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PARMELIA PARIETINA, NOTES AND QUERIES. 255 
PARMELIA PARIETINA. 
()* the few Lichens which are within easy reach of the Manchester 
Microscopist the Parmelia parietina is the one which is most 
plentiful and the most easily found. It grows upon the trunks of 
trees, and upon stone walls, as also upon rocks in the Buxton 
valley, and other surrounding hills in great plenty; but chiefly in 
damp situations, for it requires a large amount of moisture for its 
healthy development. The colour of the plant is of a greenish 
yellow, the yellow deepening frequently in the direction of orange. 
It forms a conspicuous and beautiful object wherever it may be 
found, but especially so if upon the limestone rocks. The contrast 
of colour betwixt the plant and the white of the limestone has a 
charming effect. This lichen is not only plentiful in the district I 
have indicated, but it is found in all other similar districts through- 
out the entire kingdom. 
As a microscopic object it is exceedingly interesting; it is a 
Gymnocarpus lichen, and if a very thin section be obtained of the 
fruit vessel—the apocethium—the asci will be seen 7” sifu, each 
ascus containing eight minute sporidia. In dry weather it is diffi- 
cult to remove it from its native home, and will break into - 
fragments if roughly handled; after a shower of rain it may be 
removed without the slightest difficulty. On examination of the 
section the student will find in the water or other fluid he may use 
a large number of small floating green bodies. These are gonidia, 
and are found in all lichens. They never exist in fungi, and thus 
form a test by which the two may be known. 
THOMAS BRITTAIN. 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Osmic Actp Mountinc.—At the August meeting of the Man- 
chester Microscopical Society, Mr. J. T. Fleming called our atten- 
tion to a slide of Volvox globator, mounted in Osmic Acid. It 
was a very successful preparation, but time alone will show whether J 
the slide is a permanent one. 
Macrorts LaptaTa.—I have been fortunate in obtaining a good 
series of both males and females of this insect—the rarest of our 

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