Journal of Proceedings. cxxi
and natural history societies. By means of these instruments a fine collec-
tion of many hundreds of slides of preparations of Flowering: and Crypto-
gamic plants were shown. Some of the more noteworthy were a series of
slides showing plant crystals, raphides, sphoeraphides, &c, by Mr. W. H.
Beeby ; sections of stems stained with various colours, dissections of Fungi,
and microscopical Fungi, cuticles of plants, and other botanical prepara-
tions, by Mr. Oxley ; specimens of Algae and plant dissections, Mr. Letch-
ford, Mr. Forster, Mr. A. P. Wire, Rev. W. Linton Wilson ; microscopic
Cryptogamic plants, Prof. Boulger ; Diatoms under a 1/10 inch homogene-
ous immersion lens, Mr. Livingstone, and very many others. Mr. Varley
showed the circulation of cell fluid by means of a microscope of some his-
toric interest, being the original Varley Phial Microscope made in 1827,
and which received the award of the Minerva medal of the Society of
Arts. Other interesting exhibits were made by Mr. Oldham, Mr.
McKenzie, Mr. Short, Mr. Elliott, Mr. W. A. Martin, Mr. A. Lockyer,
and many others.
After tea, at which over a hundred members and visitors sat down,
an Ordinary Meeting (the 51st) was held, Prof. G. S. Boulger, Presi-
dent, in the chair.
The following were elected members of the Club :—Messrs. Frederick
Green, J.P., Howard Unwin, M.I.C.E., F.R.G.S., Sidney Webb, and Miss
Jessie Nutter.
Mr. Worthington Smith read a paper entitled " The Politics of the
Potato Fungus " containing a humorous defence of his own position
with regard to the practical study of this subject, and a by no means
unwarrantable protest as to the manner in which original observations
are treated in certain quarters. The paper was printed in extenso in the
' Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener' for October 9th, 1884,
(vol. ix., 3rd ser., pp. 326-328), and in the ' Essex Times' for October
10th, 1884.
Dr. M. C. Cooke briefly reported upon the more interesting species
of Fungi found during the two days' foray. He said that a week
previously, when the Hackney Natural History Society had an
excursion to the Forest, six species of Fungi, new to the Forest,
were found, and during the two days of the present foray twelve
additional species had been discovered, so that altogether eighteen new
species could now be added to the Epping Forest list.* A still more
interesting feature in the discoveries was that two, at least, of the spe-
cies which had been found were, so far as he knew, entirely new to the
British Islands. He rejoiced that they were not microscopic, but were
both edible. One of them, Hydnum diversidens, was represented by a
specimen in the other room fully six inches in diameter either way, and
* After a more careful examination of the doubtful specimens, the number of spe-
cies collected, new to the Forest, was found to be nearly thirty. The reader is
referred to Dr. Cooke's amended list of the Hymenomycetal Fungi of Epping Forest,
in the 'Essex Naturalist,' vol. iii. pp. 248-271, where the whole of the species recorded
up to September, 18S9, are registered. Ed. (1891).