HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



231 



debris ; in short, as Mr. Micawber might say with 

 one of his well-known "bursts of confidence," these 

 fossils occur everywhere. 



Space does not permit me to go into details about 

 the remaining branch of the molluscoidea, viz., the 

 brachiopoda, of which — together with the mollusca 

 proper — we secured some fine examples. Inoccraryiiis 

 abounded everywhere in the flints and chalk ; Ostrea, 

 Lima spinosa, Terebratidina striata, T. gracilis, 

 Tcrehrattda car/iea, T. semiglobosa, Rhyncojiella 

 Martini, R. plicatilis, R. j\Iantelliana, and many 

 others all fell to our bag. 



If to these be added two fairly good specimens of 

 Beryx Lcwesicnsis obtained by Mr. Gamble from the 

 classic ground of Burham hard by, it will be seen 

 that our day's geologising in this district was a most 

 successful one. A great part of the specimens I have 

 mentioned were obtained by that gentleman, who 

 presented them to us ; but in one day we ourselves 

 got out such a large number of fossils, etc., as to 

 warrant my assertion that for the collector there is no 

 more prolific ground than the lower portion of the 

 Medway valley, and, should any of my fellow brethren 

 of the hammer pay a visit to it, I wish them good 

 luck. 



A. G. Hammond. 



Nrw Wandsworth, S. W. 



FUNGUS FORAYS IN THE FOREST OF 

 DEAN. 



By Dr. A. J. H. Crespi. 



THE WOOLHOPE CLUB, under the foster- 

 ing care of the late Dr. Bull of Hereford, 

 was one of the most important field clubs in the 

 kingdom. It has not been so prosperous since his 

 death, and the attendance at its gatherings has 

 fallen off. Last year, too, at its annual reunion, it 

 had to face the pinch of severe cold. It met on 

 October ist at Hereford, and next day adjourned 

 to the Speech House, in the Forest of Dean, for 

 two days' work ; later in the week meeting at 

 Holme Lacey, and at Pontrilas. The season in 

 Herefordshire was not good for fungi, and the 

 mycologists, who came together from all parts of 

 the country, were disappointed, especially as in 

 Cumberland, in North Shropshire, and near London, 

 more particularly in Epping Forest, the luxuriance 

 and abundance of fungi had been remarkable. At 

 the Fungus Foray in Epping Forest, September 8th, 

 1888, more than one hundred and forty species were 

 found, of which twenty were new to the forest, and 

 five had never before been recorded in Great Britain. 

 The cold damp summer was unfavourable to the 

 fungus crop, especially on the elevated and bleak 

 hills of the Forest of Dean, always cool, and often 

 much colder than the more genial and sheltered 

 districts near. Few societies make a speciality of 



fungi, but the Woolhope does, and its meetings 

 are generally enlivened by the presence of Dr. 

 Cooke, one of our greatest living authorities, and 

 of the Rev. John Vize, of Forden, whose knowledge 

 of the microscopic species — a most difficult and 

 extensive study — is almost inexhaustible. Mr. Vise 

 has the rare honour of finding that his hearers are 

 sometimes disappointed that his papers are not 

 longer, and he is asked to go more fully into his 

 subject next time. 



Last year, though not then a member of the Wool- 

 hope, I received an [invitation to attend, and, as I 

 expected to meet several old friends and hoped to 

 pick up some information that would be interesting, 

 I set off, making the house of my esteemed friend, 

 Dr. Theodor Linde, of Lydbrook, my headquarters. 

 My friend met me in his usual cheerful fashion and 

 made me feel thoioughly at home, for the fourth 

 time, under his roof. The greatest charm in connec- 

 tion with the annual gatherings of learned societies 

 is not the actual work done or the information 

 acquired, but the meeting with friends whom the 

 engrossing occupations of daily life and distance 

 prevent from often seeing one another. Such re- 

 unions mark stages in life's journey ; one likes to 

 see the old faces and listen to the familiar voices, 

 and to find out how friends are getting on. Some 

 whom we thought fine fellows stop where they were, 

 not making any headway ; others seem weighed 

 down with cares, and some few show, year by year, 

 greater vigour and more than fulfil the promise of 

 early youth. Sometimes, too, with advancing years 

 we find how widely we are drifting apart, and we 

 maybe tempted to wonder how such warm friendships 

 were ever formed between us and men who, were 

 they to meet us now for the first time, would repel us. 



I determined to walk through the forest, which is 

 close to Lydbrook, and in which I had often passed 

 many pleasant days, and to join the Woolhope Club 

 at Blackpool Bridge. The roads are not very direct, 

 and the landmarks are few; still, nothing venture 

 nothing win. Through Lydbrook, which was very 

 familiar ground, I got all right, and then began 

 inquiring my way to the Danby Lodge Beeches, 

 which the club intended to visit. Near the Coleford 

 Road I met a pleasant-looking young mechanic, 

 and, as his countenance spoke of intelligence and 

 the Board School, I stopped him. Did he know 

 the forest ? Perfectly, Had he long resided in 

 it ? All his life. W^here were the Danby Beeches ? 

 He reflected for some time, looked puzzled, and 

 then frankly admitted that he had never heard of 

 them ; perhaps I had better ask some one else. 

 Now, asking again in thinly-peopled country places 

 is not always easy, for there is no one to inquire 

 of— the hardy villager greatly preferring the shelter 

 of his fire-side and not wandering farther from home 

 than he can help ; however, before long I reached a 

 shut-up toll-gate left to take care of itself, and. 



