BATTARREA PHALLOIDES 199 



SO highly clehghted in his communication to me. ... At one 

 time, in my younger days, I studied the Fungi, but of late my 

 duties in my situation have occupied the whole of my leisure 

 hours. ... I judge about the end of summer is the time for 

 me to find the Batarrea. I have been to the spot since I received 

 your communication. I hope I might find it in the egg state, 

 tho' I don't like to dig, fearing I might destroy it." From this 

 letter it would seem that Hooker and Berkeley were anxious to 

 obtain the fungus in the young state, when it is said by Wood- 

 ward to be mucilaginous within, though from the appearance of 

 the mature specimens this would not be expected. 



With regard to the specimen from Wickham [Kent] near 

 Croydon, mentioned by Plowright, as stated by Mr. W. A. 

 Nicholson (p. 105) I have not been able to find any more exact 

 reference. The figure by W. G. Smith is from the block used in 

 the Gardener s Chronicle, 1873, p. 1111. The original water- 

 colour drawing from which the block was made is in the Exhibi- 

 tion Gallery of the Department of Botany, and represents the 

 largest of the specimens found at Nork by Mr. Spencer Perceval. 

 Mr. W. B. Grove informs me that there is a specimen in Plow- 

 right's herbarium at Birmingham University, but this is one of 

 the four Nork specimens. 



A reference by Berkeley (Hook. Journ. Bot. ii, 518, 1843) to 

 " Dickson's collection in the British Museum " led to a search for 

 the specimen, which was not indicated as present in the British 

 Herbarium in W. G. Smith's British Basidiomycetes. The genus- 

 cover, which had been misplaced, contains two sheets. On the 

 first are two specimens from the Broome herbarium both of which 

 are Nork specimens, one having been sent to Broome by W. G. 

 Smith, the other by the finder. The second sheet, written up in 

 M. C. Cooke's hand (previous, therefore, to 1874), states tliat the 

 specimen is " mounted and in the case outside with Sowerby's 

 models." This specimen which was exhibited at Bloomsbury and 

 is now in the exhibition gallery at South Kensington I beUeve to 

 be Dickson's type specimen, though there is no indication of 

 locality or date. 



Two other specimens without locality or date were found in a 

 box of odd specimens which was presented to the Museum by the 

 Linnean Society. The writing on the specimens is apparently 

 that of J. E. Smith, J. Dickson, and J. G. Konig. There are no 

 specimens of Battarrea in the small collection of fungi in Sir J. E. 

 Smith's herbarium at the Linnean Society, and these may there- 

 fore be the specimens he described. 



MYCETOZOA OF NOETH DEVON. 



By Norman G. Hadden. 



The amount of woodland, the quantity of rotten timber left 

 lying about, and the mild clear atmosphere all combine to make 

 North Devon a very favourable district for the development of 



