Stow : Lincolnshire Galls. 



reproductive portion appearing- above the soil in the shape of 

 stipes, pileus, and g-ills. In the fresh state the latter portion 

 contains 90 per cent, of water, 0*25 fat (olein, etc.), 5-9 nitro- 

 genous matters, 2*9 carbohydrates, etc., 0*84 fibre, and 075 

 ash, which has 20*2 per cent, potass, 7-5 sand, 25*2 P"0^ etc. ; 

 in some soils there is in the ash 46*8 per cent, potass, 34*5 soda, 

 2-4 lime, 8*2 P'O', and 4*9 SO^ A nucleo-proteid figures largely 

 in the nitrogenous matters, also 0*32 per cent, lecithin, leucine, 

 tyrosin, and a soluble ferment (possibly trelelase). When young 

 the fungus contains a di-hexon sugar called trelalose, but when 

 older, or after gathering, mannite also appears, or the latter 

 alone w^hen the conditions of spontaneous fermentation are 

 specially favourable. The usual products of plant deassimila- 

 tion are rare in fungi ; they do not produce starch, lignin, 

 ordinary cellulose, chlorophyll, tannin, or resin. After successive 

 extraction by dilute soda, boiling dilute acid, alcohol, and ether, 

 a translucent, horny, whitish residue is left of chitosan, yielding 

 chitin (same as in animals). The large amount of nitrogen is 

 probably derived from the air confined in the soil, the heavy 

 drain of potass represents a very energetic phenomenon of 

 oxidation, and decomposition products of the proteids are 

 responsible for the various colouring matters ; for instance, the 

 pink colour of the gills turning to brownish black at the maturity 

 of this Mushroom is probably due to tyrosine acted on by an 

 oxidising ferment. 



HYMENOPTBRA. 



Lincolnshire Galls. — At a meeting of the Lincolnshire 

 Naturalists' Union at Spilsby, on 28th July, the following galled 

 plants were noted : — On Spilsby Sandstone : Ranunculus i^epens, 

 T3y Polycystis pompholygodes ; Galium Aparine, by Eriophyes galii ; 

 Quercus pedunculata, by Neuroterus numis7natis ; Jughms regia, 

 by Eriophyes tristratus var. erinea ; Vei'onica Chamcedrys, by 

 Cecido?7iyia veronica ; Urtica dioica, by Cecidomyia iirticce ; 

 A triplex angustifolia, by Aphis atriplicis ; Spircea Ulmaria, by 

 Cecidomyia ulmarice ; Cratcegus monogyna, by Cecidomyia cratcegi. 

 On Boulder Clay : Galium Apai'ine, by Cecidomyia aparince ; 

 Rosa canina, by Rhodites rosce, and by R. nervosus. On Kim- 

 meridge Clay : F^-axinus excelsior, by Phyllocoptes fraxini\ Salix 

 Jragilis, by N'ematus gallicola. — S. C. Stow, Grantham, 29th 

 August 1904. 



Naturalist. 



