156 The Scottish Naturalist. 



and under whose guidance at Tobermory we lost no time find- 

 ing out the best localities. 



The village of Tobermory is rather an extensive one, and was 

 once more populous than it is at present. It lies on the north 

 side of a land-locked bay, whose steep and rocky shores are 

 extensively covered with mixed wood. As regards beauty it far 

 surpasses the much vaunted Oban. It is easy of access, and pro- 

 bably only requires to be better known to be much frequented. 



Having arrived at Tobermory, no time was lost in beginning 

 work; and though fungi were not so abundant as they might 

 have been, yet enough were found to keep the mycologists well 

 employed. The ground explored on this day were Mr Allan's 

 beautiful woods around Aros Castle, and amongst the more 

 interesting species observed were Craterellus cornucopioides, 

 Cyathus striatus (detected by Dr Flaxman Spurrell, who had 

 come all the way from Kent to join the meeting), the brilliantly 

 coloured Torrubia mititaris, and Milesia polypodii, parasitic on 

 Polypodium vulgare, and which, since it was first described a year 

 or two ago in the pages of this magazine, has been found in so 

 many places that it is a wonder that it was overlooked for so 

 long. In addition to fungi some attention was bestowed on other 

 cryptogamic plants, but nothing very special was noticed, though 

 the luxuriance of many of the larger foliaceous lichens (Sticta, 

 Peltigera, &c.) compelled admiration. 



The following day was devoted to an ascent of a hill a few 

 miles from Tobermory. Here little was expected and less 

 done in cryptogamic botany, the chief finds being Glypho- 

 mitrium Davicsii, and a few Algae, including a very pretty 

 species of ChaitopJiora ? It was remarkable that on ground 

 where, on the mainland of Scotland, the common Agaricus 

 umbelliferus would have been frequent, not a specimen was 

 to be seen, nor did we meet with it at all in Mull. Nor 

 was this the only fungus that was conspicuous by its absence 

 during our explorations. Xylaria hypoxylon. is a notable in- 

 stance, as were many common species of Polyporus, C/avaria, 

 and Corticium. But though on the hill in question cryptogamic 

 plants (at least of much interest) were not abundant, the mag- 

 nificent view, extending from the Outer Hebrides, by Skye, 

 Ross-shire, Inverness-shire, Argyleshire, and Perthshire to Dum- 

 bartonshire, was ample reward for the little toil required by the 

 ascent, and even cryptogamic botanists can delight in other 

 objects than those of their favourite study. 



