PPROACHING the lowest forms of animal life, the Foraminifera, of the class Rhizopoda, is an order of considerable importance. The typical animal consists merely of a tubulous or perforated shell, in some species of most elaborate configuration; or an aggregation of silicious particles, enclosing and invested by a living substance. Simple as these animals may appear, they have claimed the attention of the most distinguished naturalists, from the fact that their imperishable remains constitute the greater part of the solids of the sedimentary strata of the earth, the chalk formations in particular.

The shells and tests are familiarly known to microscopists, the former especially, and very few cabinets are without these popular slides. Even if space admitted, elaborate description would be unnecessary. The literature of the subject may be found in the writings of D'Orbigny in 1826, Dujardin in 1835, and in numerous memoirs. Most works on the microscope, touching on minute forms of animal life, contain a description, and Dr. Carpenter, the greatest authority, summarizes the subject in the article "Foraminifera," in the present issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

In reference to the plate representing specimens of the shell-type, drawn in relative proportion, and found together in the same field of view, it may be generally stated that there are two distinctive types of No. 249.-SEPTEMBER 1885.

foraminiferous shells, the porcellaneous and vitreous, easily detectable under microscopical power, the one series white and imperforate (Miliolidae), the shell being more or less spiral, made up of a series of half turns; the other Silicious, or perforate, in which the forms are much more varied. Beyond these groups is a sub-division of the order, the Arenaceous, not so frequently found as cabinet specimens, but as microscopic objects of great interest, where a "shell," in its popular sense, is entirely absent, the creature building up, and holding together by its own bodily substance, a nest, or compacted mass of the minutest particles of sand.

Dujardin's description in 1835, as to the general character of the animality of the foraminifera could not have been firmly established-forms were numerous, but examination required high microscopical power, to establish their classification with the sub-kingdom protozoa, and to reveal the character of that vital translucent substance, capable of extreme attennuation, retraction, self-division and fusion, then termed "sarcode."

The foraminifera, in their most attractive forms, are microscopic. It would be difficult, without the aid of the instrument, to convey an idea of the elegance of their configuration or their wonderful constructive power, where carbonates and silicates are moulded into shapes and symmetries curiously diverse, by atoms of glairy plasma, thus secreting a poriferous shell, and pouring itself out in sensitive filaments; this is the ordinary form; but in the Arenaceous group the slimy life aggregates together the minutest granules of sand, cementing and holding them by an investment of the living principle. These Arenaceous "tests," appearing like minute seeds delicately formed of grains, are curiously interesting; globular specimens are seen in rows, on filamentous threads of algae or sponges, sometimes in the form of compacted hard thin rinds, made up of grains of all angles fitted together with curious exactitude, leaving interstices through which pseudopodia emerge; these conditions are rarely to

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be purchased as "slides"-being recent," they can only be obtained from dredged algæ, and require the closest searching; frequently amidst the built up atoms of these "tests" are particles of brilliant colour, aiding the general elegance of the object. Many, loosely compacted, have no definite surface, others, apparently more solid, when fractured and the interior revealed, appear under the microscope as nests of stones, cemented with the precision of mosaic work; various substances are frequently intermixed, curious sponge spicules, and fragments of the dead shells of their relations, may be found imbedded in the general mass.

Fossil remains are abundant, and in immense profusion, in the sedimentary strata, calcareous rocks, limestones, many of the clays, and notably in the chalk; the dust falling from the fracture of a minute piece may contain countless specimens. Curious and somewhat hypothetical calculations of numbers have been attempted. A reliable authority states that a cubic inch of limestone imbeds fiftyeight thousand of these shells, and that in the stones of Paris the miliolidæ are so abundant that the city may be said to be built by them.

Recent dead specimens may be sifted from the ridges of sand left by tides, in a living state on deepsea algæ; and dust from a case of freshly imported sponges is most prolific. This débris, gently scattered over a basin of cold water, will cause a separation, the sand sinking; the light shells, floating, may then be skimmed off, carefully dried, and mounted. Crouch End.

and ten species of flowering plants and ferns, together with a few microscopic fungi. At Bath, out of four species of micro-fungi that we found, two are not mentioned in this journal in "Micro-fungi Bathonienses," by C. F. W. T. Williams. These are Puccinia circea on enchanter's nightshade, and Triphragmium ulmaria on meadow-sweet, both in a meadow near Freshford. Apropos of Triphragmium, this species seems always to be rather local in its habits; in districts where Spiraa ulmaria abounds it frequently infects only one patch of this plant. The other fungi found were Urocystis pompolygodes and the ubiquitous Ecidium Tussilaginis. In flowering plants we found Alchemilla vulgaris at Freshford, not noticed elsewhere in our tour; Euphorbia amygda loides, Epipactis latifolia (probably var. purpurata), Inula conyza, Malva moschata, Symphytum officinale (purple and white), Tanacetum vulgare, Valerianella dentata, &c., and I have received specimens of Atropa

Belladonna and Daphne laureola from an inhabitant. Professor Babington has published a Flora of Bath.

At Shepton Mallet, our next stopping-place, we were in the home of the rusty-back (Ceterach officinarum) which luxuriates in every old wall, and here we also found abundance of Asplenium ruta-muraria, A. trichomanes, fine specimens of Scolopendrium vulgare, and a plant of Polypodium vulgare, with the pinnæ deeply serrate. In the Phanerogams, Campanula latifolia, C. trachelium, Colchicum autumnale, both lilac and white varieties equally abundant, Cotyledon umbilicus, Sedum telephium and another sedum not in flower (? rupestre).

Fungi: Phragmidium obtusum, Puccinia violarum, a rust covering the leaves of Arctium lappa, and others not identified.

Though a convenient centre for excursions, Shepton is not overrun by holiday-makers. Thus a tourist there once asked a native what were the principal lions of the place. "Red Lion and White Lion, sir," was the reply.

We visited the Cheddar Cliffs, and of course did not fail to spot Dianthus casius, though luckily most of it is out of reach. Why it grows in such abundance on these cliffs and nowhere else in England, when there are similar rocks at Ebbor, and other places in the vicinity, where it might equally well grow, is one of those mysteries so difficult to explain. Thalictrum minus, which also abounds, is known locally as the "Cheddur furn" (Cheddar fern). Farther up the gorge we find Polypodium Robertianum, and, on turning up to the top of the cliffs, Epipactis latifolia in a plantation, Gentiana amarella on the exposed ground at the top.

Glastonbury need only be mentioned, as the celebrated Thorn is already known to the readers of SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Curiously there is nearly the same legend at Mentone. A visitor going into one of the houses is said to have stuck his walking-stick in the ground and forgotten it, and the stick sprouted and is now still growing in one of the places. Bythe-way, some plants seem to grow and flourish in one's flower press. I gathered some Sedum telephium and left it exposed in the open air to dry till the leaves became [flaccid, then laid it in the press and changed the papers once or twice. About a fortnight later at Clovelly, I found white shoots 1 inch long sprouting from txhe ails of the dessicated leaves, with tiny leaflets on them, and when placed in my water jug for a day or two, they increased considerably in size and began to turn green. And a plant of Cotyledon umbilicus threw up a tiny white leaf in the press; it is now living in our garden, though the mice have bitten it down once or twice.

Another day we took the train to Masbury and walked to the Roman Camp at the top of the Mendips. On the neighbouring ground grew Athyrium filix-femina, Blechnum spicans, Digitalis

purpurea, Erica cinerea, Euphrasia officinalis, Lastrea dilatata, L. filix-mas, Polygala vulgaris (white), Potentilla tormentilla, Rubus Idaus, &c. In some meadows a little lower down, Scabiosa succisa (white var. among them), Rhinanthus crista-galli. We got down into Ham Wood, which extends for a mile or two down a lovely ravine, here we found Epilobium angustifolium, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Cystofteris fragilis (very fine), Polygonatum multiflorum, Paris quadrifolia (and, as usual, a specimen with five leaves), Allium ursinum, Dipsacus pilosus, Hypericum hirsutum, the lilac and white vars. of Colchicum autumnale. We also found a most curious frond of Scolopendrium vulgare, somewhat like one figured in SCIENCEGOSSIP in 1879, but different. The midrib is not more than in. long, and the leaf forms two curved uniform lobes on either side of it, but the midrib is not bifid as in the figure alluded to and the lobes curl round a great deal more. Only one frond was like this, but the others on the same plant were very curious. In the adjoining cliff woods grew Malva moschata, Daphne laureola, Asplenium Adiantumnigrum, and near here a solitary cowslip was still flowering in a field. As we approached Shepton we came to a wall decked with evergreen alkanet (Anchusa sempervirens).

From Shepton Mallet to Taunton the train passes through uninteresting scenery, but thence to Minehead, and on by coach to Porlock, the country is hilly and pretty. Round Porlock the pine woods are carpeted with ferns, the sheep's bit (Jasione montana) and Melampyrum pratense peeping above them, and the rampant fumitory (Fumaria capreolata) appearing in places. A salt marsh by the sea seemed to contain nothing botanical. Climbing Porlock Hill, we found Sedum album and S. dasyphyllum in the walls. Soon we emerge on open heath, purple with Erica cinerea, and Calluna vulgaris, interspersed with gorse. E. tetralix was very sparingly distributed, as were the whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), and such ferns as Lastrea dilatata, Blechnum spicans. Exmoor has been characterised as a "bit of Scotland dropped down in Devonshire," and as we tramped along the road a truly Scotch mist blew over us, which ever and anon was dispersed by the sun, forming rainbows at our feet where the hills sloped down seaward, and as we approached Lynmouth the weather cleared up. It were impossible to describe one-tenth of the rambles that could be taken round this lovely spot, we can therefore only mention those in which there is most to be found. Leaving the Lyndale Hotel, we follow up the Lyn Valley, and, among the Cotyledon umbilicus filling every hole in the walls, find some specimens of the var. foliosa, in which the transition from peltate radical leaves to spathulate leaves on the stem is well seen, many intermediate forms of leaf being present on some plants. Keeping up the road we find good specimens of Asplenium Adiantumnigrum among the rocks, and a patch of Sedum

rupestre in fruit, some of this also appeared to grow a little in my flower press; also a plant of Artemisia absynthium. On arriving at Watersmeet, where two valleys join, we take a path down to the torrent and find Hypericum Androsænum, Sanicula Europaa, Lastrea oreopteris, and two micro-fungi, Phragmidium gracile, Puccinia circaa. Had we followed up the path through the woods, along the left bank, we should have found Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Angelica sylvestris, and our "nine lived" friend the Sedum telephium. Continuing along the left bank, we find several Compositæ, Serratula tinctoria, Lactuca muralis, Hieracium sylvaticum, besides the spindle-tree (Euonymus Europaeus), and, among the luxuriant fronds of blechnum, an occasional forked one. In a clearing, we find the lovely little Wahlenbergia hederacea, with such an unlovely name, nestling amidst the moss. Here the silver-washed fritillary butterfly (Argynnis paphia) flies in and out of the underwood, anon settling on a bush and fanning its wings in the sun. We find little new of interest till we come to a bog near Bagworthy Wood, where, in the space of a few square yards, are collected together Anagallis tenella, Drosera rotundifolia, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Hypericum elodes, Narthecium ossifragum, Pedicularis palustris, and an orchis now in fruit. From this point up to the Doone Valley, and round into the main road by Millslade, we had no particular finds, except some white heather and deep blue Polygala vulgaris. We saw a couple of the red deer, natives of Exmoor.

Or let us climb up to the town of Lynton, and follow along the Valley of Rocks to the coast. The rocks sloping down to the sea at this point, and the bracken and heather-covered slopes at the back, with thickly-wooded hills beyond, will compare not unfavourably with some parts of the Riviera, though the changing tints on the sea are not quite so bright as on the Mediterranean. Here I found the only specimen of Puccinia umbilici on Cotyledon umbilicus. Passing the venerable buildings of the Lee Abbey, we come to a turning down to the coast where some patches of meadow sweet are infested with Triphragmium ulmaria, and, on rocks close down to the sea, find Silene maritima, Cochlearia danica, Armeria vulgaris, Plantago coronopus, Crithmum maritimum, and Asplenium marinum, the last two named being mostly out of reach. Numbers of the bristle-tail (Machilis), an insect of the order Thysanura, were playing about the rocks, looking at first sight like miniature greyish-brown prawns.

From here, on to Heddon's Mouth, we had no special finds, but the walk is splendid; the path now lying through gloomy pine woods, now bending round a ravine with a sparkling cascade, and now rounding bold headlands, from which the jagged outlines of the coast are seen fading into a blue empyrean haze in the far distance.

At Lynton we also found Echium vulgare, Gera

nium columbinum, Fumaria capreolata. Lycopodium clavatum is said to grow on Exmoor; Asplenium septentrionale was once supposed to occur at Glenthorn, and I am told that Adiantum Capillus-Veneris ought to be found at Lynmouth somewhere. I have not heard of Hymenophyllum being found.

At Ilfracombe, Spergularia rupestris grows on the rocks, in company with Plantago maritima, P. coronopus, Crithmum maritimum, &c., these being easy of reach compared with what they were at Lynmouth.

We took the train to Morthoe and drove to the shore. Here the furze was red with Cuscuta epithymum; Erythraa latifolia was dotted about in the grass, and Erodium maritimum grew in company with E. cicutarium in the walls. Along Woolacombe Sands we noticed a curious phenomenon, probably a kind of mirage. The sands are about half a mile wide at this point, and the sun was scorching down on them, and although the tide was a good way out, yet it appeared as if about a quarter of a mile ahead the sand was covered with a layer of water about an inch or two thick, which seemed to reach close up to the shore and to be rippling. But when we advanced, we found the sand to be perfectly dry, and on looking back, the part we had traversed seemed covered with water in the same way, and some people sitting on a rock seemed to have their feet in the water.

On the sand dunes at the back grew Convolvulus soldanella, Elymus arenarius, Euphorbia paralias, Iris fætidissima, Ligustrum vulgare, Rosa pimpinellifolia; and Enothera biennis is said to be found near here, but it was too hot to make a prolonged search. After diving inland, we again reach the shore at Croyde Bay, where we gather Honckenya peploides, Aster Tripolium (mostly discoid), Anthyllis vulneraria, &c., and on Saunton rocks find Statice occidentalis and Matthiola sinuata, and near, Lycopsis arvensis, Saponaria officinalis. Want of time prevented our exploring Braunton Burrows, where Artemisia maritima, Asperugo procumbens, Chenopodium rubrum, Epipactis palustris, Erigeron acre, Scirpus Holoschenus, Teucrium scordium, &c., are said to be found. The burrows were planted with Elymus arenarius, and are aptly called the "Little Egypt.” Between here and Braunton station we found a good specimen of the var. lobatum of Scolopendrium vulgare, and saw many painted-ladies (Vanessa cardui) flitting about.

At Clovelly we did little botanising, but Senebiera didyma grows between the stones in the "main street" of that quaint old village. Epipactis latifolia (? var. media) up the Hobby drive; the golden rod is lovely in the woods; Vicia sylvatica, and Trifolium arvense grow close to the shore, and Atriplex rosea in the stones of the beach at Mill Mouth.

Here our tour ended.

I should advise any readers who are making a

THIS

HIS genus of Hyphomycetes was founded by Berkeley and Broome in their "Notices of British Fungi," in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1859, where they described it as follows: Flocci atri, non fasciculato-stipati, articulati. Sporæ concatenatæ, hyalinæ. They distinguished it from Graphium by the character mentioned, that the stem was single, not compounded of a number of parallel and cohering hypha, and pointed out that the Graphium tenuissimum of Corda and the Periconia chlorocephala of Fresenius belong to this genus, to which they also added a new species, Haplographium delicatum.

I had the pleasure of finding another species near Birmingham, which belongs to the same natural group, but differs in one important particular from all the three previously described. While walking in a field between Langley and Middleton, about eight miles from the town, I came upon the branch of a tree lying among the grass, where it had evidently been left undisturbed for some time till it had become thoroughly rotten. Turning this over, as my custom is, I saw that the lower surface, which was black from decay, had on one part a delicate bloom quite perceptible to the naked eye. Portions of this were secured, and, on being examined microscopically at home, the bloom was resolved into a dense forest of tiny vegetation, formed of slender, erect, straight, dark-brown stems, about a quarter of a millimetre high, each surmounted by an obovate head of a delicate pale honey-colour, which contrasted strongly with that of the stem, as seen by a half-inch objective in a brilliant light. This appearance

suggested to me, as soon as I ascertained the structure of the head to be such as to ally it to these first-mentioned species, the name of Haplographium bicolor, as a suitable one to designate my find. Another striking point in the appearance of the fungus is that each stem is supported on a broad, dark-brown, cushion-like base, which gives it a decided look of rigidity and strength. By reflected light the brown is almost black.

The stems are simple and septate, the number of septa varying from six to nine; the upper joint is

blunt, and nearly hemispherical, and from it radiates a mass of branched threads from which the spores are produced; but as the evolution of the spores is accompanied by the excretion of a large quantity of a mucous substance, by which they are bound into a compact mass, it is impossible to see the structure of these threads until all the spores are washed away by water. The aspect of the stems, before and after the application of water, is represented under a comparatively low magnifying power in Fig 127.

From the latter the spores originate; one, two, or three spores could be seen still seated on the upper end (fig. 128). One point I could not determine, although it is important, viz.: whether the spores were produced separately from the basidia, so that as each fell off its sterigma, its place was occupied by another; or the spores successively produced remained united in a chain. At any rate, I was unable to see any spores still concatenate. The affinity, however, in other respects of my fungus with those previously

The threads which constitute the head are branched in a penicillate manner, and form, when undisturbed, an obconical or top-shaped mass; under pressure they spread out so as to radiate in all directions, and can then be seen, by a high power, to spring from a few oblong cells seated on the upper surface of the topmost cell of the stem. The further end of each of these gives rise to a cluster of branches, varying in number from two to five, each of which similarly produces in turn from two to seven ultimate basidia.

Fig. 130.-H. tenuissimum. a, two stems, X 150; b, head of branches; c, spores, X 750.

enumerated renders it very probable that they were SO. In conclusion I will give descriptions of the three species of Haplographium now known in addition to Berkeley and Broome's.

HAPLOGRAPHIUM, Berk. and Br. (1859).

Flocci free, septate, dark-brown, sometimes penicillately branched at the apex. Spores simple, concatenate, hyaline.