PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 7 



well as in several of the boleti, the reproduction and cicatrising of displaced and 

 wounded parts are very surprising 



In the month of September, in Cromaglouin wood, I noticed the beauty of Poly- 

 porus luciduH, as it grew in ranges along the trunk of a large ash, which, in a dell 

 of most luxuriant vegetation, had fallen and rested on huge boulders of rock. 

 Here, amid a mass of vegetation of the liveliest green, and whero the dense foliage 

 overhead shaded and preserved a moist and warm temperature, the bright chesnat" 

 colourcd pilous of Polyporus lucidus appeared strikingly beautiful. It was, indeed, 

 a spot genial to fungus vegetation, and reminded me of those primeval forests of 

 the tropics which humidity never abandons, and which the arches of foliage rarely 

 permit a ray of the sun to penetrate. It is of much interest to watch the develop- 

 ment of fungi, agaraous plants without epidermis, and consequently destitute of 

 stomata — their reproduction is singular and rapid. I had p>laced a'fine specimen 

 of Daedalia biennis in my fernery on the spreading mass of a lichen (Placodium 

 pluuibcum), and I was surprised m a few weeks to find that a plant of Daedalia had 

 formed upon the lichen. This Da;dalia is very beautiful, and richly marked with 

 concentric zones ; the hymeninm is large and fleshy, of a pinkish red tinge, and 

 wavy or sinuous. The Dtedalia quercina, which is a more common species, is of 

 a delicately fibrous texture, and when cut into slices has been used as a styptic. 

 Some time since I submitted to the society large masses of Racodium celfare, 

 mouse- skin byssus, which grew in quantities on claret casks that had long been 

 stored in the Custom-house dock vaults. It especially formed and grew where the 

 claret had leaked from the cask. This fungus is most valuable as a styptic. So 

 suitable is the fernery to such vegetation that a beautiful species of Xylaria, 

 Agaricus tuberosus, annually appears among Ilymenophyllum and Trichomanes, 

 and on a piece of oak wood Peziza aarnginosa displays its cup-shaped or turbinate 

 pileus of a most beautiful verdigris green, which colour penetrates and stains deeply 

 the wood. 



I shall only briefly mention a few others, as I propose drawing out a detailed 

 list ; among them several are extremely beautiful, as microscopic objects. Agaricus 

 floccosus, a pretty species on the stump of an ash tree, Cromaglouin ; Boletus 

 luridus, and Amanita muscaria, both beautiful, but extremelv poisonous, near the 

 road side, leading to the tunnel ; Clavaria cinerea, C. fragilis, and C. coralloidea, 

 frequent on Tore mountain, especially along the deer paths. These are considered 

 delicious esculents, as also Il^dnnm repandum, which is abundant in MuckroM 

 wood, and of large size. Its odour is like the common mushroom, but of very 

 pungent taste before cooked '«Hydnum imbricatum also occurs, but not so frequent 

 as the other. In the woods of Muckross, bordering the lake, I met fine specimens 

 of Agaricus gilvus and A. comatus. In the same wood also occurred Phallus 

 impudicus, remarkable for its offensive odour. In the low grounds occurred Can- 

 tharellus cibarius, a good esculent, and on several fallen trees Tremella ferruginea 

 and T. intumescens, growing in large gelatinous masses. It is singular the force 

 of expansion that these soft and gelatinous funpi possess in their growth, rupturing 

 the hardest epidermis of the trees upon which they are parasitic. I have seen the 

 Tremella mesenterica, which is frequent on the furze, bursting through the tough 

 bark even of the living branches. This beautiful species is of a rich orange colour 

 • and of a soft texture 



Mr. Andrews exhibited very large and fine specimens of Polyporus betulinus 

 from the earliest stage of growth to full development, and beautiful specimens of 

 Dtedalia biennis from Tore Wood, Killamey. 



Dr. Stokes asked how these fungi were reproduced beneath the bark. 

 Mr. Andrews said that in the decaying state of the mature fungus, the spomles 

 scattered on the substance of attachment, and might probably bo absorbed, and the 

 mycelia form beneath the epidermis. The bame species of fuogus were often 

 annually produced upon the same tree. 



Professor R. W. Smith then read a paper on Enterolithes, in which he enieied 

 very fully into the subject of Enterolithes, or the peculiar concretions found in the 

 bodies of animals. He explained their growth and effect in animal life, ami exhi- 

 bited specimens of these concretions found in the horse, cow, and other animals. He 

 also explained the origin of the term Beaoar, and the peculiar characters of the 



