LISTER ! THE STUDY OF MYCETOZOA IN BRITAIN. 
221 
study of Mycetozoa, we may rest assured that the torch-bearers, 
if not very a numerous body, are an enthusiastic and ever-in¬ 
creasing one. 
List of Mycetozoa recorded from Essex. 
The following species of Mycetozoa recorded for Essex 
were gathered almost entirely in the Epping Forest district. 
No doubt, if other parts of the county having different ecological 
■conditions could be searched, a much richer harvest would be 
•obtained. The specimens were found chiefly by my father 
and myself, with the help, from time to time, of a number of 
kind assistants. Among these I may mention Mr. Thomas 
Petch, who for several years was a very successful ‘ myxo- 
hunter ’ in the Forest. When, in 1904, he went to Ceylon to 
act as mycologist to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, 
* 
Mr. Petch continued his valuable observations on Mycetozoa, 
the results of which he published in the form of a descriptive 
list of the Mycetozoa of Ceylon. 8 Other keen observers of 
■our forest Mycetozoa are Miss A. Hibbert-Ware, F.L.S., and Mr. 
Joseph Ross. Miss Hibbert-Ware has paid attention to Mycetozoa 
for sixteen years, and by the charm and inspiration of her teach¬ 
ing has shared their interest with many others. Since 1912, 
she has worked at the subject in Essex. For the last four 
years, Mr. Ross has been so good as to send me monthly lists 
of the species he has seen about Chingford. The amount of 
continuous observation involved in making these lists has 
been no light work, and has resulted in fresh light being thrown 
on the seasonal appearance of the various species, and in several 
additions to the county records. 
The list of Mycetozoa found in Essex which is given below 
numbers eighty-two species, not including varieties. Among 
them mention is made of a new species, Comatricha flmbnata, 
which was found first by Mr. Raymond Finlayson in Wanstead 
Park. A full description of this novelty, with a portrait, will 
appear, I hope, in the May number of the Journal of Botany . 9 
In order to compare the Essex Mycetozoa (1) with those 
found in other parts of Britain, I append also tables showing 
the records obtained (2) from the counties of Bedfordshire, 
Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire, (3) from Somerset 
8 See Annals of the Roy. llot. Garden , Peradeniya , vol. iv., pt. vi. (1910). 
9 Op. cit vol. lv., p. 122, pi. 548, figs. 2, 2a-2d. 
