetres instead of in ten-thousands of an inch. He quite
felt that the micromillimetre was the measure of the future in recording
microscopic details, and he thought they ought to get rid of the British
inch with all its vagaries.* Referring to the Myxomycetes, he spoke of
Du Barry having turned them out of the vegetable kingdom altogether,
and after giving a brief account of some of the extraordinary charac-
teristics of this class, concluded that in the Myxomycetes we had
arrived at a meeting point of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and
that it was very doubtful whether these were animals or plants. The
President then adverted to the important work which lay before
microscopists in the study of the Fungi, and recommended it to the
attention of all botanists in search of new worlds to conquer. Mr.
Lister briefly replied on some of the points raised, and a cordial vote of
thanks was accorded to him.
Mr. B. Meldola read a paper on behalf of Prof. Flower, F.R.S. (who
was unable to be present), entitled, " On a specimen of a whale,
* The micromillimetre (μ 1,000 μ equal 1 mm.) has been adopted for some time in
our publications as the best mode of expressing the dimensions of microscopical objects
(see Trans. iii, 152).—Ed.