578 DECADES OF FUNGI. 
“Of this I send you numerous specimens preserved both in 
spirit and brine, by which you will better judge their natural size 
and appearance. It was found in great abundance in some sandy 
land which had never been cultivated about three miles from Pen- 
guite, by the boys attending Mr. W. H. Hawkes’ school. 
The caterpillar burrows in the ground to various depths, from 
four inches to a foot; and the fungus seemed to fill up the hole 
made by the caterpillar, which in all cases was erect. The cater- 
pillar and stipes varied from five to eighteen inches in length, 
and were white, except about two or three (to four) inches, which 
projected above the surface of the ground, and were shaded off 
from the white colour below the ground to yellow at the surface, — - 
and thence to a deep olivaceous black at the extremity. 
I got one specimen of this Sphæria about 1832, when the 
seasons were more rainy than they have been since until 1846, 
but had not seen it since, until Mr. Hawkes very kindly brought . 
me some specimens, and drew my attention to it.” 
Mr. J. E. Gray informs me that the chrysalis sent as belonging 
to the caterpillar is evidently that of Cossus or Hepialus or probably 
of a new genus between the two of which Hepialus virescens (which 
produces Spheria Forbesii) may be regarded as the type. “We 
have,” says Mr. Gray, “a second species rather larger (better 
agreeing with the size of the Chrysalis case) from New Zealand, 
which differs from H. virescens in having reddish under-wings.” 
Tas. XXII. Fig. 1. Sphæria Gunnii, nat. size, in different 
states. 2. Ascus with its bipartite appendage. 3. Tip of ascus 
with necklaces of sporidia. In this instance there are three —— 
membranes. 4. Apex of case of sporidia separated from the /—— 
appendage, as sketched by Mr. Broome. 5. Sporidia from Fig. 3, 
and a portion of a string of spores from a specimen in which the 
asci themselves were quite absorbed. 6. String of spores when 
young. All except the first very highly magnified. 
