203 
THE YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION 
AT THE HOLE OF HORCUM. 
THE opening excursion of the present year was fixed for the Hole of 
Horcum and the upper end of Newtondale, in continuation of the 
very successful excursion of 1886, when the valley was explored 
between Lewisham and Pickering. The date fixed was Monday, 
May 13th, but the excursion practically began on the Saturday, a 
few members, including Messrs. A. H. Pawson, John Farrah, 
A. Millward, W. Denison Roebuck, F.L.S., G. C. Dennis, F.E.S., 
and A. E. Hall, F.E.S., taking up their quarters at Pickering for the 
week-end, and exploring the neighbourhood of Lockton, the 
Saltersgate Moors as far as Cross Cliff, and the Staindale Valley. 
For the Monday two main lines of route had been arranged, and 
were carried out ; the parties in both cases leaving Lewisham station 
on the arrival of the 11.21 a.m. train from the south. The largest 
body, a mixed party of geologists and naturalists, set out to explore 
the Hole of Horcum under the geological guidance of the Rev. E. 
Maule Cole, M.A., F.G.S., and the President of the Geological 
Section, Mr. S. Chadwick, F.G.S. 
The other party, smaller in number, were in charge of Mr. John 
Braim, of Pickering, whose intimate topographical knowledge, as 
well as his acquaintance with the natural history of the valley, was of 
great practical use. Mr. Wm. Fletcher and Major J. M. Mitchelson 
also accompanied this party, whose investigations did not extend 
more than about a couple of miles up the valley, there being plenty 
of occupation for them in so favourable a locality. Numerous birds 
were in song, and the inh ores Pes and ees abounded i in ate 
life. Butterflies were numerous, Argynni 
being especially welcome sights to a West Riding eye, while of fe 
LEuclidia glyphica and Phytometra enea were on the wing, and in one 
of the woods a number of the ant-hills made by Formica rufa were 
of great interest. Conchologists were the ones to suffer, as the 
beautiful sunny weather was too dry to permit of many molluscs 
being seen, only a few being observed in the early morning before 
the dew was off the grass. 
All members concentrated in the afternoon at Levisham Station 
for the 3.52 p.m. train for Pickering, where, at the Black Swan 
Hotel, an excellent meat-tea was provided by Mrs. Longhorn, whose 
catering at Whitby when the Union met there some years ago was 
well remembered. ‘The sectional meetings then took place, after 
which a visit was paid to Mr. Thomas Mitchelson’s excellent and 
well-arranged museum of antiquities. The museum also contains 
July 1895. 
