THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY > NATURALIST. 



west of the level crossing, baskets and collecting 

 boxes were at once called into requisition, and a 

 large number of specimens, including several very 

 fine Fly Agarics (Amanita muscaria), whose brilliant 

 crimson tops rendered them as attractive to the 

 eye as so many bright flowers, were obtained. 

 These, like nearly all the red varieties, are 

 very poisonous. But here also some of the 

 edible Hedgehog Mushrooms (Hydnuin repandum) 

 were secured. It was not long before the 

 room occupied by the sandwiches was wanted for the 

 specimens, and the searchers were not sorry when 

 an early opportunity occurred to demolish their 

 lunch. Some turned from the path in this enclosure 

 to \vhat is marked on the maps as Costicles Pond. 

 This is now, however, filled up by a growth of bog 

 moss (Sphagnum), and thus offers an excellent 

 opportunity of seeing a peat bed in process of forma- 

 tion. To have ventured far on this would 

 have been dangerous, for it is very treacherous, 

 and soft underneath, so that if anyone once 

 sank into it it would be impossible to get out again. 

 Horses indeed are sometimes lost in such bogs as 

 this in the Forest. In Buskett's Wood another diver- 

 sion was found in a small gipsy encampment, where 

 the men were busily engaged in making clothes-pegs, 

 whilst the bare-headed and bare-footed children 

 squatted unconcernedly about on the damp grass. 

 Here it became evident that some of the party were 

 not sufficiently engrossed with the study of fungology 

 to give themselves up to the search ; so whilst the 

 specialists went steadily on with their collecting, 

 about half the number broke away fora walk as far 

 as the Kennels. This part of the Forest is always 

 very beautiful ; but just now the trees were in the 

 fullness of their autumn glory. The varied russet 

 tints of the beeches glittered in the sunlight, and 

 gave a golden tone to the landscape. 

 For autumn tints the beech is undoubtedly 

 superior to the oak ; not only does it 

 retain its leaves longer, but they have a brighter and 

 more glossy appearance ; and their beauty is also 

 well set off by the delicate greys and greens of the 

 trunks. Underneath, too, was the rich green of the 

 holly, which, it was mentioned, had become much 

 more plentiful since the extermination of the deer, 

 and on the floor a soft brown carpet of fallen leaves. 

 Several times the wanderers paused to admire 

 some specially pretty scene. It was in the fitness of 

 things that one of the party was Mr. W. H. Purkis, 

 of Southampton, who claims to be the lineal descend- 

 ant of the man who carted William Rufus's body from 

 the fatal spot near Stony Cross ; he was able to point 

 out the old cottage at Woodlands, which had been in 

 the possession of his family for 700 years. 



The party was united again at tea at the New Forest 

 Hotel, after which the collections of the day were 

 brought out on the table for examination. The Rev. W. 

 Eyre did the duties of president, Mr. Whitaker being 

 away at Reading, and said there was much work to 



be done by botanists in this county. Of the fungi of 

 the county he had published a list of 260 in their " Pro- 

 ceedings," and some additions to be made would bring 

 this up to 300. They had found about 100 specimens 

 that day, of which one, Boletus duriusculus, was 

 known only to occur in this and Epping Forests. In 

 calling upon Dr. Cooke for an address, he congratu- 

 lated him upon having nearly achieved the end of his 

 great work " Illustrations of British fungi." 



Dr. Cooke said they had found a few species of 

 interest and new to the Forest flora. The 

 whole number collected at this foray was 140, 

 and of these about 60 had not previously been 

 recorded for Hampshire. The Hampshire Field 

 Club showed up well in comparison with other 

 clubs which had given study to the subject. The last 

 3 years were the worst for many years past for 

 the dearth of species of the larger fungi ; so that what 

 had been found was very encouraging. There was 

 such variety in the New Forest that they would in 

 time eclipse the number to be found in the Forest of 

 Epping. To-day they had quite a fine specimen 

 which they had not found before, Tricholoma acerbus, 

 said to be eaten in Germany, but not tried here ; also 

 a Cortinarius not found in the New Forest before, and 

 several smaller species, one with red spores, 

 Entolonia jubatns, only previously found in three 

 districts. Generally speaking, members at first 

 collected for edible purposes ; then they got a little 

 knowledge and recognised the fungi by certain 

 external marks, the deadly Fly Agaric, for instance, 

 by its beautiful red cap, and the edible Hedgehog 

 Mushroom by its spines. Examples of some of the 

 edible kinds were passed round and described. 

 The Hydnum was pronounced superior to the 

 ordinary mushroom ; for no one had ever suffered 

 from eating it. The pure white Slimy Mushroom 

 (Agaricus niucidus) , growing on beech trees, was easily 

 recognised ; cut and fried it had a different flavour from 

 the ordinary mushroom and more delicate, and was 

 more digestible. The small Hydnum gclatinosum, 

 not very common, growing on the Continent 

 sometimes in a mass as large as a fist, was not unlike 

 calves' foot jelly. Agaricus prunulus, with pink 

 spores and an odour like musty meal (which dis- 

 tinguished it from the poisonous species), was very 

 attractive in flavour. Boletus luteus, a very common 

 fungus, was good to eat, and he preferred it to Boletus 

 edidis. Each of these different fungi had its own 

 particular flavour, and was no more to be compared 

 with the ordinary mushroom than mutton with beef. 

 The only way to learn what were eatable, and what 

 poisonous, was to see and examine them, and not 

 experiment from other people's descriptions. 



A vote of thanks to Dr. Cooke, proposed by Mr. 

 Morris Miles and seconded by Mr. F. J. Warner, 

 F.L.S., of Winchester, closed the days' proceedings. 



The Rev. W. L. W. Eyre writes that the total 

 number of different species of fungi found on this 



