The Natural History of Kirhy Moorside. 405 



The August Bank Holiday excursion comes at a season 

 when the main fungus crop is just beginning to appear, and, 

 given a suitable district and favourable weather, it serves as 

 a good opening for the real autumn campaign. This year 

 both these factors united to promise a profitable time, and the 

 mycologists met prepared to make the most of their oj^por- 

 tunities. The woods which clothed the sides of the deep river 

 valleys, though somewhat dry in the higher parts, had in the 

 lower portions and along the stream sides plenty of moist 

 places with deep leaf mould and abundance of rotting twigs 

 and branches, suitable habitats for saprophytic fungi. To 

 these spots the mycologists chiefly devoted themselves, and 

 the list which follows shows a large proportion of woodland 

 species, especially those which grow on dead wood. The 

 Agarics were better represented than is usual so early in the 

 season ; altogether fifty-seven species being seen. Among 

 the more uncommon may be noted Paxillus atrotomentosus, 

 only once previously recorded for the county, and that from 

 the neighbouring district of Pickering ; Naucoria sobria var. 

 dispersa, and Hypholoma cascum. Pasture Agarics were 

 scarce, only two specimens of the common mushroom being 

 seen. The Hygrophori were represented by single specimens 

 ■of H. conicus and H. coccinens, and such common species as 

 Nolanea pascua and Stropharia semiglohata were also repre- 

 sented by solitary examples. Among the lower Hymeno- 

 m3'Xetes the most interesting species seen was Merulhis rufus- 

 airly common on dead branches. A feature of the excursion 

 was the abundance of Myxomycetes or Mycetozoa ; almost 

 every dead branch or twig had its little tenants belonging to 

 this half-plant half-animal family. Particularly numerous 

 was Physarum (= Tilmadoche) nutans, and some fine batches 

 of its close ally P. leucophaeum were also found. Trichiae, 

 and especially the usually abundant T. varia, were less common 

 than usual. T. fallax was much infested by the parasitic 

 mould Stilhum tomentosum. The commonest Arcyriae w'ere 

 A. incarnata and A. cinerea, the only group of A. punicea 

 was on an unusual matrix, bare clayey soil in a woodland path. 



Altogether, 140 species were identified. Of these three 

 species and one variety are new to Yorkshire, and are marked 

 * in the list which follows ; the one marked f is a new record 

 for north-east Yorkshire. 



List of species seen : — 



1910 Nov. I. 



