124 



same as those at Bradford ; indeed, they might serve for actual 

 drawings of them. 



A vote of thanks was cordially passed to Mr. Irvine for his 

 instructive remarks, and Mr. Scarth, whilst congratulating the 

 Club that this was the first time that the Saxon Chapel had been 

 so clearly and well illustrated, bore testimony to the accuracy with 

 which the building had been described ; and stated that he agreed 

 with Mr. Irvine in his views. 



Mr. Broome concluded the evening's conversazione with an 

 account of the esculent and non-esculent agarics. Fungi, he said, 

 were on the one side related to the animal kingdom, on the other 

 to the vegetable ; differing from lichens and algse in this, that 

 whereas the lichens derived their nourishment from the atmosphere, 

 and the algse from the water, the fungi dei-ived theirs from decaying 

 animal or vegetable matter. Then- tissue was cellular not woody ; 

 the odour which they gave out in decay, and the fact that they 

 absorbed oxygen and gave out carbonic acid gas, the reverse of 

 vegetables, indicated their close alliance to the animal kingdom. 

 Some scientific details were then given of the distinguishing marks 

 whereby the different genera were known, and the form of their 

 gills, the colour of their spores, and the shape of their cap and 

 stem pointed out with that scientific accuracy for which Mr. 

 Broome's researches in this pai-ticular branch of Natm-al History 

 are so well known. 



A hearty vote of thanks was returned to Mr. Jenyns for his able 

 presidency during the evening meetings. 

 Excursions. 



The morning of Tuesday, May 4th, rich with blessings for the 

 thirsty ground and the expectant agriculturist, was by no means 

 propitious to excursionists. Notwithstanding, however, the per- 

 sistent downpour, twelve members of the club were found at the 

 station ready at an early hour for the first excursion of this season 

 to Sherborne Minster, Castle, and Park. The original programme 

 was somewhat departed from, three membera only being sufficiently 

 waterproof to leave the train at Marston and walk, vid Trent 

 Barrow, to Sherborne, the i-est proceeding by train vid Yeovil. 

 The pedestrians in their traverse over the middle and upper lias 



