130 



YORKSHIRE MYCOLOGISTS AT BUCKDEN. 



A. E. PECK. 



[Continued from page 102). 



The evening Lectures, held in the Village School-rcnm, 

 were well attended by local residents. 



Mr. Cheesman gave a well considered address upon the 

 subject of the Tremellineae. 



' The Tremellinacese,' he said, ' may be considered to be 

 the lowest and primitive group of the Hymenomycetes. They 

 are of a jelly-like consistency, hard and horny when dry and 

 reviving when moistened. 



The basidia which are immersed in the gelatinous matrix, 

 are very variable in form and unlike those of any other group, 

 being transversely or longtitudinally septate, indicating a 

 connecting link between the Ustilagineae and the Uredineae 

 on the one hand and the true Basidiomycetes on the other. 



The spores of some species, instead of germinating at once 

 into mycelium, produce secondary spores or sporidiola. A 

 review was made of the three sub-families and the fourteen 

 genera of the group, the leading features of interest pointed 

 out and illustrated by means of diagrams and specimens.' 



Mr. Peck gave his Lantern Lecture entitled ' In the Track 

 of the Gamekeeper,' dealing with the work and surroundings 

 of the interesting individual named, coupled with natural 

 history references and the relation of a few anecdotes and per- 

 sonal adventures. 



Dr. Wager gave a lecture on ' Toadstools and their Ways,' 

 illustrated by specimens and drawings on the blackboard. In 

 his introductory remarks, he mentioned that this was the 

 third time the Mycological Committee had met under the 

 shadow of the great war. The desirability of continuing to 

 hold these meetings had been under consideration, but it was 

 felt that the study of Fungi is so important, both from an 

 economic and a scientific point of view, that it would be unwise 

 to discontinue them altogether. Many problems of general 

 scientific interest in Biology have been elucidated by the study 

 of the structure and physiology of the Fungi, and, in its more 

 utilitarian aspects, a knowledge of the life histories of Fungi 

 is of paramount importance in our # attempt to deal with the 

 enormous annual losses due to the fungus pests which attack 

 our field and garden crops. The utilisation of Fungi as food 

 is also an important matter. For want of an elementary 

 knowledge on the part of the people, both rich and poor, of 

 what are called toadstools, large quantities of most excellent 



Naturalist, 



