231 
YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS IN THE RIPON 
DISTRICT. 
The 378th Meeting was held at Ripon during the Bank Holiday week-end, 
August 5th to 7th. The attendance was smaller than the average for 
the meetings of the year, but a considerable amount of work was ac- 
complished, particularly by the Freshwater Biology and Entomology 
Sections respectively. On Monday the forces of the latter section were 
augmented by the visit of Messrs. J. R. Dibb, W. D. Hincks and M. L. 
Thompson. As the date coincided with about the middle cf the 
long drought experienced during this summer, conditions were not ideal 
for field work and it was fortunate that with the exception of an excursion 
scheduled for Brimham Rocks, the routes planned for the week-end were 
confined to the banks of streams, or to the vicinity of open waters like 
Eavestone Lake and Lumley Moor Reservoir. 
Evestone Lake and the valley of the Shell to Grantley provided a very 
full day on Saturday. The ‘ lake ’ is really a reservoir for the water 
supply of Grantley Hall, which has been constructed on the site previously 
occupied by a glacial lake. It is, nevertheless, a very beautiful sheet 
of water in picturesque surroundings situated at the eastern extremities 
of Pate ley and Eavestone Moors. As described by Kendall and Wroot : 
‘ Several landslips have interfered with the simplicity of its form, but 
the huge slipped masses of rock and pine with which the bank is planted 
give something of the air of a Swiss hillside far more impressive than 
the bare 200 feet of height would warrant.’ Mr. C. Allen, with the 
assistance of Mrs. E. M. Morehouse, collected information relating to the 
biological aspects of the lake, while Mr. W. P. Winter, B.Sc., made a 
series of observations on the physical and chemical natures of the standing 
and inflowing waters. Despite the general dryness of the woods there 
was sufficient humidity to permit the development of the fleshy fungi 
and a good collection was made which included no few r er than ten species 
of Boleti. 
Lumley Reservoir, the property of Ripon Corporation, was visited 
on Sunday, and its low state was a favourable circumstance rather than 
otherwise, as it gave an opportunity for close investigation of the banks 
down to the rock at low water level, and a good deal of interesting 
botanical work was done, as reported by the President. This visit 
followed the excursions to Sawley and Pickin Gill made earlier in the 
day. At the latter place several large nests of the Wood Ant w r ere an 
interesting entomological feature of the bracken -covered edges of the 
lake, and the number and diversity of the insects being carried to the 
nests by the ants gave the impression that the latter were expert and 
very successful rivals of the entomologists present in the party. 
The investigation of Spa Gill Woods occupied the greater part of 
Monday. Here, at the head of the Gill, the sulphur springs were examined 
and their waters sampled dietetically. Some of this water is pumped 
to Ripon for Spa purposes, but at the time of the visit either an overflow 
from this or from another spring was running directly into the stream, 
and a number of observations on the effect of this addition on the life of 
the stream were made by Mr. Allen. Deposits of precipitated sulphur 
could be seen encrusting the rocks, stones and vegetable matter for a 
considerable distance downstream from this point. The lower reaches 
of the Skell, through Mackershaw Wood, scheduled for examination on 
this day -were not visited until Tuesday wdien a small party, under the 
leadership of the President, completed a programme which might with 
advantage be repeated at no far distant date some two months earlier 
in the year. 
On Monday evening a General Meeting was held at Headquarters, 
the President (Mr. J. M. Brown, B.Sc., F.L.S., F.R.E.S.) occupying 
the chair. Reports were made on the fresh -water biology of the district 
1933 Oct. 1 
