22 THE MYCETOZOA:
dung pellets of rabbit, roe, and fallow deer, in Germany and
Denmark, and on old cow-dung in Florida. Cribraria violacea
has been found on pig-dung, by Prof. Thaxter, in Florida.
Lowland Pastures and Lawns form the haunt, in favour-
able seasons, for a few species which may then occur in great
profusion. One summer the creamy white masses of Mucilago
spongiosa were so conspicuous in Yorkshire pastures that they
attracted the attention of farmers, who feared lest their grazing
horses might be poisoned by the strange substance ; their
fears were, I think, groundless. In Wanstead Park, when
a dry summer had been followed by heavy rains, the turf by the
tennis courts was seen to be adorned with scores of little orange
mounds, which on close inspection were found to consist of
clusters of immature sporangia of Badhamia foliicola. Another
example of an unusually large development of one of the Myce-
tozoa on grass was given me by a Canadian correspondent ;
some of the small grey sporangia of Physarum cinereum had been
sent him by a man who wanted to know what it was that was
disfiguring his lawn !
Alpine Pastures.—These form a very attractive habitat
for Mycetozoa, many of which are seldom met with else-
where. Above the level of the fir woods, these open pastures
of the alps extend mile after mile, girdling the mountain heights.
Full summer will clothe them with a glory of alpine flowers ;
but, when the winter snows first retreat, the turf is left flattened
and brown, starred only here and there with the earliest lilac
and white crocuses and with pale purple Soldanellas. On
these bare slopes may often be seen from afar (that is, several
yards away) white clusters of Diderma niveum, D. Lyallii, and
pale grey Physarum vernum, scattered over turf, dwarf willows,
and even on stones. More close scrutiny is needed to detect
Diderma Trevelyani , whose round sporangia look like little
brown seeds, until they expand and assume the appearance of
minute Earth-stars. Lepidoderma carestianum is a treasure
that matches perfectly the grey silt left everywhere by the
melting snow, and the dark alpine form of Trichia contorta may
easily escape observation unless the sporangium-walls break
and reveal the golden spores.
On the lower slopes, where the pale withered stalks of the
Spiny Thistle (Cirsium spinosissimum) still stand or lie about,