94 



variety of the black slug, Avion ater, having the body 

 greenish-white and head and foot-margins bright orange, 

 was found. 



" We are indebted to Mr. Step for the identification of the 

 foregoing Mollusca, also for the following botanical notes. 



" Nothing out of the ordinary came under our notice speak- 

 ing botanically. The beech-woods in which our time was 

 chiefly spent are very like those on the Surrey chalk hills, 

 with which most of us have a more intimate acquaintance. 

 Yet for the guidance of others contemplating a visit some 

 of the plants may be here recorded. The ground beneath 

 the trees was pretty well carpeted in places with woodruff 

 {Asperula odorata), dog's-mercury {Mercurialis perennis), 

 melic {Melica uniflora), and a little woodsorrel (Oxalis aceto- 

 sella). Among the larger constituents were the wych elm 

 {Uhnus montana), a very large-leaved form of hazel {Corylus 

 avellana), probably due to close cutting, some fine examples 

 of the gean {Priinus avium), buckthorn {Rhainnns frangula) 

 in flower, and dogwood (Cormts sanguinea). There were a 

 few patches of Clematis vitalba in flower among the wild 

 roses, and the wood spurge {Eiiphorbia amygdaloides) was 

 plentiful. A solitary wild gooseberry bush {Ribes grossularia) 

 was noted ; a few plants of perforated St. John's wort {Hy- 

 pericum perforatum) , cow wheat {Melampyrum pratense), the 

 sanicle {Sanicula europea), and a number of the white helle- 

 borine {Cephalanthera pallens). On railway banks near the 

 station the beautiful musk mallow {Malva moschata) was 

 abundant, and with it were the long- stalked geranium {Gera- 

 nium columbinum), the yellow vetchling {Lathyrus pratensis), 

 the field scabious (Scabiosa arvensis), and bittersweet {Solanum 

 dulcamara). By the railway arch was discovered the skull- 

 cap (Scutellaria galericulata) , and on the Chalfont side of the 

 line a colony of the broomrape {Orobanche major) was found 

 on a bank. Along the road to Amersham Common the 

 figwort {Scrophularia nodosa) was growing in the hedge, also 

 the barberry (Berberis vulgaris), the older leaves well sprinkled 

 with patches of the orange cluster-cups {JEcidium berberidis) 

 — one of the stages in the tri-morphic history of the corn- 

 mildew (Puccinia graminis), yellow bedstraw [Galium verum), 

 white bryony (Brionia dioica) and (Carex remota) were other 

 plants noted along this road. Little was done with cryptogams 

 in addition to the JEcidium already mentioned, but in the 

 woods we noticed many male ferns (Nephrodium filix-mas), 

 and a few fungi. The well-named stinkhorn {Phallus impu- 

 dicus) was there in abundance, the honey-combed glebe 



