PROCEEDINGS OE THE PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
245 
noull Hill, and this was the only place where I have seen 
the moss near Perth. So far as I know, the stone remains 
in the same place, but the ditch has been covered in and a 
footpath made on the top, and so the moss has vanished. 
(3) THE FUNGI. 
As with the mosses, so with the fungi. The district is 
well worth exploration, but only a few days have been de¬ 
voted to it, with the result that a list of about 270 species 
can be drawn up. It is probable that further investiga¬ 
tion would easily double this list. The richest spot for 
fungi on Kinuoull Hill was a grove of silver firs just 
behind Corsiehill, but as many of th6 trees have been cut 
down, I fear that it may not now be so fertile. On a 
calm bright day in late autumn the sight presented by 
this grove was very entrancing. The grey boles of the firs, 
gigantic yet most elegant, rose upwards at not too close 
intervals from a soft bed of mosses of every hue from pale 
golden and silvery green to that of the deepest and most 
intense; while high overhead the graceful foliage of the 
trees formed a delicate fretwork against the blue of the 
sky. On the mossy beds below, fungi of the most brilliant 
colours and the most diverse shapes were profusely 
scattered. Cups and cornucopias of righ dark brown; 
tapering forms, single and in clusters, of white and 
yellow ; and caps of intense scarlet, rose, purple, grey, 
brown, yellow, and green, were amongst the many beauti¬ 
ful toadstools that adorned this fairy spot. But they were 
only toadstools, and hence despised ! 
I need not now enter into a lengthy description of the 
various species beyond mentioning that several kinds which 
had not before, and have not I think since, been found in 
Britain, were gathered here. Perhaps I should also say 
that the appended list does not refer to the grove at Corsie¬ 
hill only, but to the whole district, 
[The Lists of Species will he found at the end of the series 
of papers.] 
V.—The Insects. 
By Mr S. T. ELLISON. 
Kinnoull Hill is a favourite^resort of the entomologist. Being 
within easy access of the city and possessing a tolerably rich and 
varied insect fauna, the lover of this branch of natural history 
will be often found wending his way thitherwards. The task of 
working up the insects of any locality, if taken up by one 
individual only, must entail a considerable amount of work, 
spread over a lengthened period. He will need to be not only 
assiduous in his exertions, but constant in his labours. It will 
not do to imagine that one or two visits to a locality will give 
even a fair knowledge of its insects; no, it must be visited 
repeatedly in spring, in summer, ip autumn, and in winter, 
during all hours of the day, and 1 might almost add of the night 
also. 
Numerous though my visits have been of late years to Kin¬ 
noull, I should certainly have hesitated before undertaking 
the task of writing upon its Lepidoptera for this series of papers 
had I only my own experience to guide me. Fortunately, I have 
been able to profit by the experience of some of those who have 
worked the hill in years gone by. Although the syllabus credits 
me with the duly of speaking upon the insects of Kinnoull, I am 
sorry I can only undertake one group, the others being beyond 
my sphere; and I have been unable to gather any information 
regarding them, so little has been done towards their elucida¬ 
tion. I can only hope that the scant knowledge we possess of 
all the orders of insects, other than the Lepidoptera, may induce 
some enthusiastic member or members of our Society, not 
otherwise engaged, to give their attention to some of these 
tribes. I can promise them a most interesting study, as well as 
a health-giving pursuit; and if they are not rewarded by making 
some additions to the List of British Insects, they are certain to 
add very materially to the Perthshire List. 
In presenting a list of the Lepidoptera, it is of course impos¬ 
sible to call it complete, because at no time can the fauna of 
any district be said to be stationary,—there are always some 
species falling away and others appearing. I think I am 
justified, however, in saying that the Macro-Lepidoptera have 
been well worked. Of the Micros, I cannot say the list is as 
exhaustive as I would have liked it to have been, less attention 
having been given to these smaller species. 
If any of you have ever accomplished a wonderful journey, 
we sometimes see advertised, of round the world in the 
short space of about sixty minutes, you will be somewhat 
prepared for a performance equally wonderful in its way which 
I am going to ask you to undertake with me to-night, that is, to 
compress within the compass of six or seven minutes a year’s 
insect hunting on the top of Kinnoull Hill. Assuming then, 
that we have collected and arranged all the apparatus necessary 
for so protracted an excursion, we may about the beginning, say, 
of November wend our way towards the Hill, After passing 
Bowerswell we will call a halt for a few minutes to notice a spot 
sacred to the memory of Lasypolia Templi. It was on the 
second lamp past the well that Dr Buchanan White took the 
first Perthshire example of this rare insect. Continuing our 
ascent, I may say the hedges and banks (especially on the left- 
hand side) during the spring months afford food and shelter for 
many species of Noctua larvse. We shall arrive at the hill at a 
time of year when there is a jraucity of insect life, so may spend 
a little time in noticing the kinds and distribution of the trees. 
It will be found that the foot of the hill proper, from the 
entrance gate round as far as Corsie Hill, is principally covered 
with oak trees. Birch is most numerous around Corsie Hill. 
The open parts near the top are covered with heather and blae¬ 
berry, while spruces and larch and a few Scots firs, with beech, 
ash, and hawthorn, not only add to the characteristic beauty of 
