268 The Irish Naturalist. [Novembef, 



Wednesday iiioruiiig was spent in working at the herbarium, in opening 

 consignments of fungi which now came to hand from all parts of Ireland 

 and from some parts of P^ngland as well. The afternoon excursion to 

 Brackenstown, near Swords, was duly carried out. The Rev. W. L. W. 

 Eyre and IMiss Eyre, from Hampshire, joined the party. As soon as the 

 grounds were entered the rain began to come down at first gently, then 

 steadily, then heavily, but it made no difference to the workers. Spharia 

 mam fn if or mis, Agariciis pisciodorus, Polyporns ohdiicens and vitreiis, were found. 

 At the evening meeting a paper was read by Mr. Wager, as well as Mr. 

 Crossland's communication on " The Mycological Flora of a discarded 

 Hearth-rug." 



Thursday was spent in the grand woods of Avoca. Some of the party 

 walked to see the " Meeting of the Waters." eulogised by Moore ; others 

 contented themselves with finding Boletus paj-asitiats, Riissida lepias, 

 Agaficus jiibatiis and pantherimis, and Helotiiim oeriiginostim in magnificent 

 fruit. In the evening more papers were read, including an " Epitome of 

 Eriksson's Researches on the Cereal Rusts." 



Friday morning was devoted to work in the museum : the afternoon 

 to an excursion to Lucan, where the find of the day fell to Dr. Peacock, 

 of Malvern, in Agaricus strobilifonnis. Mr. Soppitt also picked up 

 Cortinariiis fidgens, new to Ireland. The tired fungologists were refreshed 

 by afternoon tea through the considerate kindness of Miss Hopkins, of 

 Lucan. In the evening. Dr. E. J. McWeeney read a paper on the 

 " Sclerotium Disease of Potatoes" — a malady which, he said, was very 

 widespread in certain districts especially along the western and north- 

 western seaboard of Ireland. This disease assumed two distinct forms 

 — one characterised by large sclerotia hanging loosely in the pit-cavity 

 of the affected Potato-plant — the other b}- small crumpled inconspicuous 

 sclerotia firmly adherent to the epidermis of the leaves and stem. He 

 concluded by sa3'ing, that though neiftier of these diseases was so much 

 to be dreaded as the PJiytopthora, yet in certain districts they did a 

 great deal of damage to the crop. 



Mr. Greenwood Pim exhibited some lantern-slides of fungi, which were 

 greatly admired. Mr. Soppitt made a communication on the Gooseberry 

 yEcidium, a much commoner disease in Ireland than in England. The 

 life-history of this fungus he has been working at for some years. Mr. 

 Rea read a papei on the " Different Names applied by English and 

 French mycologists to one and the same Basidiomycete." The Saturday 

 excursion was to Dunran, where Mr. Patterson had found Boletus 

 poiphyrosporiis. 



A list of i6o additions to the fungus flora of Dublin and Wicklow by 

 Mr. Carleton Rea, the Honorary Secretary of the Society, will appeir in 

 our December issue. 



