HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



255 



line of the peduncle, and send off abundant fine 

 capillary branchlets to all parts of the retina only, 

 the vitreous body being non-vascular. 



Whether the bilobed condition of the eyes in the 

 Stomatopoda is to be explained by two pairs of 

 originally sessile eyes (such as are present in the 

 Amphipod genera Phronima and Ampellisca) having 

 been first mounted on one pair of movable stalks (as 

 has actually occurred in the Arachnidan family 

 Trombidiidae) and afterwards become one pair by the 

 almost complete coalescence of the two eyes of each 

 side, or whether, as is perhaps the more probable, it 

 is the result of a secondary adaptation to the par- 

 ticular conditions of life of these animals, is an 

 interesting subject for future investigation which can 

 only be attempted with profit on perfectly fresh eyes. 



FUNGUS FORAYS IN FRANCE. 



THE Societe Botanique de France having invited 

 English mycologists to join their meeting in 

 Paris last season, the invitation was accepted by 

 the Rev. Canon Duport, Mr. Phillips, of Shrewsbury, 

 Mr. Plowiight, of King's Lynn, and myself. 



Accompanied by Canon Duport, I visited the 

 Vosges mountains before the meeting, with the view 

 of making excursions in search of the interesting fungi 

 recorded by Monsieur Quelet, of Herimoncourt, in his 

 " Champignons du Jura et des Vosges." But, on our 

 arrival at Gerardmer, we found that snow had already 

 fallen, and the next day a heavier fall took place, 

 completely covering the ground. 



A few interesting species were noticed on the first 

 day, amongst which I may mention : Cortinarius 

 alboviolaceus, C. briinneo-fulvits, and C. variicolor ; 

 Hygrophorus tephroleucus and C. pustulatiis ; Russula 

 mustelina and R. rubra ; Myccna rosellus. 



We endeavoured, the next day, to ascend the 

 Hoheneck, one of the highest summits of the Vosges ; 

 but, after wading through the snow for hours, were 

 obliged to give up the attempt. Gerardmer is an 

 excellent centre for excursions, the hotels are good 

 and cheap, and the fare plentiful. The scenery in 

 the neighbourhood is of a high order — fine forests 

 surrounding a series of small but picturesque lakes, 

 roches moutonnees and ancient moraines bearing 

 witness to the existence of former glaciers, waterfalls, 

 and splendid views over Rhineland as far as the 

 Bernese Alps. There is an excellent hotel on the 

 Schlucht, about three hundred feet below the summit 

 of the Hoheneck. We had to leave Gerardmer with 

 regret after spending two days there. 



On our arrival in Paris, we visited the fungus ex- 

 hibition held in the rooms of the society, Rue de 

 Grenelle. Owing to the dryness of the season, there 

 were fewer fungi of interest than might have been 

 expected. The following were the most remarkable 

 species in the exhibition : Hygrophorus crubescens, 



formerly confounded with Tricholoma Russula, but 

 distinctly a Hygrophorus resembling a small form of 

 H. cburneus, but of a pinkish colour ; //. pudoriuus, 

 figured by Kalckbrenner, a blushing beauty from the 

 Vosges ; Clathrus cancellatus ; Polyporus Pes-capm, 

 P. croceus, P. leucomelas ; Pleurotus maslrucatus, and 

 P. iiidulans ; Armillaria bulbiger ; Pholiota destruens ; 

 Qucletia mirabilis, a curious puff ball with a long shaggy 

 stem, growing on tar, and brought by M. Lebreton 

 from Normandy ; Clavaria juncea ; Pholiota destruens. 



We visited on the following day the Forest of 

 Hesblay, where the only fungus amongst those 

 gathered which seemed to me of interest was Pholiota 

 caperatus. 



The next day was devoted to the Bois de Carnelles ; 

 but the ground was very dry, and fungi were scarce ; 

 Mycena aurantio-marginatus, and Lepiota holosericeus 

 were our best finds. 



In the evening M. de Seynes, the President of the 

 Societe Botanique de France, entertained at a most 

 recherche dinner the English visitors, and the French 

 mycologists, Messieurs Boudier, Quelet, Richon, 

 Lebreton, Planchon, Roze and Mougeot. 



After dinner Canon Duport read a letter from the 

 President of the Woolhope Club, inviting French 

 mycologists to join the Hereford meeting next year, 

 and Mr. Phillips expressed in English his sense of 

 the liberality of the host and the cordial welcome 

 given to the English visitors. 



The excursion next day was arranged for Pierrefonds 

 in the forest of Compiegne. After a short visit to the 

 grand old castle, one of the finest feudal monuments 

 of France, restored by the celebrated architect 

 Viollet-le-Duc during the last empire, we explored 

 the forest. We found it to be excellent fungus ground, 

 but the distance from Paris limited our researches. 



The following species may be mentioned as specially 

 interesting : — Lepiota polystictus ; Afycena collariatus ; 

 Lepiota Friesii ; Tricholoma lascivus ; Nolanca pro- 

 letaria ; Clitocybe suaveolens, and C. odorus ; Lentinus 

 cochleatus ; Cortinarius fulmineus, and C. Lebretoni , 

 Marasmius prasios/nus, M. globularis, and JiL fusco- 

 purpureus. 



The remainder of the week was devoted to the 

 forest of Fontainebleau. Making the Hotel de Lyon 

 our headquarters, we drove through the forest in 

 carriages, halting at spots prolific in fungi. 



The cold weather had played havoc with many 

 fungi we expected to find. We noticed a large 

 number of Cortinarius violaceus shrivelled by the frost ; 

 but still a good many interesting species remained, 

 amongst which I may mention : — Psalliota Vaillantii J 

 Collybia longipes ; Hypholoma Candolleanus ; Lnocybe 

 dulcamaras ; LLcbeloma strophosus ; Cortinarius 

 anfractus, C. dibaphus, and C. rtcfo-olivaceus ; Boletus 

 erythropus ; Clavaria eoralloides ; Merulius radia/us ; 

 Russula Queletii, and R. delica ; Polyporus croceus ; 

 Pholiota adiposus ; Hygrophorus olivacco-aibus. 



In conclusion a few words respecting the fungi 



