‘ie hs 4 - i a ¥ mw ey c ae ace & Ye r Reo Oe Se ee bates — eal 5 — WOOLHOPE NAW CEPHALASPIS A (Si his Photograph is presented to the q BALISTS’ FIELD CLUB. CEROLEPIS. (Harley. ) APAGE 240.) , fn Part, by J. E. Lee, Esq., and Dr. Bull. } “aa ea aie +. TRANSACTIONS WOOLHOPE NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB. (ESTABLISHED MDCCCLLI.) Cy 1868 “ Hore on—Hopr EVER,” HEREFORD : PRINTED AT THE “‘ TIMES” els MAYLORD STREET, MDCCCLXI TABLE OF CONTENTS. ° —DiGe—- THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE YEAR 1868. OFFICERS, MEMBERS, AND RULES. THE HAMPTON COURT MEETING ......sseceeeereseeeeecoseeerrseenensssneneneees pages The Silurian Fossils at Wicton, by Dr. Bull, 3.—The Cornstones of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, by Dr. M‘Cullough, 8.—The Mole Cricket, 16.—The Japan Silkworm, 18.—The Camp of Risbury, by Flavell Edmunds, Esq., 19,—The Species of Hyles- inus, by Dr. Chapman, 26. THE CRUMLIN VIADUCT AND PONTYPOOL MEETING «seseeeeeterssersees pages The South Wales Coal Field, by G. P. Bevan, Esq., F.G.S., 35.— Mr. Adams’ Fossils, 46.—Microscopic Lamp, 47.—The Flight of Birds, by Jas. Rankin, Esq., M.A., 48.—Mason Wasps and their Parasitic Bees, by Elmes Y. Steele, Esq., 60. THE PENWYLLT AND ScWD HEN RHYD MEETING «--...----+eeeeeeeereees pages The Geology of the District, by the Rev. W. S. Symonds, F.G.5., &c., 68.—The Elm Tree in Herefordshire, by Dr. Bull, 80. THe LupLow MEETING FOR TITTERSTONE CLEE FILL, 80. ..0..0 0000s pages Geological Address on the Titterstone Clee Hill, by the Rev. J. D. Latouche, F.G.S., 102.—The Reproduction and Development of Animals, by the Rev. W. Houghtcn, M.A, F.L.S., 113.—The Lucerne Dodder, 122.—Our Native Food-producing Plants, by Thos, Blashill, Esq., V.P., 123.—The Air Bladder of Fishes, by John Lloyd, Esq., 133.-—Palzeontological Notes from Woolhope, by the Rev. P. B. Brodie, F.G.8., 144.—Notes on the Onny River Section, by J. W. Salter, Esq., F.G.S., 148. THE HEREFORD MEETING FOR WOOLHOPE «sess sssteseeesrerers British Snakes, by the Rev. Thos. Phillipps, M.A., 158.—A Botanical Stroll, by Mr. B. M. Watkins, 164.—Herefordskire Roman Roads, by James Davis, Esq., 168.—Jasminum revolutum varie- gatum, 173.—Geology of the Usk District, by J. W. Salter, Esq., ¥.G.S., 174.—Pterygotus taurinus, 178.—Xylophagous Beetles, by Dr. Chapman, 180. pages i,-viii. 1-31 32-64 65-97 98-152 seses esses pages 153-183 THE FORAY AMONG THE FUNGUSES, FROM HEREFORD seecececeecseeeees Pages 184-225 Edible Funguses. at the Royal Horticultural Society, by Dr. Bull, 193.—Illustrations of Edible Funguses of Herefordshire, by Dr. Bull, 196.—Why we should not eat Funguses, by the Rev. J. D. Latouche, 204.—Spores of Fungi, by Worthington G. Smith, Esq., F.L.S., 210.—Fairy Rings and their Fungi, by Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., 211. [The Annual Meeting TABLE OF CONTENTS, CONTINUED. WHE CANN UAT: MRR TING Stee pert otc. ones ced entae tty shee sods boc nans cn .. pages 226-276 Meteorology for 1868 and Tables, by E. J. Isbell, Esq., 228.—Fossils, illustrated, 239.—New and rare Fungi, by Worthington G. Smith, Esq., illustrated, 245,—Early Wild Flowers of 1869, by Messrs. Southall and Watkins, 247.—Alluvial Deposits of Rivers, by the Rev. J. D. Latouche, F.G.S., 249.—The Remarkable Trees of Whitfield, 255.—Serjeant Hoskyns, 257 and 272.—Herefordshire Forges, 270, FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE CLUB FOR 1868. List OF OFFICERS AND THE FIELD-DAYS APPOINTED FOR 1869. ILLUSTRATIONS. Caphaladpin ASterolepis!ieicic.c. os cccescrcc csencecescrvesea.careecniae act irmee FRONTISPIECE, Wharton. : siren as, Seneca ean Cena acet ratte tccce tyre To FACE PAGE uk Hylesinus and its Wood Sculpturings, with description...... BETWEEN PAGES 26-27 Odynerus Spinipes, with description ..............ecceseeeceeeee - 7 60-61 MhewKarlpracre meen ar sssehecesten et ctacesetccastestsaeacetesutecteces ets To FACE PAGE 80 Grotesque Wych Elms ................ KR Ree eee pertecta: na Ag 82 The Holm Lacey Elm... Rico heatoncceahartes ine caoccnscacvetae inn 5 86 Phe Wreval ell *22s5s2. cate ateteeece sate Bead ttesdecteve este aeauetietes 45 90 Sketch in colours of Cuscuta Hassiaca ........ecceceecceeeeene teens yr 122 Forms of Swimming Bladders\.......cccsecsscvccnossscevcnssescaceecsce 5 140 Sketch in colours of Agaricus Gambosus ..... Miecusvanstedsaacnaet A 197 Ditto Coprinus Comatus.......ccccecccereeees cadaaeee = 200 Ditto Agaricus Rubescens ...ss0...seeeeee aaeezeuehe 3 Hh 202 Spores of Fungi ...........0008 Ran tvcueeeacekes se Mewvesccanes Spaaaassteniee "5 210 Forms of Fairy Rings......... evadsapeacsice waeeiteave SNS FO 1c? CERES - oH 224 Fossil Sketches—No. 4 Stylonurus Symondsii....... Seavcudedecte ” 239 Ditto No. 5 Homalonotus Johannis .........+ joni “5 241 Ditto No. 6H. Delphinocephalus& H. Bens 9 242 Sketch in colours of Lactarius Controversus .......s..sseeeeseeee "9 245 Ditto Agaricus (Entoloma) J a, out a grophorus Calyptreformis ....... Recap eeeten atone see ” 246 The Cedar of Lebanon, Whitfield ......s0csssccseceseessnrseeeetens op 255 The Maidenhair Tree n Renee e eS uecece soctacrersunmeanes a8 264 The Silver Fir * Reese hcciasho rics ackiohiteeePREee ” 267 “OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1868. President: DR. M’CULLOUGH, Abergavenny. Vice-Presidents: Caanpos Wren Hosxyns, Esq., M.P., Harewood, Ross. Rev. H. Coorzr Kry, M.A., Stretton Rectory, Hereford. James Rankin, Esq-, M.A., Bryngwyn, Hereford. T. Buasnit, Esq., 10, Old Jewry Chambers, London. Central Committee: Dr. Butt, Hereford. Trmorsy Curtey, Esq., C.E., F.G.S., Hereford. Joun Lioyp, Esq., Huntington Court, Hereford. Honorary Secretary: Rey. Gzorce H. Cornewatt, Moccas Rectory, Hereford, Treasurer and Assistant-Secretary: Mr, A, Txomson, King Street, Hereford. , "ey Fale Rae es 4 cai an eaten #0 a aie BBE he. $: a 2, ». nie a ng sc aie eae a ‘htemtihinteoacsipsnieiie = 42 oy ; » ae o3L ay wer: Rpts pens sWigeNedens PEE mh a Mbt noes asf ad ToC RR Noa neSyhe hea titi. 2 opto! povonidae a : ; ree Brae pte MBsDP Borsa 90. ; 7 ? Pe: zi ashrene Aiea a sat ttt F P x nis? igh amare i : obese rien (he eek SCO a ae a i] LIST OF HONORARY MEMBERS. Sir W. Jardine, Bart., F.R.S., &c., &c., Jardine Hall, Dumfriesshire. Sir Charles Lyell, Bart., M.A., F.R.S., &c., London. _ Sir Roderick J. Murchison, Bart., F.R.S., &c., 16, Belgrave Square, London. George Bentham, Esq., President of the Linnean Society, &c., London. Rey. P. B. Brodie, M.A., F.G.S., Rowington Vicarage, Warwick. J. E. Davies, Esq., F.G.S., London. Flavell Edmunds, Esq., Hereford. W. Henry Fitton, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. Dr. H. B. Geinitz, Professor of Geology, &c., Dresden. Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c., &c., Worcester. Professor John Lindley, Ph. D., F.R.S., &c., London. R. M. Lingwood, Esq., F.G.S., &c., Cowley House, Exeter. Professor W. Melville, Queen’s College, Galway, Ireland. Professor John Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.8., St. Mary’s Lodge, York. Rev. W. H. Purchas, Falkner Street, Gloucester. J. W. Salter, Esq., F.G.S., &c., London. Rev. Professor A. Sedgwick, B.D., F.R.S., &c., University, Cambridge. Sir W. V. Guise, Bart., F.G.S., &c., Elmore Court, Gloucester, President of the Cotteswold Naturalists’ Field Club. W. H. Paine, Esq., Stroud, Honorary Secretary of the Cotteswold Naturalists’ ; Field Club. Rey. W. 8S. Symonds, F.G.S., Pendock Rectory, Tewkesbury, President of the Malvern Naturalists’ Field Club. Rey. R. P. Hill, Brocmesberrow Rectory, Ledbury, Hon. Secretary. The President of the Warwickshire Naturalists’ Field Club. The President and Hon. Secretary of the Oswestry and Welshpool Naturalists’ Field Club. The President, Curator, and Hon. Secretary of the Dudley and Midland Geological and Scientific Society and Field Club. The President and Hon. Secretary of the Severn Valley Field Club. The President and Hon. Secretary of the Caradoc Field Club, Shropshire. The President and Hon. Secretary of the Worcestershire Naturalist Club. OBR DAN AR Y MEMBERS, 1868. Adams, W., Esq. Allen, B. Haigh, Esq. Arkwright, J. H., Esq. Armitage, Arthur, Esq. Banks, R. W., Esq. Banks, Wm., Esq. Bayliss, Mr. Philip, (dec.) Beavan, Rev. T. M. Blashill, Thomas, Esq. Bodenham, C. De la Barre, Esq. Bonnor, W. J., Esq. Broughton, F., Esq. Bull, H..G., Esq., M.D. Cam, Thomas, Esq. Capel, Rev. Bury. Capper, Rev. D. P. Capper, R. H., Esq. Clark, Rev. Samuel Clive, G., Esq., M.P. Cocking, G., Esq. Collins, J. S., Esq. Colvin, Colonel, C.B. Cornewall, Rev. Sir G. H., Bart. Crouch, Rev. J. F., B.D. Curley, T., Esq., C.E., F.G.S. Davies, Isaac, Esq., C.E. Davies, James, Esq. Davies, Rev. James, M.A, Dixon, Rev. R., M.A. Downing, Mr. J. B. Du Buisson, Rev. E., M.A. Dumbleton, H., Esq. Eld, Rev. F. J., M.A. Evans, E. M., Esq. Feilden, Lieutenant-Colonel. Fowle, Rev. W. C., M.A. Fowler, J. T. Owen, Esq. Garrold, T. W., Esq. Gray, Rev. Arthur, M.A. Greenhow, R. Esq. Hanbury, Rev. J. Capel, M.A. Harrison, D. R., Esq. Hereford, Viscount. Hereford, Richard, Esq. Hereford, Captain. Hereford, Rev. R., M.A. Hernaman, Rev. J. W. D., M.A. Hill, Rev. H. T, M.A. Hoskyns, Chandos Wren, Esq., M.P. Husbands, E. T., Esq. Isbell, E. J., Esq. Jenkins, H, J., Esq. Jones, Machen, Rev. J. Edward. Jones, Thomas, Rev. W., M.A. Jukes, Rev. J. H., M.A. Key, Rev. H. Cooper, M.A, Lane, Mr. Theophilus. Lee, John Edward, Esq., F.G.8., &c. Lightbody, R., Esq. Llanwarne, Thos., Esq. Lloyd, Mr. Jas. W. Lloyd, John, Esq. Martin, C. G. Esq. M‘Cullough, D. M., Esq., M.D. Merewether, Rev. F,, B.C.L. Morris, J. G., Esq. Newton, M., Esq. Owen, Evan, Esq. Owen, Rev. E. J. Palin, Rev. Edward. Pateshall, Evan, Esq. Phillipps, Rev. Thos., M. A. Phillips, Mr. Wm. Phillott, Rev. H. W., M.A, Pitt, Mr. John H, Poole, Rev. Wm., M.A. Purchas, Alfred, Esq. Rankin, James, Esq. Raven, Rev. John. Reaveley, Rev. F, Fenwick, 8.C.L, Salwey, Humphrey, Esq. Scudamore, Colonel, Shellard, O., Esq. Smith, Rev. C., M.A. Smith, J. E., Esq. Southall, Mr. H. Stanhope, Rev. B. L 8., M.A. Stanhope, Rev. W. P. 8., M.A. Steele, Elmes Y., Esq. Stillingfleet, Rev. H. J. W., M.A. Styles, R. H. P., Esq. Thirwall, Rev. T. J. Thompson, Mr. Arthur. Tweed, Rev. H. W., M.A. Vaughan, Jas., Esq. Weare, Rev. T. W., M.A. West, Rev. Thos., M.A, Westropp, Rev. C. J., B A. Williams, Captain. With, Mr. G. Wood, J. H., Esq. Woodhouse, Rev. Thos., M.A. Wynne, N. 8., Esq. NEW MEMBERS ELECTED DURING THE YEAR 1868. HONORARY MEMBER, G, Phillips Bevan, Esq., F.G.S., 4, Suffolk Square, Cheltenham, 7 ORDINARY MEMBERS, Adams, Mr. Thomas. Kempson, F. R., Esq. Andrews, Mr. John. Lambe, John, Esq. Aston, William, Esq. Merriman, J. Jones, Esq, Bowen, J. Mortimer, Esq. Robinson, Rev. C. J., M,A, Bowen, Wm., Esq. Rosher, Lilburn, Esq. Clive, Rev. Archer, M.A. Salwey, Alfred, Esq. Cooke, W. H., Esq., Q.C. Smith, Rev. J. Gregory, M.A, George, Rev. D. J., B.A, Smith, R. Vassar, Esq. Herbert, J. M., Esq. Turner, Thos., Esq. Hutchinson, Arthur, Esq. Warner, W. H., Esq. Hutchinson, E. S., Esq. Williams, Thos, Edward, Esq. Jones, Rev. A, G., B.A. RULES OF THE WOOLHOPE NATURALISTS’ FIELD CLUB. I—That a Society be formed under the name of the * Woornore Nartourauists’ Freip Civus,”’ for the practical study, in all its branches, of the Natural History of Herefordshire and the districts immediately adjacent. I.—That the Club consist of Ordinary Members, with such Honorary Members.as may be admitted from time to time; from whom a President, four Vice-Presidents, a Central Committee, Treasurer, and Honorary Secretary be appointed at the Annual Meeting to be held at Hereford in the early part of each year. The President and Vice-Presidents to change annually. If1.—The Central Committee shall consist of three members, resident in the city or in its immediate vicinity, with the President Vice-Presidents, and Honorary Secretary ex-officio. It shall be empowered to appoint an Assistant Secretary; and its duties shall be to make all the necessary arrangements for the meetings of the year, and take the management of the Club during the intervals of the meetings. IV.—That the members of the Club shall hold not less than three Field Meetings during the year, inthe most interesting localities for investigating the natural history of the district. That the days ‘ and places of such regular meetings be selected at the Annual Meeting, and that ten clear days’ notice of each be communicated to the Members by a circular from the Secretary ; but that the Central Committee be empowered, upon urgent occasions, to alter the days of such regular Field Meetiegs, and also to fix special or extra Field Meetings during the year. V.—That an Entrance Fee of Ten Shillings shall be paid by all Members on election, and that the Annual Subscription be Ten Shillings, payable on the Ist of January in each year, to the Treasurer, or Assistant Secretary. Hach Member may have the privilege of introducing a friend on any of the field days of the Club. Vl1.—That the Reports of the several meetings, and all the papers read to the Club during the year, be forwarded to the Hereford Times newspaper for publication as ordinary news, and that the type be re-set in octavo at the expense of the Club, to form - (with such additions as may be deemed advisable) the Transactions of: the Club. VIL.—That the cost of any lithographic or other illustrations be defrayed by the author of the paper for which they may be required, unless the subject has been taken up at the request of the Club, and in that case the cost of such illustration to be paid for from the Club funds, must be specially sanctioned at one of the general meetings. j VIII.—That the President of the year arrange for an address to be given in the field at each meeting, and for papers to be read after dinner ; and that he be requested to favour the Club with an address at the Annual Meeting, on the proceedings of the year, together with such observations as he may deem conducive to the welfare of the Club and the promotion of its objects. IX —That all candidates for Membership shall be proposed and seconded by existing Members, either verbally or in writing, at any meeting of the Club, and shall be eligible to be ballotted for at “the next meeting, provided there be Five Members present; one black ball in TuReE to exclude. X.—That Members finding rare or interesting specimens, or observing any remarkable phenomenon relating to any branch of Natural History, shall immediately forward a statement thereof to the Hon. Secretary, or to any member of the Central Committee. XI.—That the Club undertake the formation and publication of correct lists of the various natural productions of the County of Hereford, with such observations as their respective authors may deem necessary. XII.—That Members whose subscriptions shall remain for three years in arrear after demand, be held to have withdrawn, and their names shall accordingly be omitted from the list of Members at the ensuing Annual Meeting. XIII.—That the Assistant Secretary do send out circulars ten days at least before the Annual Meeting, to all Members who have not paid their subscription, and drawing the particular attention of all those that may be affected by the operation of Rule XII, to that Rule. XIV.—That these Rules be printed annually with the Trans- actions, for general distribution to the Members. ¢ rt 4 | @ Sd Gree Fy”: AEC WOOLHOPE NATURS CEPHALASPIS ASW (SEE This Photograph is presented to the Cluj forse FIELD CLUB. | a " 7 i ae od ia ROLEPIS. ( Harley.) 7B 240.) n part, by J. F. Lee, Esq., and Dr. Bull. ADDRESS OF THE RETIRING PRESIDENT, (DR. M‘CULLOUGH,) READ AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, MONDAY, MARCH 1s1, 1869. ENTLEMEN,—I am now, at the termination of my period of office, required by the rules to address you on the proceedings of the year. I shall not, however, attempt to enter into the details of our meetings, which have already been reported very fully, but shall pass shortly in review the various subjects which have been brought before us in the different branches of Natural History. . Geology, I think, claims the first place, both from the name of our club and from our traditions. Whilst it must always occupy a large share of our attention, we may congratulate ourselves that it does not predominate as for- merly, not, I hope, that we cultivate this corner of our field less, but that tha others have been less neglected. To appreciate Nature thoroughly it must be studied as a whole, and however wonderful the records of a dead world may be—and none but those who study them can imagine how wonderful they are— they are even surpassed in interest by the phenomena of the living world, which are passing hourly before our eyes. Beginning with the oldest formation which we have investigated, the Silurian, we commenced the season at Wicton, in the hope of finding a new exposure of that formation, but although we found undoubted Silurian fossils, they were not in situ, and our attention was happily called to a subject of great interest, and one which, perhaps, more than any other requires working out in our district, that of the superficial deposits, In a district such as this, attention ll. is naturally drawn to the older formations, but we must not forget that com- paratively recent deposits overlie our old rocks whose history demands inves- tigation, and I trust some of our members may be induced to study them. Our attention was next directed to the Silurian formations by Mr. La Touche, in his able address from the Titterstone Clee, from which he pointed out their relation to the Cambrian rocks in the distance and the coal measures under our feet. To Mr. Salter we are especially indebted. His ‘‘ Notes on the Onny river section,” and his paper on ‘‘Some new points in the geology of the Usk district” are valuable contributions to Silurian geology, and those who attended the meeting at Woolhope know how much his lucid description of the fossils contributed to the interest and success of the day. The Rev. P. B. Brodie has given us his very suggestive Palsontological notes, and I trust that what he says of the exposure of Downton sandstone at Purton, where he found abundant remains of Pterygotus and Eurypterus will not be lost sight of. I am convinced that this and the lower portion of the Old Red Sandstone around the Woolhope district will yield a rich harvest to the diligent geologist, and I may remind you that both crustacean and plant remains were found in the latter at Nash Tump during the few minutes halt on our way to Sollar’s Hope. Whilst working in the lower Old Red Sandstone at Ewyas Harold, in company with Mr. Salter, I was fortunate enough to add the Pterygotus Taurinus to our fossils. This quarry is at no great distance from Rowlstone, where another unique fossil, the Stylonurus Symondsii, figured in our transactions for this year, was found. I may observe that in Siluria it is erroneously stated that Rowlestone is in Brecknockshire and near Hay, whereas it is in Herefordshire 13 miles south-east of Hay. In the quarry from which the Stylonurus was obtained I found during the last summer Cephalaspis and Parka decipiens, and am therefore disposed to place it consider- ably lower in the Old Red than the zone apparently allotted to it by Murchison, I believe there is still much to do in determining the horizons of the fossils of the Lower Old Red and their relations to the different beds of Cornstones, and I trust something more may be done in this matter during the ensuing season. To those who are working at this subject the publication during the past year by the Palzontographical Society, of the first part of Mr. E. Ray Lankester’s monograph on the Cephalaspidz will afford much assistance, and I hope the remainder will soon follow. As it may confuse some of our members who are not familiar with the strata, I may point out that he erroneously places the Ludlow bone bed above the Downton sandstone. The same mistake is made by Lyell, Elements 6th ed., pp. 106 and 548. The middle portion of the Old Red continues as heretofore very barren in thig district, the only thing found in it during the year so far as I know being some traces of plants, and the almost equally barren upper part has only yielded a small portion of fish remains, possibly a part of a scale of Holoptychius which I found in the yellowish sandstone beneath the mountain limestone near Gilwern. Without wishing to over estimate the importance of fossil remains, and whilst I would caution you against hunting after fossils merely as fossils, yet I would remind you that they : : iii. are the chief means by which we are enabled to disentangle the often complex web of geological succession and correlate the deposits in one district or country with their equivalents in time in another. Passing up to the carboniferous system we twice visited portions of the South Wales coal field. At Pontypool we had a most able address from a former President of this Society, Mr. G. Phillips Bevan, who has done so much in investigating this coal field. We had the pleasure of meeting there the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, under the presidency of Mr. Adams, to whom we are much indebted for showing us his beautiful collection of coal measure fossils, Our second visit was to the northern part of the field at Penwyllt, where we could see as ina diagram the Old Red of the Breconshire mountains, the Mountain Limestone, and the Millstone Grit, dipping under the coal measures. The Rev. W. 8. Symonds, to whom we have been so often indebted, kindly gave us the field address, and I need not remind you how comprehensive and suggestive it was, and how well it illustrated the great changes which were recorded in the hills and valleys around us. Our subsequent visit to the beautiful water- fall of the Scwd Hen Rhyd, and the demonstration which it afforded to the merest tyro in geology of the mode in which the valley of the Llech had been and is being eroded, showed us that the present state of the earth’s surface is by no means a final one, but that important and inevitable changes are now going on slowly it may be but surely. These changes are again brought before us to-day by Mr. La Touche in his paper on the Alluvial Deposit of Rivers—a subject the investigation of which may enable us to form some reliable estimate of the rapidity of the disintegration which different parts of the earth’s surface are now undergoing. The Animal Kingdom has engaged a large share of our attention, and has enlisted several new workers in our ranks, Mr. Rankin’s lucid and able paper on the means of flight of birds brought before us a subject of daily interest, and has probably led many of us to observe with more knowledge and conse- quently with more pleasure the movements of a class of animals which more than any other adds beauty to a landscape. The Rev. Thomas Phillipps in his paper on Snakes directed our attention to the most prominent characteristics of our few British species of this order of reptiles. It is to be regretted that the dread inspired by these graceful creatures leads to the constant destruction even of the harmless species. The Fishes were brought before us in Mr, Lloyd’s very instructive paper on their swim bladders, which I am sure contained matter new to most of us. Many interesting points remain to be cleared up, especially regarding the migratory species of this class of the animal kingdom, and there could be no fitter work for this society. I hope we may have further contribu- tions from the author of this paper on a subject which he has so many oppor- tunities of studying. Entomology has been much more cultivated than formerly. Mr. Steele’s paper on Mason Wasps illustrated a marvellous history of insect life, and Dr. iv. Chapman in his papers on Hylesinus and other wood-feeding beetles not only added to our knowledge but made a valuable contribution to science. If these papers have induced any of you to watch the habits of the insect world Iam sure you will feel grateful for having your attention directed to so interesting ® field of observation. For myself I know that during the past summer watching these creatures has been the occupation of many a pleasant and instructive hour. Mr. Houghton in his paper on the reproduction and developement of animals discussed various questions, which are of surpassing interest at the present time, from the light they throw on the changes and gradations which may be traced in different organs, and between different classes of animals. I may advert to a further subject which has long been disputed but which seems to be rapidly gaining adherents, namely, the spontaneous origin of some of the lowest forms of animal life. The productions of the vegetable world, existing as they do everywhere in boundless profusion and in forms almost infinitely varied, have necessarily engaged our attention on many occasions. We saw them in their grandest and most enduring form in the magnificent oaks and other trees at Hampton Court and Holme Lacy. Not the least valuable of our work is placing on record the measurement of such giants, and directing attention to their most valuable varieties and the conditions most favourable to their growth. Dr. Bull’s paper on the Elm tree in Herefordshire will also, I trust, have a lasting influence, by directing attention toa crying want, that of planting avenues of trees in and near our towns, Two plants have been added to the flora of the county, the Alyssum Calycinum and the Cuscuta Hassiaca. The latter is of great interest, and has been figured for our transactions. Mr. Lingen, who some years ago brought before the club an interesting variation or reversion in the laburnum, sent us a still more remarkable specimen produced by budding the Jasminum revolutum with a variegated form of Jasminum officinale. This is so interesting with regard to the variation of species that I would suggest it asa subject for further ex- periment and investigation. Mr. Blashill’s able and exhaustive paper on our native food-producing plants, though showing how many good things are of native growth, must have made us feel how meagre our bill of fare would be if limited to native productions. Mr. B. M. Watkins’s botanical stroll shows how much remains to be done in making complete lists of the plants in the different districts of the county, as published in our Transactions for 1866. The most noteworthy event of the year is the impetus which has been given to the study and, I may add, the eating of Funguses. Dr. Bull’s illus- trations of Edible Funguses in the transactions of the previous year prepared the way, and his success at the South Kensington Exhibition, which we all felt as a feather in the cap of the society, in addition to the plumes which decorated his own, gave an ecldt to our Foray amongst the Funguses, which contributed Vv. no little to its success. Reflecting, as I often have done, on the difficulty of accomplishing much in the way of field work at one of our meetings, where we sometimes perhaps try to do too many things, the amount of work done at this meeting, when one object only was kept in view, impressed me very much ; and it seems worth considering whether we might not occasionally follow the same plan with advantage, and when favourable opportunities occur, limit our- selves for the day to a single pursuit. Not only have we increased our own knowledge of Funguses, but we have had the pleasure of adding two which are new to Britain. I believe much remains to be done in this department, and that many species, new not only to Britain but probahly to science, remain to be described. Mr. Lees’ paper on Fairy Rings formed a fitting adjunct to our meeting, However we may differ from him as to the sufficiency of his theory to account for all the phenomena, we could not but admire the industry and ability which he brought to bear on it. The great obstacle to Fungus eating is want of knowledge of the edible species, and though our illustrations do much to supply that knowledge, our meetings do more. The actual inspection of specimens, especially if they are afterwards cooked and eaten, gives a confidence not otherwise to be obtained. It may be doubted whether many of the species will ever be common articles of diet in this country, still it is desirable to keep attention directed to what is not only good but highly nutritious. Liebig, in a recent paper, says: “Fungi contain, wonderful to say, the same nutritive salts, and also in nearly the same proportion as meat.” This is perhaps not so strange, when we reflect that Fungi grow in general on matter which has been previously organised, that they are a step further, as it were, from the inanimate world. It is rea- sonable to expect that the Fistulina Hepatica, which feeds on the oak, should attain a more complex constitution than the oak itself, which has to elaborate its juices from unorganised matter. In other respects, too, and probably as a result of this organised food, they resemble animals rather than plants, that is, absorbing oxygen and giving out carbonic acid under the influence of light. I cannot leave this subject without expressing our deep obligations to Mr, Worthington G. Smith, both for his invaluable assistance at our Foray and the beautiful illustrations you have seen to-day. With regard to the zrial portion of our domain we have again to thank Mr. Isbell for his elaborate meteorological reports. Those who know with what care his observations are made, will know how to value them as they deserve, We are also indebted to him for the careful and interesting measurement of heights by the barometer. Though Archeology does not come strictly within our province, it is some- times convenient to examine such objects as exist in the districts visited. In this department Mr. Flavell Edmunds and Mr, James Davies gave us able papers ‘on Risbury Camp and on asupposed Roman road from Bravinium to Circutio. The antiquities of the Clee hills were discussed by Mr. La Touche, and Mr. Havergal vi. reported the steps which had been taken with regard to the publication of the Mappa Mundi. Having glanced at what we have done or attempted to do, I may add a few words as to what are and ought to be the objects of a society such as ours. I would say in the first place, that we do not aspire to enlighten the world at large, or even as the first object to advance science. If in the course of our work we can add a grain here and there to the ever-accumulating mass of human knowledge, it is well; but do not let us regard that as our object, which I take to be, in the first place, the increasing our own knowledge by mutual instruction, and secondly, encouraging like pursuits in those with whom we are brought in contact. It is one at least of the great objects of man’s life to cultivate and develope all his powers, and not to narrow and dwarf his mind by too close an adherence to a single pursuit, or the cultivation of one branch of knowledge. What a field the study of natural objects affords for the cultivation and development of these powers. Professor Gairdner who joined us in one of our excursions, in speaking in a recent address of the study of Natural History, says: ‘‘ It trains at once the mind and the senses, and through the most wholesome and delightful observations of detail it leads up to the most profound generalizations and the most far reaching theories.” Another good observer, Dr. Acland says: ‘‘I have known some narrow minded naturalists and scientific men, but I never knew a working man in any profession who superadding a branch of natural history to his real work, was either narrow or self sufficient.” If the study of natural objects is so valuable to the busy, and to the active mind which seeks relaxation in change of pursuit, what a boon it is or ought to be to the idle who scarcely know how to pass the tedious hours. To those, too, who find their chief plea- sure in the active pursuits and amusements of country life, it would add mental enjoyment to the pleasures of physical existence. The power or habit of accurate observation is painfully rare, and I know of no better means of cultivating this power than the pursuit of natural history. It would be curious, and I fear humiliating, if it could be ascertained how many people, say in a county or town, believe in the last toad which has been discovered in coal or some equally credible marvel, people who would consider the story of the sleeping beauty in the enchanted castle as fit only for the nursery. Part of this credulity arises no doubt from want of knowledge, say of the age of coal, and of the phenomena of life which cannot be carried on without change, but a great deal of it arises from not giving adequate importance to accurate observa- tion, good faith in the observer being considered sufficient. It has been well observed that a man can see no more than he knows. Not only does knowledge enable us to see more but to see with greater pleasure. He who looks on the sun or moon merely as sources of light and heat cannot appreciate creation so well as he who knows the movements of these bodies, and so far as our knowledge goes their structure and composition, and much as we admired a blue sky before, is our admiration not of a higher kind now that the recent researches of Pro- . fessor Tyndall enable us to understand why it is blue. The pleasure derived by him who looks on a mountain as a rounded or rugged eminence is very different from that of him who knows why it is rounded or rugged. A swollen turbid river and flooded valleys are striking to any observer, but how much more in- teresting are they when we can see in them the powers which are grinding down our hills and building up film by film new structures, Again, beauty and design are often visible where the ordinary observer sees only what is repulsive. The changes involved in the decay of animal and vegetable substances, for instance, are at first sight seldom pleasing and very often they are disagreeable, yet we find engaged as active agents in these changes hordes of animals and plants each with a structure and economy marvellously adapted to the end in view. Further, if we reflect on what a dreary world we would soon have if these animals and plants did not aid in removing and converting what has ceased to live, we may see in these operations the sources from which the face of nature is renewed and presented to us ever fresh and young. Having ventured to say so much as to our objects and the spirit in which we should pursue them, I may pass on to our future work. Not long ago a highly esteemed member suggested that if we went on publishing a volume every year we would soon exhaust the district and leave nothing to be done, A little reflection will show there is no risk of this. Our field embraces both the organic and the inorganic worlds, the life and changes of the present and the records of the life and changes of the past ; and when we have investigated these, so far as our unassisted powers enable us, we may call the microscope to our aid, and find new and almost boundless worlds spread before us. Every field, I might say every foot of ground reveals to the careful observer objects of interest, and even the sting of a nettle exhibits phenomena which carry instruction to the wisest. I have said that we should not look on the advance of science as our object, still we should keep it in view, and by doing so we shall probably succeed best in that cultivation and development of our own minds of which I have already spoken. There is work to be done which can only be performed properly by those who reside on the spot. By carefully watching the quarries of the old red sandstone, for instance, fossils might be saved from destruction which would help to elucidate the Devonian system. Our lists of animals and plants should be made more complete, and the almost unworked field of Entomology requires to be cultiva- ted, whilst the continued observation of periodic phenomena, such as those pub- ‘lished by Mr. Lingwood in No. 4 of our transactions, would afford valuable and interesting information. The dates of blooming of our flowers, of the ripen- ing of our fruits, or of the arrival and departure of our migratory birds, besides the interest of the facts themselves, may throw light on any supposed cyclical or other changes in the seasons, The publication of Mr. Darwin’s great work on the Variation of Ani- mals and Plants under Domestication, has been the most important event of the year to naturalists. Whatever opinions we may entertain as to the theory of development and the principle of natural selection, there can be no doubt as viii, to the great interest and value of the enormous mass of facts he has accumu- lated, and we should endeavour to imitate the conscientious care with which he makes and records observations. Whilst changes such as those he points out are occurring among living things, constant changes are also going on in the inorganic world. On the one hand we see our high grounds being disintegrated and carried down lower and lower, and recent explorations have shown that far away in the deep sea new and interesting formations are taking place; while on the other hand, recent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions show that the subter- ranean forces which may upheave these formations into new continents are still active. It is to be hoped that the time is passing away when the investigation of the wonders of creation can be regarded otherwise than as a means of increasing our reverence for the Creator. Some who know least of his works seem to have still a vague dread of such pursuits. An old writer says: “‘The wisdom of God receives small honour from those vulgar heads that rudely stare about, and with a gross rusticity admire his works, those highly magnify- ing him whose judicious inquiry into his acts and deliberate research into his creatures return the duty of a devout and learned admiration.” The more comprehensive the view we take of nature the more we see the analogy and mutual dependence in the different parts of creation, and the more we recog- nise the evidence of one creative mind which fitted every part to every other part. The operations of a universe are necessary for the existence of the smallest animal or plant, and these, however small, play their parts in the work of the universe, =a Wee ra a yi Oa ACS TT sn RCL OE aarti alii too tuna. arfnd.ivre ANH: (Sorch,aifine SHimy tacos Latin | yx Filly pine 67 Old, by Taal VP 18657 — a i Aa Te Wool nay iat {uralists’ field Club. # ai DO —__— P RAY? Wt at ~ HEREFORD FOR HAMPTON COURT ESTATE > , May Sten, 1484. “ 4} . = the year of the Woothoye Clad t plage om wes wary: snotecaicl. Tt wee pleasant in prospect, an enjv; ‘ovate day, bedi it a bright recollection. There is slways» freshuees aod pe ar twit sf in the Spring meeting, vegetation is full of life, flowara y scattered every side, the grass tints are lovely, the foliage has p ne a beauty of youth, and it is impossible to resist the exhiles ating influence everythin wom yon ‘ a 1 ae “Ong matren’ now may give ms more Phan fifty years of reaaga ; t ¥ . @urminds drink in at every pore ay Orne spirit of the Season. a hii of the Ofub loft the train at the Ford Bridge Station and » felis, there was & general cheerfulness which showed they did act RA tony wees resistance we the day's enjoyment. A om sall adrance ln godiont mamden of Whartos brags j Ms 5. Meredith, ite present cocupant. The pete Rat, wiee of Gho at D> eaters, ons. quently Sowrh Sbasefert. aon a Potatic aa _ ee man ora retain, is a booby ftuom, Chee eee " odes tte word them, Le, 9 agi ewes with of some roma it Fedele ey gr cry 30 Wharton, yet a pn in SNEED ie erecreaon of the hal sane ate. 5 LWA iva, Slim Stax. conse tate The Woolhope Haturalists’ Sield Glub. HEREFORD FOR HAMPTON COURT ESTATE. May 22np, 1868. The first meeting for the year of the Woolhope Club took place on Friday, and was very successful. It was pleasant in prospect, an enjoyable day, and has left behind it a bright recollection. There is always a freshness and pleasure peculiar to itself in the Spring meeting, vegetation is full of life, flowers are thickly scattered on every side, the grass tints are lovely, the foliage has all the beauty of youth, and it is impossible to resist the exhilarating influence of everything around you. “‘One moment now may give us more Than fifty years of reason ; Our minds drink in at every pore The spirit of the Season.” As the members of the Club left the train at the Ford Bridge Station and entered the fields, there was a general cheerfulness which showed they did not wish to make any undue resistance to the day’s enjoyment. A small advance guard had already inspected the ancient mansion of Wharton, where they had been very kindly received by Mr. J. Meredith, its present occupant. The man- sion is interesting as one of the few pure examples of the style of the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, commonly known as Jacobean, of which the Coningsby hospitals, in Hereford, are a notable example. It isa stone building, in excellent preservation. "Wharton, anciently Waeg-faru-tun— the town by the side of the water way—is further noticeable as one of the few houses which retain, in a modified form, their ancient names, and illustrate the true meaning of the word tun, i.¢., a single house with a fortification of some kind round it There has never been a village or even a parish of Wharton, yet it remains a genuine town in the true sense of the word. The occurrence of the A 2 word Stoke, in the name of the adjoining parish, shows that palisaded fortifica- tions were in use in the district, and would seem to suggest that Wharton was fortified in like manner, #.¢., by a ditch and a mound, with a row of stakes on the top of it. Wharton gave a title to the ancient family of the Dukes of Wharton, which lapsed temp. Geo. I. The route lay directly up the hill towards Wicton, through some pleasant fields. The botanists were directed to look out for the Adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum), and the Moonwort (Botrichium lunare) ; the first was quickly found, but the latter was not met with. It grows, nevertheless, in this district. There is half a meadow full of it in the parish of Humber, and it was also said to grow on the side of the same hill in the park. The Listera ovata grew everywhere. The Orchis morio, mascula, and maculata were in abundance, and the green frog orchis (Habenaria viridis) was also gathered. A small portion of a ring of the St. George’s mushroom (Agaricus gambosus), which figured on the programme as destined for a distinguished part of the day’s proceedings, was found, but the long dry weather kept back the crop that would otherwise have been present. A large specimen of the Horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) was also gathered which was somewhat remarkable, so early in the year. The Club, however, did not give much time to botanising; it had come with the especial object of enquiring into the appearance of certain brachiopod lime- stone fossils that had put in an appearance here in the most unexpected manner—and on to the Wicton fields they went, over hedge and ditch. The Woolhope Club is necessarily Silurian to the back-bone, and the news of the discovery had aroused its liveliest energies. With business-like activity it pushed on to a lane, where, looking and searching amongst the stones, a few pieces of undoubted limestone with fossils were picked up, and afterwards entered a large field where some diggings had been made. Two large square holes had been dug down some six or seven feet until water was reached, and a pile of stones by each of them of the same character of those in the lane, showed the place from whence the fossils had been taken out. Whilst the hammers of the gentlemen present were hard at work on the stones dug out of the holes, R. D. Harrison, Esq., read the account of the recent earthquake at the Sandwich Islands, which has just appeared in the newspapers. After which the President called upon Dr, Bull to give them some explanation of A i ; 3 THE DISCOVERY OF SILURIAN FOSSILS AT WICTON. By Dr. BULL, Dr. But said the President’s request reminded him a little of his old hospital days, when the Clinical Professor would pick out one of the pupils, and not always the most attentive, and say, ‘‘ Now, sir, be good enough to examine this case, and let us know what is the matter.” There was no help for the student but to make the best of it he could before the whole class, and he sup- posed he must be equally obedient now in face of the many excellent geologists around him. The discovery of these fossils was made in this way. Some little time since Mr. Arkwright observed amongst the broken stones in the lane they had just left, several pieces of fossiliferous limestone, and on enquiring from his bailiff where, they had come from, he was told that all the stones broken in the lane had been turned out of the bottom of a four foot drain carried across the field they were nowin. It happily occurred to Mr. Arkwright that it would be . an object of great interest to the Woolhope Club to examine the locality in which they were found, and if possible to explain their appearance there, The club gladly seized the opportunity and fixed their very first meeting for the “purpose of doing’ so, and Mr. Arkwright has very kindly had these two large holes for exploration, dug specially for this visit. Now, as you see, these holes tell the same tale as the drain. At four feet from the surface you come to a layer of stones of different characters and sizes, and on breaking up some of these stones from each hole you find the same fossils that Mr. Arkwright found in the lane. It might very possibly have happened that the Silurian rocks which we know to be below this round-backed hill of Old Red Sandstone on which we stand, had been thrust up nearly to the surface, in a similar way to the dome at Hagley Park ; but it is not so, the rocks are not in situ here, for all these stones, as you see, are loosely deposited, and are all more or less water worn. Indeed, standing as we do now on this high ground and looking at the very gradual slopes, the rounded contour of ail the hills around us, there is nothing to lead one for a moment to suspect the presence of any upcast of Silurian rocks. They all present the graduated inclines of the Old Red Sandstone, made steep here and there, perhaps by a protecting belt of Cornstone. We have nothing to do here on the surface, with the direct effects of volcanic action, or Vulcanicity, and we must look rather for the explanation of any facts that may come under our observation to-day to those gradual changes, produced by the action of causes now in operation, carried on for lengthened periods of time. Tf you examine these stones carefully as they appear broken up in the lane, and as you break them yourselves, you will find a very great variety— Sandstones of different kinds and colours, Cornstones of all hues, and fossiliferous A2 4 limestones of varied character. There are no igneous rocks amongst them— no Basalt or Greenstone ; nor are there any fragments of the higher rocks, the Conglomerate or the Mountain Limestone which formerly overlaid the Old Red Sandstone ; they are all, so to speak, pieces from the rocks of the district, and they are all more or less waterworn. The slope at the hill on which they are found has, you observe, a northern aspect, precisely similar to the Common examined last year at Llandrindod, and singularly enough higher up in this field, there lies upon the surface, a large block of limestone which involuntarily suggested the idea of a boulder, but the President said, ‘“‘no!” It was a non-fossiliferous rock so far as we examined it, and there was nothing about it, but its situation, to show that it did not belong to the immediate district. So the question of boulders ice- transported is not to be entertained here as it was there, although the current here, as there, has been from the north. These stones, in short, are a drift of rocks worn almost to pebbles from the rolling action of water, and it is a drift of a peculiarly interesting character, for it tells its own tale. No one acquainted with the Silurian rocks in this district can look at this fossil, formed as it is by a conglomeration of the shells of Pentamerus Knightii, without saying at once that it comes either from the limestone rocks at Aymestry or from those at View Edge beyond Ludlow, where the Aymestry Limestone is also almost entirely composed of this fossil; for though the Aymestry Limestone was to be found at Woolhope and elsewhere, he did not think it possible to find this shell in such masses anywhere nearer than those two places, and since Aymestry is much the nearest of the two, we may consider that to be their source. The other fossil limestones are Upper Ludlow, and contain Orthis elegantula, a Strophomena, and some other shells too much injured to name, and several small fragments of an Orthoceras, which were beaten out just now. Now Aymestry lies about nine miles, as the crow flies, due North from the hill on which we stand, and if we suppose that these stones have been rolled down the valley now occupied by the Lug they would have to travel about twelve miles perhaps to arrive on this spot. We come then to the conclusion that this drift of rocks, lying on the North slope of this hill, has been deposited here by a strong current of water, after the Silurian rocks were thrown up, and after the ground here had taken its present form. The leading geologists for some time past, leaving the fixed rocks, have been calling loudly upon us to examine the drifts and the gravel beds, and very interesting they certainly are, but he could not help hoping that they would soon come a little nearer still to the surface, and give us some information with reference to the formation of the deep clay loam which so often occupies the hills of Herefordshire. Here we are now standing on a tolerably high hill, so high, indeed, that Egdon Hill, which you see in the distance, apparently not much aboye us, is supposed by the natives in these parts, to be the highest ee cts i) ground in the county. He confessed this sounded to him very doubtful indeed, but it is very difficult to judge accurately of the height of the general surface in an elevated district, and he trusted Mr. Isbell, ‘‘our own meteorologist,’ would beso kind as to ascertain this for us in the course of the summer. It is however, unquestionably, very high ground, and yet if you look into those holes, you will see four feet of clay loam, above the drift of stones, and there is no saying how much below them, before you reach the rock. It has something of the character of the cold ungenial clay derived from the decom- position of the primitive rocks—from the felspar of the Trap—not so rich for agricultural purposes hy any means as its owner might desire. We work upon the surface like moles to turn it to the best purposes—and by the way, when Mr. Talpa himself does speak out about clay, he does so in such a lively, agreeable, cheerful, scientific, instructive way, that it isa pleasure to hear him. But our object now is to ascertain how it comes upon these hills to enable us One generally considers clay when pure as derived from the complete isintegration of rocks and deposited in tolerably still water. Was all Hereford- shire, once upon a time, one vast inland lake? And for how many ages must it have continued so to have deposited so much clay, pure and free from stone, as it oftenis? If you take your stand on the Malvern Hills and look on either side, at the two counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire—they seem pretty much on the same level—the Herefordshire side presents a more broken, pictu- resque surface which makes it look higher even than the Worcestershire side, but yet Geology tells us that it is full two miles lower—that is to say, that you would have to dig down more than two miles on the Worcestershire side to arrive at the same Old Red Sandstone which lies on the surface of Hereford- shire. All the Mountain Limestone, the Millstone Grit, all the Coal measures, &c., &c., (not to mention the New Red Sandstone, which may never have been here,) whose thickness taken together amounts, at the very lowest geological computation, to upwards of two miles, has been completely removed from the surface of this county as compared with that of Worcestershire, and yet, after all, it is pretty much on a level with its neighbour. How has all this happened? Is it possible that when that great,—that awful disturbance of the crust of the earth took place, which affected this district so much ; when that great crack was produced, which threw up the Plutonian rocks that form the chain of the Malvern Hills; is it possible that the whole of those rocks were then broken up and swept away ? swept off so cleanly that nota single particle, not even a single block of Mountain Limestone remains in the district. Sir R. Murchison, in his last edition of his great work, “ Siluria” brings forward the complete and entire denudation of the Woolhope valley of elevation, as an unanswerable proof of the effect of strong currents of water in removing every particle of débris and detritus, as opposed to its gradual removal by the long continued action of existing causes ; and, if this is 6 so there, surely the argument would be all the stronger for the clean sweep by violent force of all this enormous mass of solid matter from the whole surface of the county without leaving a trace behind it, It is evident, beyond all question, thatthe violence of the power which threw up the Malvern Hills chiefly affected the district on the western side, and it was the consideration of these circumstances, and the necessary conclusion that the crust of the earth had been here thus much lessened in thickness, that led Mr. Flavell Edmunds to give that theory of the Hereford earthquake of 1863 in the Hereford Times,—an explanation that was copied into so many newspapers, though the authority was acknowledged in so veryfew. Hereford- shire was not the only county affected. If this county lostall the rocks above the Old Red Sandstone, Worcestershire lost all above the New Red Sandstone. The great denuding force became less and less severe in its effects as it ad- vanced eastward, until you find the Lias, Oolites, Green-sand, and Chalk in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and the Eastern counties. Might the upheaving force have been at once exerted here to bring the Old Red Sandstone to the level —a “fault” on a magnificent scale? Was the whole country then covered with water, or did water at once wash off and supply the place of the removed rocks, leaving the upheaval of the whole district to be effected by slow degrees over a long period of time? Or have both causes of denudation, that by strong currents of water, and that by the gradual effect of existing powers of disintegration, com- bined together, with the gradual upheaval of the whole surface to produce the present state of circumstances ? The holes before us tell us nothing of this. They tell, doubtless, of subaqueous formations. We have a layer of clay that indicates a period of comparative rest under water—a layer of drift stones that proves the existence of powerful currents to place them upon it on the side of this high hill; and lastly, another period of rest to cover them with the layer of clay, which is still four feet thick notwithstanding all the agencies at work—the frost and snow to loosen it, and the rains to wash it off into the valleys below. Then, again, the drifts and gravels left at varying levels all through the country, and the ice boulders left on the mountain sides, all concur in proving a former subaqueous period, and in pointing out that the upheaval must have been a work of slow and gradual progress. It would be interesting to examine the surface soils on all the other hills of the county, especially in the neighbourhood of the Malvern hills. In short, I trust the geologists will soon come to the clays ; and now, Mr. President, I have done the best I can with the drift, and have certainly drifted myself very far out of my depth. Will any geologist present kindly favour us with his views on the denudation of Herefordshire and the deposit of its clays? (applause). : J. E. LE, Esq., said it was far easier to ask such questions than to answer them. The President thought there was no time to do so then if he could, 7 since they were due at Risbury camp in eight minutes, and had half-a-mile at _least to get there. On went the Club straight for the camp, and crossing the brook with its deep banks, telling of torrents now and again, taking the mill stream at a flying leap and ascending the glacis towards the sally-port on the western side, where the first five members that arrived there stretched themselves on the grass and began the business of the meeting forthwith. The following gentlemen having been proposed at the last meeting were successively elected :— J. M. Herbert, Esq., Rocklands, Ross; E. S. Hutchinson, Esa., Longworth; Arthur Hutchinson, Esq., Hagley Park; Rev. J. Gregory Smith, Tedstone Delamere; Lilburn Rosher, Esq., Trewyn, Abergavenny; F. R. Kempson, Esq., Hereford ; John Lambe, Esq., Hereford 3 Alfred Salwey, Esq., Moor Park, Ludlow ; William Aston, Esq., Hereford ; John Lambe, Esq., Hereford; Rev. A. G. Jones, Hereford; W. H. Warner, Esq., Ross; Rev. David George, Trelough. Five other gentlemen were next duly proposed and seconded as members. The PRESIDENT then said that he had had a deputation from the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, with a request that they might be allowed to join our next meeting at the Crumlin Viaduct. The Cardiff society was only just formed, and Mr, Adams, the President, was a member of the Woolhope Club, This reequest was at once very cordially agreed to, and it was left with the President to obtain a list of the members of the Cardiff Society, that an invitation might be sent to each of them. By this time all the members had arrived, and the camp was entered. From the northern corner of the entrenchment a brief description was given of this most complete and interesting castrametation. It surpasses all other Herefordshire camps, with the exception of the Beacon, in the perfection of its lines, the extent of eight acres enclosed, andin the amount of labour which had been expended upon the fortifications,—Mr. Flavell Edmunds could not be present to read his paper in the field. It was read in the evening, and it is only necessary therefore to say now, how much it was to be regretted that this camp should have been so concealed, and spoilt, by the trees planted upon and around it. If the whole camp had been left asa grazing pasture it would have formed one of the most interesting places in the county, and would have had visitors to it from all parts, notwithstanding the remoteness of the district in which it is placed. The approximate height of this spot was ascertained to be 160 feet above the Ford-bridge Station by Mr. Lee’s aneroid barometer. The whole of the party then went through the chief entrance on the eastern side to the space of five acres inclosed by the surrounding ditch as an exercise-ground or place d’armes, gathering as they went the Sacafraga _ granulata, and the pretty columbine of the cottage garden, Aquilegia vulgaris. Here was read the paper on 8 THE CORNSTONES OF HEREFORDSHIRE AND MONMOUTHSHIRE. By Dr. M‘CULLOUGH, Prusipent. Although the Old Red Sandstone or Devonian System, as developed in this and the adjoining counties, does not present those great masses of limestone which characterise many other formations, yet lime is very generally distributed throughout the various deposits forming that great system. Besides a consider- able portion being present in many of its sandstones, and in its clays or marls, it is often deposited as limestones, which are usually more or less impure from admixture with other minerals, chiefly sand and clay. These limestones may be divided into two classes. In the first, the lime is deposited in nodules or concretions, the intervals between the nodules being filled up by matter less hard and calcareous than the concretions themselves, so that the mass is easily separated into its component nodules. In the second class, the cementing mate- rial is often more calcareous than the particles cemented together, forming a hard coherent band or stratum, after assuming somewhat the character of a conglomerate. The former, or concretionary limestone, is well developed in this neighbourhood, and excellent opportunities exist for examining it at the numerous quarries where it is worked either for burning or for road stone. It is found in beds of varying depth, the thickest which I have been able to examine being from nine to ten feet. Sometimes these beds are immediately overlaid by a stratum of sandstone, and sometimes they pass gradually into a bed of superincumbent marl. Besides these great beds, concretionary limestones are found in thinner bands of one or two feet imbedded in clay in the form of marl, and frequently a single row or course of concretions is found imbedded in the marl, much as a row of flint nodules is seen in chalk. Very often the beds of marl contain numerous small limestone nodules distributed through them without any apparent arrangement. The second class is very different, and presents many varieties. Most of them contain a greater mixture of other minerals than does the concretionary form; the calcareous matrix cementing together not only calcareous nodules, but also portions of sand and clay, and they vary in texture from a tolerably compact and fine grained stone up to a rather coarse conglomerate. They vary in thickness from an inch or less up to 14 or 15 feet, which is the greatest depth I have observed. Many of them are very hard and durable, and are used as coarse building stone, and some of them are valued as road stone. They are quarried chiefly for the latter purpose, and to this the geologist owes many opportunities of examining them. I have said that these deposits, regarded as limestones, are more or less impure. The degree of impurity, however, varies constantly, not only in different beds, but in different nodules of the same bed, and even in different 9 parts of the same nodule, Though any analysis, therefore, can only apply strictly to the particular specimen examined, either as regards the amount of lime or the degree or kind of impurity, yet the following analyses give a fair idea of the composition of the less impure varieties. Sir Henry De la Beche (Mem. Geo, Survey) gives the following analysis of a Cornstone nodule :— Carbonate of lime ...............e:eereeeeees 69°3 Peroxide, of BON ibis. ch. Gace. oes 22 Be ie hate cen a5 Sv genta naevus ee 19°5 ROSTSSTSS eek ee pope ca ces cps oponarscatatce ses 72 [ed take) ear wens fo RES Les Senin er 0-9 Traces of chlorides, sulphates, andloss 09 100.0 A specimen of burned lime from the quarry near Ford Bridge station was examined for Mr, Arkwright, by Dr. Voelcker, with the following result :-— Water of combination...............s..0 9.35 Oxides of iron and alumina ............ 6°06 Barts et ARE SE, ih acteee add hanes 52.42 WE aTICR IN ASL S cise ten sce wsde cd evaseatoness 173 ENTS. ae ee cere ee pe ee 0:24 RETOING ROLE sei cc och cs vedsngevacerceene 11.43 Insoluble siliceous matter .....,......... 18°77 100°00 Nearly three fourths of the carbonic acid had been expelled by burning. The quantity of lime is equivalent to about 72 per cent. of carbonate of lime. Mr. Arkwright has kindly placed in my hands three other analyses from different quarries on the Hampton Court Estate. In these the quantity of carbonate was found to be—the Sheepstye quarry, 60; Egdon Hill, 67 ; and Foxalls quarry 69 per cent. In these thirteen specimens, which I now show you, from different beds and from different parts of the country, and which you will see differ greatly in character, I have found the proportion of carbonate of lime varying from 38 to 88 per cent. In all the forms I think the lime was deposited from a chemical solution, aided in the conglomerate varieties by mechanical action, and not as in some formations by animal life. In the two classes, however, I believe the mode of deposition was very different. The great beds of concretionary limestone in this neighbourhood do not present any stratification or such irregularities in the different portions of the beds as currents would be likely to produce. The mineral matter mixed with the lime is in the form of an exceedingly fine mud, such as would be held in suspension for some time, and slowly deposited in still water. Ithink we may infer therefore that they were deposited as a limy mud in a still sea bottom, the nodules being formed subsequently by a process of crystallization, by which the carbonate of lime became aggregated in masses prior _ to the consolidation of the deposit. The smaller bands, or rows of nodules, found imbedded in marl, may be explained in the same way, sand aud clay containing a 10 considerable proportion of lime being deposited, a great portion of the lime subsequently separating itself from the semi-fluid mass. The conditions under which the other class were deposited must have been widely different. Sometimes the beds may be traced for a considerable distance, but generally they vary much in thickness and structure often even in a few yards, and this variability seems to be in proportion to their approach to a conglomerate form. They are often stratified, and frequently lenticular masses of sandstone are intercalated in them in a way which only seems explicable by currents acting in comparatively shallow water. The coarseness of the materials often included favours the same view. They are not such as could be held in suspension and deposited in deep water at a distance from shore. Many of them evidently contain rolled pebbles derived from pre-existing rocks, and in some of the beds I have found pebbles several inches in diameter, formed of an exceed- ingly fine-grained limestone, not referrible to any known pre-existing rock. The source of these pebbles is a fertile subject for speculation, and if organic remains could be discovered in them it might throw much light on geological records, These deposits are called Cornstones, a name originating, I believe, in this locality, and one which has been employed so loosely as to give rise to a good deal of confusion. It is used not only to describe the deposits themselves, but that division of the Old Red Sandstone in which they are believed especially to occur. With regard to the distribution of the deposits themselves they are traceable to within a very few feet of the tilestones or passage beds at the bottom of the system, and so far as I have been able to examine the upper part of the formation in our mountains, I have found in greater or less proportion both forms of deposit which I have described, up to within perhaps 1,000 feet below the carboniferous limestone. By the Cornstone division, or series of the Old Red Sandstone, is usually meant the lower division, though, as Murchison observes, the middle division contains the greatest quantity of these deposits. It must be borne in mind, however, that these divisions are by no means of a definite kind. If a definite division is possible we must probably wait for it until the various parts of the Devonian system are better understood. After what I have said as to the distribution of the Cornstones, it will be evident that their paleontology is almost equivalent to that of the entire Old Red system, as the fossil remains are generally found either in the calcareous beds, or in their immediate vicinity. I have never found anything in the nodular deposits. You are probably aware that in some parts of the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland, the calcareous nodules yield a rich harvest of fossils, the organism apparently acting as a nucleus round which the lime was deposited. I am not aware that anything of the kind has been observed in this district, though it would be well to make repeated and careful examination of the nodules. Our scanty fauna is found in the conglomerated Cornstones, and these are not ——— eo - i. li always fossiliferous. It is worthy of consideration whether the deep sea con- ditions which I have suggested as the origin of the former, and the littoral conditions which seem more probably to have given origin to the latter, help to account for this difference. I had intended entering into the palxentology of our Cornstones, but think it is better to defer this to another occasion, when it may be possible to discuss the subject more fully. For the present I have treated them merely as deposits of lime, and in connection with this I may refer to the Springs of the Old Red Sandstone being so often hard or calcareous. Water containing carbonic acid has the power of dissolving one thousandth part of carbonate of lime. Rain water contains this gas, and becomes further charged with it by passing through decomposing vegetable matter. Then, as it percolates through the marls and Cornstones, it becomes loaded with lime and issues forth again as a calcareous spring. Some of the springs in this neighbourhood are highly charged with lime. We shall pass in our walk to-day, at least three springs, in which the lime is so abundant that it is copiously deposited on any object placed in them, thus constituting what we commonly know as petrifying springs. From such springs amongst our hills the lime is often deposited as Travertine, as the water trickles over the rocks. On the contrary, the abundant spring which supplies the town of Abergavenny arises in the upper part of the Sugar Loaf above the Cornstone, where there is, perhaps, 500 feet or more of standstones, without either corn- stones or marl, and the water is remarkably free from lime ; whilst on the other hand, in the spring of the lower range of the Little Skirrid, which contains both marls and cornstones, the water is abundantly charged with lime, and is therefore very hard. The Cornstones have played no unimportant part in giving the country its present outlines of hills and valleys. Many of the bands are exceedingly hard and tenacious, and much better fitted to resist denuding agencies than the marls and most of the sandstones. That they helped to withstand the powers which scooped out our valleys in the past there can be little doubt, and that they resist the disintegrating influences of the present we may see in the escarpments of the Black Mountains where, although the adjoining sandstones have crumbled away, bands of Cornstone may be seen standing out sharp and unaltered, and only tumbling down ultimately in large masses when they have become undermined by the disintegration of the underlying strata. Their greater durability is also shewn by the fact that although they form but a small portion of a mountain the large masses of rock lying at its base are often chiefly cornstones, most of the sandstones having disappeared. The same resist- ing agency may be seen sometimes in the valleys where a river which has cut down through the softer strata is long arrested by a band of cornstone. 12 Under the guidance of Mr. Arkwright, the club now went down by the taill—mentioned as a source of income in “Domesday Book”—to the interesting old bridge of three arches. Here, when striking into a lovely dingle along anarrow path on its steep side, those who looked back got a most picturesque view of the bridge, the old mill, the murmuring brook, and the stream of gentlemen threading their way up the irregularities of the path. Over a broad weir the road lay, and then for two miles down the side of a charming glen with water on either hand. A detour was made to visit some very fine old oaks—one of them, ‘‘Tho Rabbit-pool Oak,” measuring 23ft, 4in. in circumference at five feet, whilst at the ground level it spread out to 48ft. It is a hollow tree with an opening on one side, which is gradually closing by the formation of new wood, and which is now only from four to six inches wide at the lower part. Then back again to the glen with the curious name the “ Hill Hole” glen —possibly reached in this way: The Holywell brook joins the Humber brook just below the northern corner of Risbury Camp, and is named from the Holy- well of Pencombe and by a series of transmutations and corruptions which tradition substantiates, though we won’t follow them ; the whole glen receives its present singular appellation of ‘‘ Hill Hole.” Crossing by the large pike pond and the old decoys, down through the deer park, disturbing rabbits beyond number, admiring the grooping of the trees, the gracefulness of the wych elms, and the views opening at every ateps the club reached the fine old tree, ‘‘'The Gipsy Oak.” A large specimen of the common fungus, the Polyporus Squamosus was gathered by the way, some 18 inches broad, growing gracefully with an actual stem of its own, from some decayed stump under the turf. This fungus, when dried—cut in strips—and glued on pieces of wood, makes razor strops of the ’ highest virtue. ‘The Gipsy Oak” is a noble tree in full luxnriance, with a perfect bole and fine spread of branches—some that nearly touched the ground have been eropped by deer perchance, again and again, until they serve now in their death for places to rub themselves against, or what is of higher import to give an excellent picturesque effect to the tree itself. ‘‘'the Gipsy Oak,” at 5 feet meusures 24 feet 1 inchin circumference ; but at 2 feet 4 inches from the ground, its smallest girth, the measure is 22 feet 6 inches. There was no time to linger to measure the other fine trees here, or to watch the pheasants playing amidst the birch boughs lying before the hen coops, The march was resumed, the mansion was in sight, aud was soon reached, The members were most kindly led through the house by Mr. Arkwright to the chapel, where a fine old painted window—noticeable not only for the richness of its colours, but also for the subjection in which all the accessories are kept —through passages filled with cases of well-stuffed birds and animals, through — "s.r 13 the family museum, where the objects of peculiar interest to the tastes of our Club were far too numerous for any to be mentioned in this hurried sketch— through the suite of rooms—the beautiful conservatory—on to the most striking feature, perhaps, of the whole, the noble lawn—the magnificent stretch of level ground on which the mansion stands—a broad alluvial valley of the Lug whose richness was amply attested by some of the finest trees of their kind in England. Here is a cedar measuring 17ft. in girth at 6 inches from the ground, above which point the trunk immediately divided, and at 5ft. from the ground after giving off five large branches it still measures 14ft. 8in. in cireumference— the boughs of this tree are much broken by the westerly winds; another Cedar in perfection of vigour measures 15ft. 3in. in girth at 3ft. from the ground ; two walnut trees measured 15ft. llin. and 14ft. 10in. respectively ; a horse chestnut tree 15ft. 7in. ; a tulip-tree of very large size and peculiarly graceful in its growth, and many other trees of great beauty and size which time admitted not of measurement or description. The charm of this lovely valley, increased as it was on the present occasion to the utmost extent, by the very great kindness with which the members of the Club were received, will ever remain a bright spot in the history of the Clubs wanderings, to those members who had the good fortune to be there. Crossing the Lug by the bridge from the grounds, Mr. Arkwright led the way to one of those petrifying springs for which the adjacent hills are noted. The water highly charged with lime gives off a portion of the carbonic acid gas which holds the lime in solution, as it escapes from the earth, and thus an immediate deposition of some of its lime takes place over any object it falls upon. Here might be seen forming, both Stalactites and Stalagmites to unite in course of time with such other and form a natural pillar. And here, too, was a basket hanging, already considerably coated with the lime deposited on it, Lime so deposited is called Travertine from being so common in the valley of the Tiber. In the museum in the house, were birds nests and eggs, all stone- coated by this spring. Craw fish and small crabs make most beautiful objeets when nicely covered with lime from springs of this kind, but they must be carefully watched so that the lime is pretty equally deposited, since the beautiful curves of life require to be represented by the stone covering. Craw fish, however, do not live in the: Humber brook, or the Lug. It is too liable to inundations of muddy water to be pleasant for them. There is one pretty creature, however, that does flourish in the locality, and that is that lively cheerful bird the Water Ousel, Cinclus aquaticus. It was quite pleasant to hear that, there, in the very centre of the county, no less than three nests were known of this year. One, when examined on May 12, sent forth five young birds in a panic, who would not remain in their nest a minute 14 longer though returned again and again. And curious was it to see the instinct of the young birds at once displayed. They had much less fear of the water than they had of the intruder’s hand, and those who saw them not able to fly above three or four yards alighting by preference in the stream below, and actually trying to dive, could not hesitate to allow that power to the old birds which has lately been so much called in question, It was a lovely walk by the river side ; it was very pleasant through the oak groves up the steep hill, with excellent views here and there of the mansion, and the park stretching over the hill beyond. In the wood some specimens of the birds nest orchis, Listera nidus avis, were gathered, a plant so named from its clustering roots. In itself it is only a pale brown flower stem without any leaves at all. Here, too, might have been gathered the bee orchis, Ophrys apifera, if there had been time to search for it, as in the Hill Hole glen might have been gathered the sweet milk vetch, the Astragalus Glycyphyllus, and the foetid Hellebore, Helleborus fetidus, but they were not. Here, also, on this very hill, in a little dingle on the Dinmore side of Chancehill Wood,—but too far off for the route to-day—grows wild that exquisite flower— “Than whom the vernal gale None fairer wakes, on bank, or spray, Our England’s Lily of the May, Our Lily of the Vale!” The Convallaria majalis would be in flower too now! Not a hundred yards from it grows a bed of the Great Water Horse-tail, Hyuisetum Telmateja, which before autumn will be five or six feet high. Tall, graceful, and elegant, it calls to mind a tropical forest in miniature. The only wonder was that in so hurried a march, and so long a one, that so much was gathered. One plant was collected by C. G. Martin, Esq., new—absolutely new to the county. It was the Alyssum Calycinum, the Large-calyxed Madwort, a ‘‘ Wandering plant ;” that is, a foreigner probably introduced here and in many other counties of England with foreign clover, or corn seed. The genus is called Alysswm from the Greek negative ‘‘a” and “*\vooa,” canine madness—one of the many supposed remedies for this disorder. Mr. Martin gathered it in a clover field on the descent of the hill, and it is not known to have grown here before. The Observatory was reached. An artificial ditch of unknown import was passed on the hill, and soon those who pleased climbed to the top to enjoy the fine view from it. Time got on, time! time! inexorable time! and a rapid descent was made to Dinmore Station, whence the express train quickly carried all the visitors off to Hereford. The following gentlemen took part in the day’s proceedings :—Dr, M’Cullough, the President ; Chandos Wren Hoskyns, Esq. ; James Rankin, Esq.; znd T, Blashill, Esq., Vice-Presidents; John E, Lee, Esq., of Caerleon ; ————E———————— ee ee 15 John H. Arkwright, Esq. ; Elmes Y. Steele, Esq., Abergavenny ; Dr. Bull ; Rev. J. Raven; John Lloyd, Esq., Huntington Court ; Rev. H. W. Phillott, and Mr. George H. Phillott; Rev. W. C. Fowle, and Edward Haggard, Esq. ; John Price Hamer, Esq. ; Flavell Edmunds, Esq. ; Rev. E. Du Buisson; Lilburn Rosher, Esq. ; Rev. Thos. Phillipps; J. Griffith Morris, Esq.‘ Rev. J. H. Jukes; Rev. Alfred Phillipps ; James Davies, Esq. ; Rev. J. C. Westropp; R. D. Harrison, Esq. ; C. G. Martin, Esq.; Rev. Arthur Young, Tedstone Wafer; H. C. L. Reader, Esq., Tedstone Delemere ; E. Cowtan, Esq. ; R. H. P. Styles, Esq.; C. Henman, Esq., and Mr. T. Henman; H. C. Hurrey, Esq, ; Messrs. Jas. Lloyd, of Kington, J. Pitt, of Freetown, John Andrews, of Bosbury, and A. Thompson. The dinner took place shortly after four o’clock, and at the dinner table a great feature was the appearance of adish of the true St. George’s mushroom, the Agaricus gambosus. It was excellently cooked and served up as it should be, “all hot.” There was enough for the majority to taste it—though nothing could induce some of the guests to try it—all who did so, thought it excellent. It was curious to hear the confidential communications that passed from one to the other ‘‘I say, that’s uncommonly good,” as if they had tasted it only as a matter of duty, and fully expected it to be quite the reverse. Requests for more were made on all sides, and the dish was quickly emptied. Dinner was scarcely over, when the President’s rap was heard, and the business of the meeting again commenced. He was sure they all felt much indebted to Mr. Arkwright for his kind reception of the Club. They had had a delightful walk through the Hampton Court estate, through the mansion, and through the grounds. It was only right to say that Mr. Arkwright most kindly invited us all to luncheon as soon as he heard that the Club had decided to go there. But as they knew, it was completely against the Club rules to accept any such invitations, and that one was, therefore, at once positively declined by the Central Committee. It was a very great pleasure and advantage to the Club to be able to pass through an estate and make their own observations as they had done to-day ; and perhaps there never was a day when more time was required, for though they had had such a pleasant walk, the distance was too great to allow of much work in Field science being done, and this it must always be borne in mind is the real business of the Club. He would now pass round for their examination some life-size lithographs sent by Dr. Howden, of Montrose, of a splendid specimen of Pterygotus Anglicus, found in the Lower Old Red Sandstone, at Carmyllie, Forfarshire. The original is in the Montrose Museum, and is believed to be the most complete specimen ever yet discovered. Dr. BULL, on behalf of the Central Committee, said he had much pleasure in telling them that the volume of transactions for last year, 1867, would be ready for distribution to the members by their next meeting. The reason of some little delay in its appearance was the very satisfactory one of the great length and value of the papers read at the annual meeting in March. 16 He had now to propose an alteration in the day for their next field meeting, when it was intended to visit the celebrated Crumlin Viaduct and Pontypool. The day fixed was Thursday, June 18th, but the President would be unavoidably prevented from attending on this day, and he had to propose therefore that it be fixed for the next day, Friday, June 19th. The Cardiff Naturalist’s Field Club were coming to meet us on that occasion, and it was very desirable that our President should be with us. After some discussion this was agreed to. Dr. Bull then said he had the pleasure to show them a living specimen of the MOLE CRICKET, OR GRYLLOTALPA VULGARIS. This creature is by far the most curious of all the British Orthopterous insects. It was captured by Mr. Saunders, when running on the shingle by the river Wye, near the Hole in the Wall, in the parish of How Caple. Mr. Saunders at first sight thought it was a mouse running along, and he had some little difficulty in taking it. He has kindly sent it here with the hope of obtaining some information about it. This very singular insect is, as you see, of a dark mouse or mole colour, about two inches long. Its great peculiarity is the strength of its chest and the shape of its fore feet, the latter very closely resemble the fore feet of the mole, and not only in shape but also in the oblique way in which they set on. Again, the hard and pointed chest and head, and the small protected eyes, give the creature a mole-like appearance. The Mole Cricket burrows under ground like the mole, and throws up ridges as it proceeds, but not hillocks, It frequents the banks of streams, or ponds or moist meadows, and lives on roots and vegetables. It is a terrible pest in a kitchen garden when a colony takes up its abode there, for it quickly destroys whole beds of peas, cabbages, flowers, or potatoes, since nothing green and juicy seems to come amiss to it. The Mole Cricket forms her nest of a cell about the size of a small hen’s egg, and deposits about 150 eggs in it. Itis closed on every side to protect it from a certain voracious black beetle ever on the look out for such delicacies. ‘Nothing can exceed the care and assiduity of the Mole Cricket,” says a writer, ‘in the preservation of her young. Wherever a nest is situated, fortifications, avenues, and entrenchments surroundit. There are also numerous winding bye ways which lead to it, and a ditch encompasses the whole, which few insects are capable of passing.” She keeps always on guard herself, and when the marauding beetle enters the circumvallations, down she pounces on it and quickly kills it. The Mole Cricket is a night wanderer, andis then very active. ‘‘At night,” says White, ‘“‘it makes long excursions as I have been convinced by finding stragglers in the morning in improbable places.” When dug out during the day it is slow and helpless, never attempting to use its wings. The love song of the Mole Cricket may be heard on fine nights from the middle of April to the middle 17 of May. It is a dull, jarring, continuous chirp, and may be heard at some distance—something between the continuous cry of the house cricket and the fern owl. Mr. Kirby says, “a Mole Cricket was brought to a friend of his, then (1780) a curate in Cambridgeshire, by a farmer, who informed him that one of his workmen seeing a Jack-o-Lantern, pursued it, and knocked down the insect in question.” There seemed some doubt as to whether the Moie Cricket is not sometimes luminous—from some of the authorities he had consulted— but he (Dr. Bull) thought it could scarcely be the case or it would be more generally known, and the singular insect more often found. So few people here have seen it, that in all probability they are rare in this county, but Dr. Bull knew of two localities where it certainly lived—one was in a bank by the road side on the road leading to Burghill Portway, just beyond the little stream which crosses the road. Here, he had several times tried to catch it in vain. He heard them a quarter of a mile off and could get within a yard or two of the insect, but, from the difficulty of making out the exact spot the sound proceeded from, and the dulness of light, he could never get sight of it. One Mole Cricket had been found in a manure heap in the yard of the gas works in this city some years since, but he had never heard of another. He should like to know whether any gentleman present could tell him whether the insect, under any circumstances, became luminous. ELMES Y. STEELE, Esq., thought not, or it would be better known. FLAVELL EpMunDs, Esq., explained that the insect had been entrusted to him on the condition of returning it to-morrow, so that there would not be much opportunity of examining it with this view. Dr. But said that Curtis, the naturalist, had suggested ‘‘ to those who are fond of petting mice and such small gear” that they should get a family of Mole Crickets, and observe their ways and manners. If Mr. Saunders could find the place in the bank of the river from which this one had come, perhaps he “might be able to getafew. It certainly would be a difficult prisoner to keep, for it had powerful jaws, as well as claws, and bit through all sorts of roots that came in the way of its burrowings with great ease. The Club were much obliged to him for the opportunity of seeing the specimen he had lent them. The love of the Mole Cricket for water reminded one gentleman of an invaluable receipt—sure and safe—to remove a domestic nuisance that must be very general, if the sale of poisonous wafers can pay for their advertisements. We give it here entire, and since it is the fashion to specify numerically good Suggestions, and Jest anyone should attempt to catalogue the bright ideas of the Woolhope Club, we will call this one No, 10,101. 18 TO BANISH EFFECTUALLY FROM ANY PLACE BLACKBEETLES, COCKROACHES, OR ORICKETS. Keep it dry. Yes, thatis all. It partakes of the simplicity of a great truth. Stop carefully the leakage from the boiler tap; throw no slops into the purgatory ; and clean the place by dry rubbing only, and the thirsty creatures will all disappear. The , absence of moisture is fatal to them. Dr. Burt then read a paper on the St. George’s Mushroom, Agaricus gumbosus, the edible fungus they had so favourably tested at dinner time, and he exhibited a sketch of it in colours. On the proposition of the President it was decided to have the sketch lithographed for the next volume of the transactions, with the hope that the ladies will again be so kind as to colour them, This paper will be published in full at some future time. THE JAPAN SILKWORM—BOMBYX YAMA-MAI, The PRESIDENT next showed a number of caterpillars sent by Dr. Chapman, “That in their green shops weave the smooth-haired silk,” the Bombyx Yama-Mii, a large silkworm from Japan. It is an oak feeder, and will eat our English species. Dr. Wallace, of Colchester, has reared it on our oak leaves for several seasons, but has not yet succeeded in naturalising it. Like the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx Mori it passes the winter in aegg state. Bombyx Cynthia the ailanthus silkworm (feeding on Ailanthus glandulosa), an allied species, which Dr. Wallace has introduced from Northern India, passes the winter in the pupa state. The silk of these species, is strong, but difficult to wind on account of the peculiar form of the cocoon. The worms exhibited were from eggs imported from Japan last winter by Dr. Wallace. They were in their first, third, and fourth skins. The largest having cast its skin three times, and being about to cast it a fourth time and assume its last skin, it was hatched on April17. All the larve are a pellucid green colour, very much like that of the leaves on which they feed. The smaller ones have three rows of tubercles on either side studded with black hairs. Those in the third skin have the two first rows of tubercles yellow ; the lower row below the spiracles, pale blue ; the hairs fewer, long, and black; head and spiracles, brown. The largest one, nearly three inches long, presents hardly any but the anterior tubercles, and they are smaller than before, two of them, however, shine like silver. It has a few scattered black and yellow hairs, head green. The division between the segments are deep, giving a tubulated appearance, especially the anterior segments. A yellow lateral line expands on this last segment, and includes a triangular olive brown patch. The full-grown caterpillar is nearly five inches long, is smooth and Jess hairy, and its head is green. Here was read a most entertaining paper on 5 19 THE CAMP OF RISBURY. By FLAVELL EDMUNDS, Esa. Locum vallo fossaque munivit.—Cesar. Vallo et fossi circumdedi, castrisque maximis sepsi.—Cicero. Two miles E. of Ford Bridge station, on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, is situated the camp of Risbury. Lying apart from the chief modern lines of communication through Herefordshire, it has been overlooked by most of the topographers, or merely mentioned in the briefest of passing references, It is, however, in itself well worthy of a careful examination by all who would appreciate the history of the district, or who would clearly understand the stormy process through which this once vexed border land gradually settled down into the well ordered Herefordshire of our time. Although for the last twelve or thirteen centuries, as it is now, a sparsely peopled tract of country, there being no more parishes and villages in 1868 than there were in 1086, when Domesday Survey was taken, the hilly plateau in the centre of which Risbury camp stands was important in ancient times as part of the great chain of defences which protected Herefordshire against invaders coming—as most of them did— from the Eastward. A beacon fire on Risbury could be seen and answered from Sutton Walls, and the signal sent successively from it to St. Ethelbert’s Camp, Capler, Dinedor, Acornbury, and the Graig; while N.E. the warning flame would be visible at Thornbury Camp, and 8.E. at Circutio (now Stretton Grandison)—from whence the ‘‘ fiery message” could be sped to Wall Hills, near Ledbury, and from thence to the great camp on the Herefordshire Beacon, To the N. another line of camps consisting of Black-caer-dun, Eyton, Gorsey-hill (Pudleston), and Cainham, communicated with the Dinas or fortified British town of Ludlow, which could ‘“‘speed the message on” by Titterstone and Brown Clee to the great camp on Caer Caradoc. Although not equal in size to Dinedor or Acornbury, and far smaller than the truly “‘ Great” Camp of Credenhill, Risbury Camp contains eight acres, and ‘may be ranked in the second class of the camps of the district. It seems to have been intended only for use in actual war, having no pools or wells within its enceinte. Still the comparatively advanced state of military art which it shows, in the almost elaborate nature of its defences, proves that it was accounted a position of greater importance than either its size or its con- venience would imply. The secret of the care bestowed on this spot is explained by a single fact : it commanded the Roman road, yet used for the greater part of its extent, which left the Magna and Circutio road where Shelwick toll-bar now stands, passed N. by the Withergins bridge, Sutton, Bodenham moor, Risbury, Humber, to the ford of the Hennor brook at the Street-ford (now Stretford), and thence by Gorsey-hill camp to Cainham and Ludlow, co 2 20 The position of Gorsey-hill camp is very similar to that of Risbury, and it was evidently constructed with a like view to the Roman road, and with like “ulterior objects.” Our business at present, however, is with the S. part of the same hilly plateau, and with its camp of defence at Risbury. At one point this road descends into a dell, and is crossed by a shallow brook, which, dividing into two, encloses a little ait (as the Saxons called a river island), and is spanned by a tiny bridge of three arches, making up with the wooded hills in the background a charming bit fora painter. In ancient times, when the land was densely wooded, no doubt this brook was a river, and the ford was a strategical point, at which an alert enemy might inflict serious loss upon an army passing along the road. Ascend the brook by pursuing the dell to the right, past the mill—itself an antiquity, and the representative of the mill from which (as Domesday book says) the Norman lord received 10d. out of every four shillings’ worth of corn ground—and you find the dell deepen and widen, and on your right, rising to a height of 46ft., is the earthen rampart of Risbury camp. Trace the brook, and you find that it forms the first line of defence against an enemy posted upon the road, and this line is continued until you pass the N. extremity of the camp, where the road stretching onward in a straight line passes out of range. You leave the brook, and passingto the E. notice a broad slope, then a terrace, next a ditch some 5ft. deep, then a second slope or glacis, and then some 40 feet of steep hill-side. Resuming your course eastward, along the lowest glacis, you observe the care and regularity with which the work is executed, and the skill with which the natural advantages of the position are made available. More than halfway down the E. side of the fortification, you come upon the main entrance, which is defended by outworks extending for nearly a hundred yards outward from the entrenchments, forming a noble place d’armes. Passing onward, you find this elaborate triple line of entrench- ment continued for some distance, until as the ground descends it becomes less necessary, and then the entrenchment is merely double. Having passed round the S. end of the camp, between it and the mill, you reach the W. entrance, which is narrow, has no approaches, and is plainly designed merely as a sally-port against an enemy on the opposite ridge, along which runs the Roman road, Enter the camp, and you see at the first glance that it is a British work from its oval form, analogous to that of the northernmost camp on the same range, on the hill above Pudleston. Risbury, however, was evidently the work ef Britons who were far advanced beyond the condition of the men who executed the camp at Backbury, oreven that of Capler. Instead of leaving the summit open, the men who made Risbury camp either raised a bank of earth all round the edge of the precipice or cut down the area within, perhaps did both, thus forming a ‘‘breastwork” or parapet of unusual magnitude, being from 5 to 8 feet high, affording a sure protection in days when as yet there were no mortars, i oe eee 21 and Congreve was not born to kill people under cover two miles off with his death-dealing rockets. Another peculiarity, which shows how closely the nature of the site was studied by the old engineers, is the position of the entrances. They are exactly opposite to each other, but they are not in the middle of the oval. The great entrance on the east is exactly at that point where the high ground outside makes the approach easiest, while the W. entrance is just at the part where the approach is most difficult, thus plainly showing that the latter was on the side from which the attack was expected. From all these facts, in the absence of any historical record, I think we may safely assign the formation of Risbury Camp to the same period which produced the great circumvallation of the Herefordshire Beacon. My friend, Mr. Edwin Lees, in his excellent lecture delivered on the spot, at the Club’s meeting in May, 1867, showed convincingly that the entrenchments of the Here- fordshire Beacon belonged to the end of the ninth or beginning of the tenth century, which was the period of the completion of the Saxon conquest. On a smaller scale, Risbury supplies all the same evidences of a comparatively advanced state of civilisation, in the triple line of defence, the skilfully adapted plan, the elevated rampart, and the position and construction of the chief approach. My theory as to the late period at which Risbury Camp was formed is strengthened by the fact that it has no British or Roman name. It may have been captured soon after its formation, or at least the Britons were so completely extirpated from the spot that its British name, if it had one, was soon forgotten The Saxon names of all the neighbouring parishes show that the district was at length entirely subdued and settled by the conquerors, Marston, Humber, Hennor, Stoke,* Eyton, Ford, Docklow—are all proofs that the Saxon settled in those places, driving out or reducing to thralls the native population, The name of Black-caer-dun is the only trace of the Briton left on the E. side of the Lugg for many miles ; and that, it will be seen, in the prefix ‘‘ Black,” shows that the Saxon became dominant there also. This arrangement of the defences illustrates a fact of history, which is worth a passing reference. The so-called kingdom of Mercia is said to have been founded by Crida in 586, buf it would appear that throughout the whole three centuries which elapsed until the time of its absorption by Egbert into the kingdom of Wessex, it really existed only in the valleys and champaign country. Wulforton (now corruptly written Woofferton) seems to have been the abode of Wulfor King of Mercia in 656, It is situated in the low country some eight miles N. of Risbury. Even so late as 924, when the great Athelstan stormed Malvern, and “‘drove the conquered Britons across the Wye,”+ the * It should be remembered that the Roman word vallus, the etymon of the word “wall,” meant originally a stake driven into the ground, e.g.: “‘Induere se acutissimis vallis aut stimulis,”—Cesar. This was precisely the Saxon stoc or stoke. t Chronicle of Brut; Sir F. Madden’s edition, 22 Herefordshire hills were held by British princes, who had on the whole held their own against the Mercian kings, although no doubt occasionally reduced to the condition of tributaries. After the destruction of the Romano-British city of Magna, Caer-ffawydd was founded or enlarged, and became the Saxon city of Fernlege, and Sutton Walls became the residence of the Mercian kings. These facts imply the settlement of the vales of Wye and Lugg by Saxon chiefs or thanes ; and the predominance of Saxon names in the lowland parishes shows that the invaders completely overpowered the British element. The loftier hills, however, such as Croft Ambury, Malvern, Dinmore, Fownhope, and Dinedor, retain more or less purely their British names, which is merely saying that the British population still held the hill country. Where the Romans had created fortifications, they were no doubt still made available against the Saxons; when the new exigencies demanded new camps, as at Risbury, they were formed. Ever and anon, the dispossessed Britons, descending from their hills, would make a foray upon the herds of a Saxon settler in the vales, and would retire with their booty to their hill retreat. The nursery rhyme of “‘ Taffy” is a mere condensation of the history of these Marches for many centuries : Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief. Here is Saxon prejudice, abusing by wholesale the people whom Saxon invasion had dispossessed. Taffy came to my house, And stole a leg of beef. Here was the raid upon the Saxon’s homestead, and the capture of his cattle. ‘ By and bye, the visit would be repaid: I went to Taffy’s house. Taffy wasn’t at home. He was too prudent to await his visitors when they came in inconveniently large numbers; but whilst they were seeking for him he sometimes made a wide detour, came down like a thunderbolt upon the homesteads which had been left unguarded, and carried off all that remained of the herds which he had pre- viously thinned : Taffy came to my house, And stole a marrow bone— that is, all that was left worth taking. It is unnecessary to pursue the story, as told in the ballad with the characteristic coarseness of mediceval times. The substantial meaning is enough for our purpose. It teaches us how Taffy’s retaliation hurried on the catastrophe. Probably, in all such cases, there would be a grand gathering of the Saxon settlers, to which every man who was not a ‘*niddering,” or utterly worthless, would be summoned on pain of being harried out of house and home by his compatriots; and then the hills would be sur- rounded and stormed, and the troublesome hill-men captured for slaves or slaughtered, Against such dire eventualities, the Britons would guard by the formation or careful maintenance of camps like Risbury. The natural question, why should the enemy be expected to approach from the S, or West, is answered by two facts: the vale of Lugg, which lies to 23 the W., was settled by the Saxons, while Sutton, the seat of Saxon royalty, lay to the S. The enemy might be expected to come along the Roman road, because it was the only road through a wild district. The names indicate that Herefordshire was a land of woods and pools, with here and there a few huts in a “‘thwaite” or on a dock-covered bank, while devious by-paths concealed rather than led to the chief’s “‘ palace” at the head of the dingle (Pen-cwm), or on some quasi-island in the marshes, known to the Britons by the appellation **ynys,” to the Saxons as an ‘‘eytun” or ‘‘marestun.”* The whole district which lies E. of Risbury for some miles is still a wild and thinly peopled tract ; and the occurrence of such words as Woodfield and Wootton (i.e. wood town), in the names of the farms, shows that it was in Saxon times a woodland, with here and there a cleared spot, in which the settler excavated a ditch and threw up a@ mound round his house. A place so defended was called by the Saxons a tun, and the word still survives with an extended meaning in the words ton and town. The measurements of the area of the camp are—extreme length, 365 paces ; interior breadth from entrance to entrance, 157 paces. From a line connecting the entrances, the N. portion of the area extends 203 paces, the 8. portion 162 paces, the former being thus about one-fifth larger than the latter. Although mentioned in Domesday Book in a similar manner to the adjoining places which are still parishes, and set down on Camden’s map with the usual mark indicating a church and a village, Risbury has no church, and is not a parish, but is included in the parish of Stoke Prior. The allusion in Domesday Book is as follows :— Wills. de Scobies tent. Riseberie Robt de eo. Eduuin tenuit ibi ii hide in ii car.i vill. iii bord. dnio sunt iiii servi. moliri de iiii sol. Vills. redd, x dens. valv. xx sol. modo lx. solid. Which I thus render: William de Scobies holds Riseberie. Robert holds from the same. Edwin held here 2 hides. In dominion there are 2 carucates of land, 1 villein, 3 bordars, 4 slaves. William receives 10 pence from 4 shillings’ worth of corn to be ground. The value was 20 shillings the quarter; it is now 60 shillings. The name, like those of all the neighbouring parishes, is purely Saxon. It occurs in Domesday Book as ‘“‘ Riseberie,” and in a charter given in Dugdale’s “*Monasticon” it assumes the medieval Latin disguise of ‘‘ Risebiria.” The etymology is obvious: Rise, a hill, as in Highgate Rise, Clapham Rise, ete. ; and bury, from burh, a fortification, The 4s, worth of corn mentioned was probably a quarter. The notice of Risbury in Domesday Book is curious, and has a special interest to those of us who assisted at the formation of this club. Our * Eyton and Marston. 24 lamented friend and founder was the late Mr. M. J. Scobie; and it is a coincidence that in opening Domesday Book for the purpose of preparing an essay for the meeting of this Club I should find that a Norman lord of the same name held Risbury eight hundred years ago (applause). Mr. JoHN LLOYD said that when they were on the Herefordshire Beacon, at Malvern Hills, they were told that the approach was on the westward side, and that the eastward side was the strongest, because the attack was expected from that side. Now they were told, in reference to Risbury, that the approach was on the eastward side, because the attack was expected from the westward ; but he thought they had not seen anything at the camp to establish that view, and therefore, in arriving at the conclusion advanced by Mr. Edmunds the point should be well weighed. The sally port was certainly on the westward. side, and on that side the defences were very strong. He did not see why the attack should be expected from the east in one case, and from the west in the other. Mr. EDMUNDS said that at Malvern the only road across the hills came from the N.E. It was manifest, therefore, that an enemy, unless he came out of Wales, must come that way: hence the strong part of the campwas against that road. There was avery steep ascent, and triple fortifications confronted them at the summit. So late as 924, in the time of Athelstan, Malvern was a waste —a royal chase on one side, and an episcopal chase on the other—with only afew ~ huts scattered about. Even 200 years later, when that good man Aldwin, the Monk of Worcester, proposed to go to Palestine as a missionary, and was wisely told by his Bishop—the last Saxon bishop of Worcester—that he would find plenty of heathens at home, he selected Malvern as the scene of his labours, because it was a wild, savage spot, the few inhabitants of which were still ina state of heathenism. Mr. Luoyp: Mr. Lees argued that Malvern must be a British camp, because it is strongest on the eastward side; you seem to say that Risbury must be a British camp because it is strongest on the westward side. Mr. Curtny, C.E., remarked that the earthworks at Risbury were admirably constructed, and if they had to be executed at the present day, not- withstanding all our facilities, would cost a very considerable sum. Mr. Epmunps: At Malvern the enemy could come only from the N.E. ; at Risbury he must have come from the opposite side, the eastern district being a wild country, and then probably a trackless waste. Mr. JAMES DaAvigs said he wished that Mr. Edmunds’s notes had been read at the locus in quo, as he would then have been able to have pointed out to the Club the supposed Roman road, running near Risbury. The subject of this road was not altogether new to him (Mr, Davies), as many years ago Mr, Cherry, 25 of Buckland, had communicated with him upon a supposed Roman road, and if Mr. Edmunds was identical with it it was a very important new theory in connection with the Romano-British history of these parts, as this Roman yoad was not mentioned in the Iters of Antoninus or Richard of Cirencester. The only Roman roads mentioned in the Iters were those which connected Magna Castra (at Kenchester) with Braviniwm, near Leintwardine, and Magna Castra with Wigornia at Worcester, and Ariconium, near Ross ; but Mr. Cherry thought that he had discovered a road connecting Bravinium with Ariconium, and the course of it was similar to that sought to be traced out by Mr. Edmunds. It may be followed on the ordnance map. Mr. Epmunps remarked that he had examined the road all the way from Shelwick bar, over the ancient Withergins (now Wergins) bridge, through Sutton, Bodenham moor, past Risbury and Humber, to some distance beyond Stretford; and on the map he had traced it further north to Stony Cross, Little Hereford, and Ashford, to Ludlow. It was still in use all the way. Mr. Luoyp : But it is very irregular. Mr. Epmunps: That would arise from local circumstances. Mr. Davies: The word Stretford no doubt indicates a Roman road. There is, I admit, as Mr. Edmunds has said, a road running in an almost straight line, a little to the westward of Risbury, which may be traced on the map, and the theory of its beinga Roman road is a very interesting one; but I am inclined to think it was a British trackway from the town of Ludlow to Risbury. As to Risbury camp, I agree with Mr. Edmunds in the main, that it was a small British station. The illustrations we have had of Magdala show what a British station was, only instead of having stone walls for their pro- tection, the British generally threw up embankments of earth. The PRESIDENT: With regard to the theory of this being a Roman road, Tam sure you will be of opinion that if Mr. Davies will undertake to investigate it, good results will follow; and if Mr. Davies will do so, and report at a future meeting, we shall be very much obliged to him. Mr. Davies: Ishall be happy to do what I can, but it eannot be in better hands than Mr. Edmunds’s. The PRESIDENT: It is understood that a report will be made upon the subject at the August meeting. Dr. M’CutLoven then read for Dr, Chapman the following interesting and valuable paper :— 26 ON THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF HYLESINUS OCCURRING IN THIS DISTRICT. By Dr. CHAPMAN, ABERGAVENNY. The genus Hylesinus belongs to a family of the Rhkyncophora, or weevils, named from it the HYLESINIDA, also called by some authors the XYLOPHAGA, and classed as a distinct section. The Hylesinidz have the head rounded and sunk in a deep socket in the thorax ; the rostrum or snout so characteristic of the weevils is nearly obsolete ; the autennz have a long basal joint, and are more or less clubbed at the ex- tremity, and with never more than ten joints ; the mandibles are very strong and prominent, though short; the extremity of the tibiz hooked, and the third tarsal joint bilobed ; the larve are footless grubs, All the species are small, black or dull brown in colour, cylindrical in shape, and especially rounded on the upper surface, It is a very natural group, all the species being very similar in appearance and habits ; most of them pass their lives in the inner bark of trees, in which some of them commit great devastations. The species of Hylesinus are more rounded than those of the other genera of the XYLOPHAGA. They possess autenne with an oval elongate club, and tibize obsoletely spurred. The perfect insect forms a burrow or gallery in the cambium layer of the bark of recently fallen trees, along the sides of which the eggs are deposited ; the larvee feed in the inner bark during the ensuing months, whilst it still retains a modified vitality, and complete their metamorphosis in time to renew the same cycle the ensuing year. The species of Hylesinus form their burrows transversely to the fibres of the tree; most of the other genera of the family form them parallel with them, The larvz, starting at right angles to the parent burrow, form theirs in the reverse direction or nearly so, their increase in size makes them diverge from each other and produces rather a fan-shaped marking. Of the four species of Hylesinus which occur in England, one, Hylesinus Oleiperda, which is like a little round dumpy Hylesinus crenatus, we will dismiss at once, as I have not succeeded in meeting with it in this district, The two species to which I have directed most attention, Hylesinus crenatus and Hylesinus Frawini, are attached to the ash tree (Hraxinus excelsior). The fourth species, Hylesinus vittatus, is attached to the elm tree, and is fairly abundant in this district. It is difficult, however, to say of any species of the XYLOPHAGA whether it is abundant or not, as, however difficult it may be to find it, when found it is almost certain to be in some numbers. Thus, though H. crenatus is a scarce species, I could have taken it last winter in almost unlimited numbers. Hylesinus Fraxini is, nevertheless, an undoubtedly abupdant species, At this season (May 22) it may be found on any recently HYLESINUS AND ITS WOOD SCULPTURINGS. 1.—Hylesinus Fraxini, natural size. a. 3 . magnified. b. Fo oP . lateral view. «.d.¢. Portion of a log of Ash in which H. Frawini has been reared ; on one side the remains of the bark are removed, shewing at c. the sculpturing of the surface of the wood, the horizontal line being the parent gallery, the vertical lines the grooves cut by the larve ; at d. the upper half only of the parent gallery is removed, showing the row of eggshells along its lower side, these retain the appearance of the fresh eggs except that they contam only larval frass. At e. the undisturbed bark shews the exit ‘apertures of the young beetles. jf. A transverse section (magnified) of a parent gallery ‘after the ‘larve are hatched; the young larva being developed in the egg with its head towards the surface, leaves the shell from its upper part, and as it proceeds, stuffs the shell behind it with frass. A thin layer of parental frass covers the free surface of the eggshell. 2.—Aylesinus crenatus. a, ———. - magnified, b. Section of Ash bark, with parent burrow of H.crenatus, shewing the deep depressions for the eggs, and the irregular tracks of the larve. 3.—fylesinus vitiatus. a. %. Bark of Elm, shewing parental and larval burrows of H. vitiatus, about one-third larger than the natural size. The pup are indif- ferently at either end of the short cylindrical larval burrows. magnified. 8. ‘ ' WOOD sCULPTURING an iy ree G [= ; VV “+ appa Sikes fee S800n- BCU LPTURIBIGR _ _ at Bi etns Game yas. aber “or ‘ 4 ish hte. } ru view. “ , ; ’ a highs ae Seok toh esky Sok while U2. Praceing Juan ee? = an Seki) at teed tbe conmmins of the bark are removed, shewing™°"” et & Ge etelpheing of the surface of the wood, the boriscwtall jine belmg the parent gullery, the vartien! Jines the grooves cathy — r- che larvae at de the upper half only of the parent..gallery ie. i . removed, showing the row of eggshells along its lower sada, these ’ retain the appearance of the fresh eggs: except that they je@mtaiat:-- only isrval frase. At @ the undisturbed bark shews the exit >. f A tesinavere section (magnified) of a parent gallery eftee Shas yee uviit wre batched; the young larvs being developed im thi Og® wets 2 wich ita bend tonariy tho sertngs, loetos the ebell from its apper port, tack ax It. yroctrnlah ato) the oball beitind. 16 with Qemete & Wie lapee ot pemadel eee comme fle free surtede aif BRIS ko teens crreniitys. e, cintetene, —senmmm stepwified. a ; 4 Sarton of Ash bark, With parent bannew of Aerenatue, shewiig Gor dep depressions for the eggs, and the trreguiar tracks of this here ae: ~ Ne tack +. Bark of Bim, shewing parental and larval burrows of A. vittasiang) 2 abowt‘ one-third larger than the natural size. Tho pupa ane indi: —— forcuthy at either end of the short cylindrical herwad Dyrdt RRR Sa (\ CL}N SA HYLESINUS AND ITS WOOD SCULPTURINGS. Torr 27 felled ash timber, busily engaged in oviposition. It is about two lines in length, is clothed above with cincreous and fuscous scales, beneath with an ashy pile, antenne ferruginous, with a large acuminated fuscous club, legs piceous, tarsi ferruginous ; it is extremely variable in colour, being of different hues of black, piceous, ferruginous, or testaceous, sometimes ochraceous, with the legs and antenne paler; usually it is ferruginous, with irregular piceous markings. H. Fraxini appears very decidedly to prefer recently fallen timber to the growing tree; they will even attack wood that has been cut many months, Early in May the perfect beetles are often to be seen swarming about fresh ash logs; they arrive on the wing, and prefer the warm sunshine of the early morning for their flight; they must often travel considerable distances. They bore very rapidly, however, into the bark. The female commences the gallery by boring obliquely towards the wood, usually in a slightly upward direction, in large timber choosing the deepest part of a crevice of the bark; in younger wood a knot or other irregularity determines the preference, so that, unless the frass lies about the aperture, they are difficult to detect. Frass, I may explain, is a term applied to any detritus caused by insects, and especially to the sawdust, &c., made by wood-boring beetles. Usually before the female beetle has quite buried itself in the bark, the male arrives, and is waiting to enter the burrow, if not, the female bores down to the wood, and there awaits his coming ; and I believe I have met with burrows uncompleted because the male insect did not appear. I have satisfied myself that each pair of beetles first meet after the female has commenced the burrow. In a few days the two beetles are to be found rapidly extending the gallery in both directions from the aperture of entry, close to the wood and usually slightly in it, and transversely to its fibres, I suspect each of the beetles excavates a branch, but I have found no means of observing them at work, as opening the gallery always stops them, and itis possible that the female does the greater part of the excavation, as I have always found her further from the aperture of entry when both were in the same branch of the burrow ; the male is also oftener at its opening, and eggs are laid along each as rapidly as it is formed, not unfrequently the branches of the gallery are of very unequal length, so much so that sometimes there is practically only one—possibly both beetles work together. Undoubtedly the greater part of the excavated material is eaten; in captivity the beetles will live a long time with fresh ash bark, without it they soon die. Most insects on their escape from the pupal state contain their eggs ready to be laid and requiring only fertilization, but in these, as in many of the more active Coleoptera, the eggs are developed after attaining the perfect state. In the case of Hylesinus Fraxini the female is often bulkier when the burrow is half completed than on entering it, and the eggs laid by a single pair must often exceed in aggregate mass the original bulk of the female beetle. The domestic habits and family relations of these beetles deserve further attention. The following suggestive experiment _ was made: A burrow was partially opened, some few eggs had been laid, each p2 28 beetle was then blockaded by a bit of bark in a branch of the burrow, and for each sufficient space was left for air and the discharge of frass. A week after each beetle had eaten a narrower burrow just long enough to hold it, merely to sustain life, contrasting with the wider burrow outside, but no more eggs had been laid. The eggs are laid along both sides of the burrows, usually at very regular intervals, in little hollows dug out to receive them, leaving the gallery of full size for the beetles within it. They are covered with a gummy material, which soon gets a coating of the finer frass. These eggs being laid in rotation, form a good series for observing the development of the larvze within the egg, the first being often hatched and the young grub boring into the bark before the last is laid. Their longest axis is perpendicular to the surface, and the young larve are developed within the eggs with their heads toward it. The eggs laid in one burrow vary from 15 to 40 or 50, or even 60 to 100. The gallery is finished and the eggs laid in from ten to twenty days. During the ejection of the frass, particles adhere by a gummy matter, and form an operculum to the mouth of the burrow, leaving only a minute opening for frass, which on the completion of the burrow is stopped up. Both beetles then usually die in the burrow; the female always does so, The dead beetles may still be found lying in the burrows after several years. During the summer the larve are busily feeding in the bark. They are straight, white, footless, fleshy grubs, with a distinct head and powerful mandibles. In some of my specimens they are already (May 22) hatched. In the autumn they assume the pupa state, and shortly the imago. The perfect beetles, however, usually remain during the winter at the ends of the burrows formed by the larvae, and emerge in spring to continue their ravages, leaving a very distinct circular aperture ; on a sculptured piece of bark all the very obvious holes are apertures of exit, those of entry being very obscure. It often happens that the parent beetles have made their burrows so close together that the supply of bark is quite inadequate to the wants of the larve, so that their very abundance is its own remedy, and most of them perish. In other instances the vitality of the bark ceases before the larve are full fed, the tree having fallen too long when attacked, so that but a small proportion usually comes to maturity. I have remarked the preference of this species (Hylesinus Frawini) for fallen timber, nevertheless they do occur on living trees. On almost any young ash tree marks may be found shewing that a burrow had been formed and a brood of Hylesinus Fraxini perfected, and that the tree is now exfoliating the destroyed bark. Sometimes I think the growth and vigour of the trees appear to have been decidedly checked by them; and though I have not met with an example, I doubt not that trees are occasionally killed by this beetle. In other instances trees with these marks appear to be uninjured. Where they are injurious they may be extirpated by cutting down affected trees, stripping off 7 -% 29 and burning the bark, &c.; but as I suspect that it is the want of dying timber which forces them to attack living trees, I would suggest that placing fresh logs, during the spring months, in the neighbourhood of affected trees, as traps, and destroying the beetles which come to them, would be more effectual. Hylesinus crenatus, which is also an ash feeder, is larger than Hylesinus Fraxini, three to four lines in length, and proportionately a stouter insect, giving it a more rounded and less cylindrical appearance ; entirely black ; some fine ferruginous hairs on the tibie and head ; thorax minutely pitted; elytra with eleven rows of small tubercles, which give a rough appearance to the beetle. Though widely distributed and abundant when it does occur, like the Xylophaga it seems to be anything but generally common. I have found one tree which owed its fall to its operations. The beetle had obviously been in possession many years; it had commenced the attack near the foot of the tree, on one side the bark was destroyed by it round more than half the circumference of the tree, and to a height of 15 or 20 feet, the limbs above being dead. A zone surrounding this contained the insect in all its stages, the remainder was still unattacked. The portion of bark longest destroyed had fallen away, and the wood beneath was in possession of Sinodendron Cylindricum and Dorcus parallelopipedus, and was rapidly rotting. The tree was blown over in one of the gales of last winter. I have also found Hylesinus crenatus sparingly in several other trees, all pollarded or otherwise sickly. Unlike H. Frawini, H. Crenatus takes two years to undergo its transformations, the larve assuming the pupal state at the end of the second summer, so that at present full-grown larve and perfect beetles are both to be met with. Felled timber would be unable to support this long larval existence, Hylesinus crenatus accordingly is never met with except in living trees, and while an affected tree continues alive I believe that none of the beetles desert it for another. They economise it as much as possible, the destroyed bark being more completely riddled and devoured by them than by any other beetle of the family I am acquainted with ; the burrows of the larve are much more irregular also, so that it is impossible to find one of those perfect maps of their voyages (as in Hylesinus Fraxini) which have secured for these beetles asa family the name of ‘“‘typographers.” Last winter the blown down tree I have mentioned contained hundreds of the perfect insect ready to emerge on the approach of spring, and but for the fall of the tree would have made their burrows in it again, but now they have all left it, so that last week I had difficulty in finding a specimen, H. Frawini, of which odd specimens only were to be found during the winter, now on the contrary abounds init. The parent galleries of H. crenatus are proportionally much shorter than those of H. Fraxini, and more frequently consist of only one branch, the male and female both enter the burrow as with H. Frawini, but the male usually leaves before the gallery is quite completed. The eggs are fewer than with Fraxini, and laid in a deeper cavity, and so thickly covered with a layer of frass as to require looking for. 30 Hylesinus crenatus appears to be generally distributed in this district, but is hardly likely to prove very destructive ; if found to he so, the tree on which it has formed a settlement cannot be rescued without a process of barking—as serious as the beetle. They are not likely to attack the neighbouring trees till driven out of their strongholds, on the fall of an affected tree therefore, they should be destroyed, or they will establish themselves in others. At the same time I would entera protest against waging war with any species that is to be regarded as scarce or local. . Hylesinus vitiatus is about half the length of Hylesinus Fraxini, and very similar in general appearance ; it is very prettily marked and rather variable ; most specimens present a distinct dark spot towards the base of each elytron, surrounded by a paler cinereous area; though feeding on elm it is much more closely allied to Hylesinus Fraxini than Hylesinus crenatus is ; its habits are just the same, it attacks fallen elm as Hylesinus Fraxini does the ash ; its burrows are shorter, and the two branches are very uniformly of equal length, rarely exceeding # of an inch long; the number of eggs laid are seldom as many as 20, and being usually placed more widely apart than those of Hylesinus Fraxini ; the burrows of the larve are nearly parallel, giving little of that fan form seen in the burrows of that species. It appears much less common than Hylesinus Fraxini, though I find their burrows abundantly in a piece of elm fallen about the end of April. The operculum of frass which closes the mouth of the burrow is more complete than in Hylesinus Fraxini. They complete their changes in one year. I have been unable to find any evidence of their attacking living trees so that from an economic point of view they must be regarded as very unimportant, The decay and destruction of fallen timber is much facilitated by these beetles. They partially or wholly destroy the bark; their frass-filled burrows absorb and retain much moisture, which is almost essential to decay, and usually the bark is so much loosened that, after a longer or shorter time, it falls off. This rarely takes place before the wood is much injured by the funguses, for which the damp-destroyed bark has been the nidus and by the various subcortical species of insects for.which the beetle-burrows have opened a way. The wood is then easily attacked by the numerous wood-feeders, various Longicorns, and Anobia, Sinodendron, &c., who soon complete its destruction. But the necessity for a natural method of clearing the ground of dead and dying timber has so long ceased in this country, that we have difficulty in regarding these insects as other than noxious pests. My thanks are due to the President, Dr. M’Cullough, for several of my specimens, and to Mr. Rye, to whom I.owe the accuracy of the names of species, [This excellent paper was admirably illustrated throughout by specimens of all the different beetles themselves, and numerous pieces of bark and wood to 31 show their different modes of boring ; the parent burrows with the eggs arranged along the sides; and the offspring burrows, made as the larve are hatched, at right angles to the parent burrows. In some instances the living beetles were at work and could be easily cut out. It was received with the great interest and applause which the trouble and ability displayed upon it richly merited. } Che GHoolhope Aaturalists’ Sield Club, CRUMLIN BRIDGE AND PONTYPOOL: JUNE 19TH, 1868, A joint meeting of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club and the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society took place on Friday, at Crumlin, in-the Ebbw Vale, and passed off very successfully. The Woolhope members having picked up their President at Abergavenny, came in sight of the Blorenge, the great corner-stone of the South Wales coal field. This fine bold hill consists of Old Red Sandstone at the base, and Car- boniferous Limestone at the top with a slight covering of Millstone Grit. After skirting Llanover hill to Pontypool Road station, the railway then strikes suddenly into the Coal basin through a gorge of Coal measure Sandstone, and passing the town of Pontypool, and the Crumlin ponds, quickly reaches the celebrated iron bridge over which it passes ‘‘by order,” at a rate ‘‘ not exceeding eight miles an hour.” The members of the Woolhope Club were the first to arrive at the tryst'nz place, and at once transacted the ordinary business of the meeting. The follow- ing new members were elected :—John Jones Merriman, Esq., Kensington ; John Mortimer Bowen, Esq., Chancefield, Talgarth; Thos. Edward Williams, Esq., Talgarth ; Mr. Thos. Adams, Marden Court ; and Mr. John Andrews, Bosbury ; and some others were proposed. Still they had time to admire the fine view of this remarkable Viaduct from the bank of the station before the Cardiff train arrived. It soon did so, however, and then, under the guidance of G. Phillips Bevan, Esq., the whole party went on to the bridge, then through a trap-door to a boarded platform between the girders, and so crossed back again to the other side, A train passed over as the passage was made, and the vibration it caused was certainly very considerable. Mr. Bevan here pointed out the chief features of the bridge—the lightness and strength of the open iron work, its 33 diagonal bracings, &c., &c.—and mentioned the great expense that had been incurred two or three years since, on the recommendation of Captain Tyler, the Government Inspector, to give it additional security. The Crumlin Viaduct is one of those bold works that no description can realise. It requires to be seen to be understood. A photograph will give its likeness no doubt, but it gives no true representation of the effect it produces. It must be felt as well as seen. Look from its highest point on the valley beneath, and a lower world is there, with its works, its cottages, its own railroad, its river, its canal, its ordinary roads, and its little dwarfed men and women moving about here and there— “The very crows that winged the midway air Showed scarce so gross as beetles.” And better than all, is the wooded dingle the viaduct crosses, winding prettily away. Pictures, and facts, and figures, with regard to any work of real mag- nitude, are fallacies. Nevertheless, there are those who cannot be happy without facts and figures, so here they are, broadly given, and they ought to be correct, too, for they are derived from a Guide Book in royal octavo,— “* All gorgeous in crimson and gold.” “The Crumlin bridge was designed by T. W. Kennard, Esq. It is formed of open iron work, and supported by open cross-braced iron pillars. It consists of ten spans of 150 feet each. Its height above the valley is 200 feet. The length of iron work is 1,500 feet, and, including the masonry, 1,658 feet. The _materials consumed were 2,479 tons 19 ewt. of iron, 31,294 cubic feet of wood, and 51,361 cubic feet of masonry. It was three years and a-half building, and was opened for traffic in 1857. It cost £62,000, or about £41 7s, per foot.” How very little all this really conveys! It would perhaps be more simple to say that it is the third of a mile long, and could pass over Hereford Cathedral with 30 feet to spare. And here we leave its statistics and will only say this more of it, that the finest artistic view the visitors got was unques- tionably from the stile on the road towards Llanhilleth hill. Here trees conceal the station, the works, the houses, and all that is sordid; the bridge is in full view, with its graceful curve, at the further end; its spider-web-like lightness is seen to the greatest advantage; the base of the pillars is concealed ; and from a slight haze in the broad valley the imagination may picture it as deep as it pleases, and fancy it crosses a broad river, or even a small arm of the sea. Leaving the valley, luxuriant in the ordinary ferns, the visitors are led up the hill; higher and drier they find it, the further they go, and the more dusty too. The glorious summer weather that has brought out the treasures of Flora " _ with such exuberance and precocity in the present season, might be supposed 3 to have offered extraordinary facilities to botanical exploration, and the invoca- 34 tion of the poet Thomson in his ‘Seasons,” for Summer to display itself in “‘a shower of roses,” has not been made in vain this year ; though to see them “‘wither and die” with unusual celerity has been the consequence of the exceptional high temperature which has ruled supreme almost without a single refreshing shower, the sad experience both of the botanist in the field, and the rose cultivator in the garden. But on this occasion the route taken by the united Clubs, chiefly for physical geological examination, was peculiarly unfa- vourable to botanical hunting. The flowery vales were left behind, and barren uplands in long and wearisome extent were trod, not rising high enough for alpine beauty, and not even in their sterile wretchedness showing an inviting bog, where the Sun-dew or a waving tuft of silken Eriophorum might hope to rest and adorn the waste, Nothing appeared upon the arid moor but stunted Scirpi and withered grasses, or the stiff and wiry Juncus squarrosus. Tt was truly depressing to botanical zeal to tread these dry rusky wastes, and the only relief to this dreary sameness of vegetation was a slight scattering of the lowly milk-white flowers of Galiwm saxatile here and there ; or where a miserable hedge did make an effort to maintain existence, a dwarf solitary Rosa villosa gladdened the eye with its deep-red petals. Collecting in a cluster on a high portion of this broad-topped hill, they all stretched themselves on the tufts of bog-sedge and whortleberry, to listen to the address; and whilst some followed the lecturer closely on the large map brought by Mr, Adams, others opened papers with more perishable contents, — 35 ADDRESS ON THE SOUTH WALES COAL FIELD. By G. PHILLIPS BEVAN, Ese, F.G.S., &¢. Gentlemen of the Woolhope and Cardiff Natural History Societies, — From the point upon which we stand, viz., the Llanhilleth-hill, we should, if the day was somewhat clearer than it is, have a view of a very considerable portion of the South Wales coal field; and I have selected this point because it embraces not only the coal basin itself, but a distant view of the hills that bound it. Such a view is especially interesting to you as geologists, not merely from its scenic beauty, but from the associations that it calls to the memory of past geological eras. To the North we have the Old Red eminences of the Brecon Beacons, a little to the East of which is the isolated limestone summit of Pen Carreg Calch. Far to the East we see the Red Sandstone of Monmouthshire, beyond which are the collieries of the Forest of Dean; and to the North of which the Silurian district of Usk just comes within the view, the prolongation (though interrupted) of that district of Woolhope from which we take our name. To the South, on the other side of the Bristol Channel, are the limestone ranges of the Mendip Hills, fading away into the Old Red of the Quantock Hills of North Devon. Now what do these distant views suggest? Do they not call to mind the days before denudation had carried away its thousands of feet of intervening strata, and when the South Wales field was united with the Somerset, the Forest of Dean, the Shropshire, the Staffordshire, the Lancashire, and the Trish coal fields? Even if stratigraphical geology did not prove these facts, and even if were not possible to construct horizontal sections to prove the continuity of these basins, we have the lithological and palontologieal evidence to help us, as for instance in Lancashire, where the bottom coal beds which are nearest what is there called the Canister rock, are characterised by the same peculiarity of fossil shell that we have in South Wales. If for no other reason, therefore, the view that we now see is a grandly suggestive one, and one can scarcely help re-constructing in one’s mind the original condition of those earboniferous shores which we now see so broken up and isolated. The external shape of the South Wales coal field may be considered as pear-shaped, the broad end of the pear being at the eastern or Pontypool end {close to where we are standing), from whence a gradual diminution of breadth takes place westward as far as Carmarthenshire, which we may consider the stalk of the pear. In its long axis this distance is from 60 to 70 miles, while the greatest breadth of the field is from Hirwain to Cardiff, a distance of some 24 miles. The whole of the circumference, or nearly the whole, is surrounded by a tolerably uniform belt of Mountain Limestone, which on all sides towards the coal field is overlaid by an equally uniform bed of Millstone Grit; but away from it overlooks the Red Sandstone valleys in remarkably fine escarp- B2 36 ments. On the north and east sides the Limestone is continuous and persistent, but on the south, beyond Caerphilly, it is considerably intercepted by inter- vening patches of Permian and Lias deposits, Further west, at Swansea Bay, the Limestone is wanting altogether, the coal beds of the Swansea district being exposed on the shore and running under the bay ; but from Mumbles to Pem- brokeshire the Limestone reappears in great force, forming the magnificent coast-line for which Gower and Tenby are so celebrated. Nearly all the north crop, which at the east end near Llangattoc is about 250 feet in thickness, is extensively quarried for the various furnaces and iron works in the neighbour- hood ; one reason indeed of their original establishment being the vicinity of this Limestone, which is necessary as a flux in the smelting of iron ore. Lying conformably on the Carboniferous Limestone, is a thin belt of Millstone Grit, which, like the limestone, is thickest on the North and East crops, and gradually diminishes Westward. On the South crop it is only a few yards in breadth. Here (on the North crop) it is of some scenic importance, as . it forms an extensive plateau from which the various rivers of the Coalfield take their rise. The junction of the Millstone Grit with the Limestone is well seen at the Trefil Quarries, where, indeed, great boulders of conglomerate (plum- pudding stone) roll over the edges of the quarries and mix with the debris of the Limestone. Commercially speaking, the Millstone Grit, which is of an exceedingly hard quartzose character, is unimportant, it being only used for hearth-stones and for sand employed by the moulders in the furnaces. To the geologist it is interesting simply as an horizon, the fossil remains in it being limited to a few indistinct Calamites and some annelid tracks, We now arrive at the veritable Coalbeds, which in this case we see repose conformably on the Millstone Grit in regular geologic succession. They do not always do so— as for instance in South Staffordshire, where the Grit, Limestone, and Old Red are absent, and the Coalbeds repose directly on the Silurian Rocks, and in Cumberland, where they lie upon the Limestone, without the interposition of the Grit. On the other hand, the Grit, which in South Wales is regular, though only to a small extent, becomes in the North of England a very important feature, and constitutes large Moorland districts. And now, before we pass to the consideration of the Coalbeds themselves, I would briefly direct your attenti_n to the physical conformation of the Coalfield, which to a geologist is full of the most significant and interesting facts. At the point, or I should rather say the line, where the Lower Coal Measures crop out on the Millstone Grit there is a singular and uniform depression, or nick, which has been taken advantage of on the North crop by the London and North Western Railway to carry their line through Brynmawr and Beaufort to Tredegar, eventually to be extended to Merthyr. Immediately to the South of this line is seen a very singular series of terraced hills, rising suddenly to the height of 1,800 feet, or thereabouts, each hill being very nearly of the same height, and presenting to the North the same kind of face, viz., a series of terraces or ae 37 ancient sea-beaches. Between each one of these hills runs North and South a deep valley, conveying the drainage of the Millstone Grit plateau to the sea, and serving as an outlet to the shipping ports of the mineral treasures of the Coal-hasin. The extraordinary feature of these valleys is their extreme regu- larity and similarity, and apart from their mineral value, they are full of beauty. The mountains rise on each side with great steepness, leaving at the bottom just room for the river, which is usually fringed in the most charming manner with wild overhanging woods. The native quiet and isolation of these valleys is considerably spoilt by the railways which run up every one of them, but even now there is sufficient beauty to attract the tourist, who, however, very seldom penetrates these unknown districts. From Pontypool to Aberdare, parallel valleys are exceedingly regular, those of the Afon, the Ebbw, the Sirhowy, and the Rhymney converging to the port of Newport; the Taff, with its subsidiary valley of the Cynon, the Dare, the Bargoed Taff, the Rhondda, and the Ely finding their outlet at Cardiff. Westward the Ogmore and the Llynvi run down to Porthcawl, the Neath and the Corrwg to Briton Ferry and Neath, the Tawe to Swansea, the Lloughor to Llanelly, and the Gwendraeth to Kidwelly. How then do we account for these valleys, and the general configuration of the Coal- basin? I believe that the Coalfield was the subject of the following movements, and although I am aware that my views may be objected to on several points, Icannot come to any other conclusion, after many years’ study of the district. I consider that the first great epoch was— 1.—The deposition of the Lower Beds (the basin being divided, as we shall see further on, into Lower and Upper beds). 2.—Their subsidence—and so far the South Wales field has the same geological history as any other Coal field. 3. —The occurrence of a great westerly force. Many eminent geologists, including Sir Henry De la Beche, advocated this theory, which certainly seems to me to account for a great deal of both outward and inward formation of the Coal basin. Suppose we take a plain even surface of clay or mud, enclose it in a box, and then apply an unequal pressure at the side, what would be the result? Why, just such a crumpling up and folding of strata as we see here before us. There will be miniature parallel hills and valleys on the surface of the clay, just as there is in the Coal field. Sir H. de la Beche considered that this force, whatever it was, had its greatest intensity at some point in what is now St. George’s Channel, between Wales and Treland. If we drop a stone into water we see that concentric waves are formed, decreasing in intensity as the distance from the disturbance increases. Now, this is just what we see in the Coalfield. In Pembrokeshire (which would be the nearest point to the disturbance) we have the coal strata contorted and disarranged ; we have the occurrence of Trap Rocks, the only point any where near the coal field where they occur, and we have the concentrated anthracitic tendency showing itself all over the Lower Measures ; this anthracitic character 38 gradually diminishing as we come eastward (away from the centre of dis- turbance), and dieing out altogether as we approach the East Crop, near Rhymney, where the coals become entirely bituminous. Now, geologists are very much divided as to the cause of anthracite or stone coal. Some say that the cause is chemical, and is still going on; but to this my answer is,—Why should not the chemical agency be exerted over the whole of the field, instead of gradually decreasing in the way that the anthracitic tendency does? and, moreover, in the very districts of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, where the anthracitic character is strongest in the Lower Measures, the Upper Measure Coals within two or three miles distance, are entirely bituminous. If it was a chemical force still going on, how is it that force does not alter the Upper Measures in the very same area as the Lower Measures? We find that this same force had an equal effect in the other direction, viz., in Ireland, the coals in the Kilkenny Basin being equally anthracitic with those of Pembrokeshire. Does not this bear out the theory of a central and radiating disturbance ? Whatever might have been the cause of this disturbance (and I am of opinion that it was one of Plutonic agency), it seems to me that it took place after the deposition of the Lower Measures, and before the deposition of the Upper Measures, the character of which was consequently left untouched. Another consequence of this force was not only to alter the configuration of the basin interiorly and the character of the coals, but also to cause lesions or fractures in the coals themselves. The results of these fractures were large “ faults,” which we find running down and parallel with nearly every valley, as though the formation of the valley and the fault were synchronous. These faults contribute much to the main drainage of the valley, afterwards deepened by the action of the surface rivers. 4.—The next great era was the deposit of the Upper Measures, which, wherever they are found, seem to be but little or not at all affected by the main or big faults of the Lower Measures. 5.—Then there ensued a gradual elevation of the whole basin, the effects of which we see in the parallel terraces, or sea beaches on the hills of the North Crop, each terrace marking a period of rest when the waves of the Permian sea washed the bases of the Coal-measure hills. 6.—The last and perhaps most important change was denudation, which has left the Coalfield mainly asitis now. The extent of this denudation may be imagined when I tell you that Professor Ramsay estimated that 9000 feet of Upper Coal Measures have been carried away, and that from the very district on which we stand the whole of the Upper Measures have been swept away, with the exception of a small area of coal which is called the Mynyddwslyn vein, and which supplies the house coal of Newport and Cardiff. This little patch, which is now nearly worked out, represents in the eastern portion of the field this 9000 feet of Upper Measures. But westward beyond the Rhondda-valley, 39 the Upper Measures are found to increase in thickness towards Neath and Swansea, where they are very valuable. Where all this coal has gone to I would rather not speculate, except that we may reasonably suppose that it has helped to form new strata of a subsequent geological era, Such then, according to my notions, is the geological history of the South Wales Coalfield. Let us now look briefly into the interior, from which so many fortunes have been realized, and in which still more have been lost, for nothing is so precarious as coal-mining, especially now-a-days, when in addition to the uncer- tainties of the earth’s strata the colliery owner has to put up with the certainty of colliers’ strikes and the destructive influence of trades’ unions. No matter what is the state of affairs in the commercial world, no matter what capital he has invested, no matter whether he is a good master or a bad master, he has to encounter sooner or later the unreasoning and unreasonable hatred of delegates and stump orators, who soon destroy in their listeners every sentiment of good feeling between the employer and the employed, and every particle of gratitude. The South Wales colliers have only just emerged from one of these clouds (by no means the first), and if they ever stop to consider the consequences, they might see them in the banishment of trade to other places, the stoppage of collieries and works, and in the increase of the poor rates. With regard to the interior of the Coalfield, I have already alluded to the Upper Measures, or rather what remains of them in this district. They consist of two veins of coal—the Mynyddslwyn vein and the Troedyrhiw vein ; the latter the lowest in position, and separated from the other by some 250 yards of sandstone. These sandstones are a very important feature in the outward appearance of the Coal-basin, as they form the long ranges separating the parallel valleys, and which I have described as “‘ terraced” at the bend of the North Crop. They are usually called Pennant Sandstones, and are hard micaceous rocks, only good for roofing purposes. In some parts of the district they become a white silicious conglomerate, and are then known as the Cock- shoot Rocks, which form a useful horison to the mining engineer. But although the Pennant Rocks in the east of the basin contain only these two seams of coal, they soon thicken as they go westward, and become more valuable as to their mineral contents; the Town-hill, near Swansea, which is of these beds, contain- - ing 12 seams of coal, It has been the fashion with some geologists to speak of the Pennant Rocks as the Middle Coal Measures, but it seems to be a useless division, and tends to confusion. Some distance below the Troedyrhiw coal we came upon the Old Man’s Coal and the Soap Vein, the uppermost beds of the Lower Measures. Now, although from their association with the Ironstone Measures, the Lower Cual Measures are very much more important and valuable than the Upper Measures, I will not detain you with a seriatim descviption of each seam, but will merely glance at the general arrangement of the strata and their fossil remains, which, to us, is doubtless the most interesting part of the subject. From the North Crop, where (as the name implies) the coals crop 40 out or come to the surface, the Lower Coal Measures dip to the south with great regularity at an angle of four or five degrees. From the fact of their cropping out here, and their being workable with comparative economy, and also from their association with the iron ores, this district has become famous for its extensive ironworks, such as Blaenafon, Nantyglo, Blaina, Abersychan, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney, Dowlais, Cyfarthfa, Aberdare, and so on, all of which places depended on the close vicinity of Coal, Iron-ore, and Limestone. But as time has passed, circumstances have changed, and the railway system, which then was unknown, has revolutionised the iron trade, as it has other things. The Welsh Clayband or Argillaceous ore, upon which all the works depended, is, in many places, nearly worked out, and the supply is, instead, kept up by foreign ores, such as the Hematite from Cumberland, Oolitic ore from Northampton, Magnetic ore from Elba, Spathose ore from Somersetshire, &c. ; the great demand enabling the expensive item of carriage to be brought down to a price that enables foreign ore to compete with native ore. The Lower Coal Measures then are easily accessible at the North Crop, but they gradually become deeper and more difficult to get at, and, at a distance of six or seven miles, are practically inaccessible to the coal-owner from their great depth. Perhaps when our experience in deep mining is improved, we shall find means to work coal seams at a depth of 3,000 or 4,000 feet, but up to this time the difficulties of obtaining respirable air and ventilation are insuper- able. I believe myself that the coal-cutting machine will be one of the principal agents in bringing about this state of things, but at present it seems asif the age was not ripe for it; for the coal-masters, though confessing its ingenuity and powers, seem shy of introducing it. I have no doubt but that the feeling of the colliers will be generally against it, and in these days we have sufficient storms in the mine atmosphere without rushing into others. Nevertheless, the day will come, most assuredly, when machinery will compel the collier to acknow- ledge a higher power than himself. Fortunately for the owners of mineral property about the centre of the basin, we find some of the effects of the great westerly force, in the shape of a large saddle. or anticlinal, that runs in the long axis of the Coalfield from Newbridge in Monmouthshire to the Rhondda Valley in Carmarthenshire. Its course underground is very fairly marked above ground by a corresponding depression in the hills, of which the Great Western Company have taken advantage to run their railway from Pontypool to Quaker’s Yard. The practical value of this anticlinal is to render accessible the deep measure coals that would otherwise be too far down to be worked, and conse- quently at the Abercarn Collieries, a little to the South of the Newbridge anticlinal, and at the Maesteg Works in Glamorganshire, the effects of it are seen. Between this anticlinal on the South crop is another ‘‘roll” or saddle, of much smaller dimensions. The South crop itself so far differs in its charac- teristics from the North crop that the strata are at an extraordinarily steep angle, from 30 to 40 degrees, as if they had been set up on edge. 41 I will close these remarks with a brief outline of the zones of life that these Lower Measures exhibit, and I would observe that they are not merely interesting as a geological study, but have their value as a means of identifying the various seams. Unfortunately, almost every valley has its own nomenclature, so that seams which are obviously the same are called by different names, very much to the confusion of the practical geology of the district. My friend, Mr. Adams, however (whom, by the way, I must congratulate on the strong force of naturalists with which he has this day opened the campaign of the Cardiff Society), with myself and one or two other observers, have succeeded, during several years’ careful work, in proving the existence of certain special fossils in their own special zones of coals, an account of which, together with illus- trations, you may see in the Geological Survey, No. III., ‘Iron Ores of South Wales.” Commencing from above downwards we have— Soap vein ; iron ore, containing ferns, worm burrow and shells, Anthracomya. Black pins; iron. Ferns and shells, Anthracosia. Elled coal. Very abundant in ferns, of which some 20 or 30 species have been found. (See Geologist,) Vol. I. Page 124. af 2. 3. 4. Big vein coal. 5. Big vein mine; iron. Shells, Anthracosia. 6. Three-quarter coal. 7. Three-quarter mine; iron. Shells, Anthracomya. 8. Bydylog coal. a Pin Will Shone mine; iron. Shells, Athyris planosulcata—the highest known occurrence of this shell, which is a Mountain Limestone species, 10. Darren mine ; iron. Shells, Anthracosia, Myalina, &c. 11. Engine coal and mine; iron. Shells, Spirifer, Productus, &e. 12. Gloin goch Bach coal. 13. Yard coal. 14. Old coal. 15. Black band mine; iron. Shells, Anthracosia; fish, Rhizodus. 16. Spotted vein mine; iron. Crustacean tracks, Spirorbis carbonarius. I7. Red vein mine; iron. Shells, Anthracosia, Modiola, Edmondia, &c. 18. Blue vein mine; iron, Shells, Myalina, Spirorbis. 19. Bottom vein coal. 20. Bottom vein mine; iron. Fishes, Megalichthys, Palconiscus, Amblypterus, Helodus, &e. 21. Rosser veins; iron and coal. This latter is a most interesting series, lying in a rock called the ‘‘ Fare- well Rock,” close above the Millstone Grit. The obvious impossibility of finding coal at a lower depth has given it this name. In the Rosser veins a very large number of marine shells and fishes have been discovered, and I succeeded in _ tracing the vein, with its fossil contents, through the whole of the North crop, a distance of 60 or 70 miles. 42 No less than 33 species of shells, besides fish and encrinital remains, have been identified in these beds, In this very brief outline I have endeavoured to lay before you the most salient points in the basin which we are now overlooking, and I sincerely trust that the members of the Cardiff club will work out in their’ domain many hitherto unravelled questions on the Coal Formation. The address was listened to throughout with very great interest, and on its conclusion the route was continued for Pontypool, A straight road, three miles along the ridge of the hill, leads to the town—but there was an abundance of dust upon it and a hedge on either side—so when a deep dingle appeared it was irresistable, and down its sides they went. It proved to be the ‘‘Cwm- ffrwdor” or the valley of the Coldbrook, and a charming valley it was, clothed with underwood, with ever-changing views, and a brook with as pleasant a noise as one would well wish to hear ona hot day. Its water, however, was not drinkable, it was muddy itself, and coated the stones it ran over with iron oxides, The dingle was really beautifully leafy, and looked hopeful though watered by a stream whose turbid current was not at all comparable to that of Tlissus or the sparkling fountain described in such brilliant terms by Horace. However, in this glen, and beside a stream once probably pure with mountain freshness, there were seated several plants worthy of note, if not of the rarest kind ; and the Ferns especially clustered there, suggestive of a descent from their progenitors of the Carboniferous Limestone ; and here Polypodium Dryopteris flourished in abundance, and the pretty Beech-fern (P. phegopteris) was almost in equal plenty ; while Zustrca dilatata, and the elegant Lady-fern (Athyrium filix-femina) grew in great beauty and luxuriance, as well as Blechnum boreale in scattered tufts, There was also a variety of LD. dilatata, with recurved pinnules, that excited some discussion and difference of opinion, and the fern-lovers took the opportunity to fill their vasculums to repletion. A few other plants were also noticed here among the bushes, as the Vaccinium myrtillus in young fruit, Hypericum dubium, and a considerable quantity of the blue-flowered Jasione montana. Brambles were already in flower close upon the footsteps of the Roses, and some of the rarer ones met the view of the critical stucdent of Rubi. These were Rubus suberectus, seldom seen but in sub-alpine places, R. ferox and R. carpinifolius, while the Raspberry (2. Idwus) appeared to be quite common. Some other general plants were perhaps rather too much in the ascendant even here, as Orchis maculata and Carduus palustris. The rarest plant gathered on this excursion was the umbelliferous Myrrhis odorata, which Mr. E, Lees found growing in some quantity in a spot near the entrance of Cwmffrwdor, and which is a plant mostly confined to ‘pastures in hilly districts.” Ot. ie a 43 Perhaps the most remarkable feature in the secluded Cwmffrwdor, and which gave a most picturesque character to the dingle, was the numerous old monstrous Beech trees that were seattered on its sides, scarcely indeed growing there, for most of them were dead, or in the throes of decrepitude and decay from whatever cause, while some rudely overthrown looked like huge pachyderms of bye-gone ages left abandoned to rottenness and the gnawing tooth of time. Many had lost their bark, others their branches, all were mutilated in some degree ; and a visit to this deep glen by moonlight in the winter season might assist the imaginative pencil of a Fuseli, or inspire descriptions of fright and horror in a poet inclined to imitate some of the descriptions of Dante in his Inferno.” Even Hood might have had some such narrow valley before his view in one of his poems, where he says— “Tt was a wild and solitary glen, Made gloomy by the shade of beeches dark, Whose up-turned roots like bones of bury’d men Rose through the rotten soil for fear’s remark ; A hundred horrid boles jagged and stark, Struggled with crooked arms in hideous fray.” and even now, in leafy June, and in the blaze of day, these bleached beeches, some stretching their bare bony arms in mid air, and others partially invested with ivy, had a spectral appearance it was impossible to avoid remarking. A fine specimen of the red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio, was seated at the end of a dead bough, and flew off as the members approached. On leaving this secluded glen and entering upon the common ways of life, a feature that is more observ- able in Monmouthshire than in most other counties was evident in the great quantity of the common elder (Sambucus nigra), which, now in full flower, covered the hedges with its sulphur-tinted umbels. On either side of Cwmffrwdor was a steep tramway incline, where the full waggons draw up the empty ones, and such natives as were seen had a black _ and grimy aspect. In passing over the hill J. Milward, Esq., of Cardiff, picked up a shrew mouse, Sorex araneus, lying dead in the road, without apparent injury. It isa curious fact, says Dr. Baird, that every autumn immense numbers of these little creatures (the smallest of British mammals) are found dead on our foot- paths and roads. The cause of this great mortality has not been sufficiently explained. The harmless little animal has much interest attached to it. It is very common, but is seldom to be seen in the daytime. It burrows in banks amongst the roots of trees and in brushwood. It feeds on worms and grubs, for the pursuit of which, among the close herbage and on the surface of the soil, its long and thin-pointed snout is admirably adapted. Cats will kill them, as was probably the case with our luckless littlé wight, but they won’t eat them, though weasels, and hawks, and owls will greedily do so. __ Then, too, there is the curious old superstition with reference to the shrew mouse, that it seriously injured any cattle it crept over by the mere touch of its body, producing paralysis and divers other ills, The remedy for ; ¥2 44 this was the leaves of a ‘‘Shrew-ash,” growing in consecrated ground. Gilbert White, in his ‘‘ Selborne,” mentions a Shrew-ash which was regarded with great veneration, growing ‘‘at the south corner of the plestor, or area near the church.” “The Shrew-ash is made thus,” he says:—‘‘Into the body of the tree a hole was bored with an auger, anda poor devoted shrew mouse was thrust in alive, and plugged in, no doubt with several quaint incantations long since forgotten.” The Cwm-firwdor joins lower down the ‘‘ Cwm-nant-ddu,” on the valley of the black stream, and the brooks unite to form the Avon-llwyd, or the gray river, which runs through Pontnewynydd and Pontypool. At Pontnewynydd all the forges were out and the buildings deserted, and but for the bold chimney which bears bravely its misfortune, the whole works would look ruinous. Leaving the enormous mounds of shale thrown out from the works in the Cwm-nant-ddu, and passing many rows of white-washed cottages, Pontypool was soon reached. Here again the tin-plate works were deserted, and that enormous steam-hammer, which formerly heat night and day incessantly, was silent. How the night’s rest of the good people at Pontypool must have been disturbed when it ceased to lull them to sleep! The town seemed unusually quiet, which might have been due to the closed works, but more probably to the time of day. The strong body of naturalists, however, created some little sensation, and the wonder ran, what was it all about? A welcome was ready at the ‘‘ Three Cranes,” and good preparation had been made in the spacious room there. Whilst some few take a stroll in the beautiful park of Pontypool, and others try to get rid of the dust, we will take the opportunity of telling who they were. The members of the Woolhope Club present were—Dr. M‘Cullough, the president; the Rev. H. C. Key and Jas. Rankin, Esq., M.A., vice-presidents ; Phillips Bevan, Esq., F.G.S., &c., and Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.8., &c., honorary members; John Edward Lee, Esq., F.G.S., &c., The Priory, Caerleon; R. Lightbody, Esq., Ludlow; the Rev. Berkeley L. Stanhope; Elmes Y. Steele, Esq., Abergavenny; Dr. Bull; Arthur Armitage, Esq.; the Rev. E. Du Buisson ; T. Cam, Esq.; the Rev. F. Merewether; the Rev. HE. Malleson; the Rev. R. H. Williams ; Wm. Aston, Esq.; the Rev. J. H. Jukes; J. Jancey, Esq.; the Rev. T. West; C. H. Gardiner, Esq.; George Cocking, Esq., Ludlow ; D. R. Harrison, Esq.; the Rev. J. E. Jones; John Lambe, Esq.; E. Cowtan, Esq.; C. G. Martin, Esq.; Alfred Purchas, Esq.; Dr. Davies, Abersychan; T. G. Matthews, Esq., Ludlow; Edward Jones, Esq., Varteg; Mr. John Andrews; and Mr, Arthur Thompson. The Cardiff Naturalists’ Society was represented by the President, Wm. Adams, Esq. ; Professor Gagliardi ; J. Millward, Esq.; the Rev. J. H. Protheroe; Dr. Taylor, Cardiff ; Peter Price, Esq.; George Thomas, Esq.; the Rev. E. Cook ; G. W. Penn, Esq.; George White, Esq.; the Rev. G. K. Meaby ; John Morgan, Esq. ; R. W. Boyle, Esq. ; Charles Truscott, Esq.; Richard Hill, Esq.; and Edward Brown, Esq., Mountain Ash, 45 The dinner took place punctually at three o’clock. It was scarcely over when the president called upon Etmes Y. STEELE, Esq., who rose to propose success and prosperity to the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, which had joined the Woolhope Club that day for its inaugural meeting (applause). Mr. Adams, the president, was an old member of the Woolhope Club, and he hoped, therefore, that he was not presumptuous in supposing that the Cardiff Society was in some measure the offspring of the Woolhope Club (hear, hear). However that might be, the Wool- hope Club felt a great pleasure, indeed felt it an honour to meet the Cardiff Society under these circumstances, and he hoped it was but the first of many similar meetings (great applause). He felt sure he only expressed the unani- mous feeling of the members of the Woolhope Club in giving a hearty welcome to their brethren from Cardiff (applause). With his friend Mr. Adams for their president, he did not fear that it had before it a long and useful and prosperous career (applause). Dr. Butt seconded the proposition very cordially. The Woolhope Club was getting on in years, and it was very pleasant to see young societies formed around it to stimulate each other in the pursuit of science. He did not rise however with this object, for it was not necessary. He had been requested by the president, and with the permission of several members present, he hada proposition to make with reference to Mr. G. Phillips Bevan, who had given them such an excellent address on the hill to-day. Mr. Bevan had changed his residence, and had therefore resigned his membership, but the Woolhope Club did not like to part with old friends, especially when they were so able (laughter). Gratitude for past favours is always greatly increased when there are hopes in the future (laughter), and he thought it better, therefore, boldly to admit that by thus keeping him as a member they hoped he would occasionally be induced to run down to our meetings as he had done that day (laughter). He begged to propose Mr. Bevan as an honorary member of the Woolhope Club (applause). The PRESIDENT felt sure that, from the applause, he might at once regard __ that proposition as carried by acclamation (applause) ; and as time was short, he would now ask Mr. Adams to exhibit the beautiful collection of fossils he had so kindly brought with him. Wm. Apams, Esq., said that he must, in the first instance, thank them very sincerely in his own name and that of the Cardiff Naturalist’s Society, for _ the compliments paid to them. He thought that, as a young society, they could not do better than make their first excursion with the Woolhope Club, which had had so much experience and was managed so successfully. They were very much indebted to them for receiving the Cardiff Club so kindly, and he could _ only repeat Mr. Steele’s wish that they might meet on many other occasions (applause). 46 . Mr. Apams then proceeded to exhibit his collection of fossils, and # beautiful and interesting collection of the fossils of the Coal-field they are. It was from this collection, with those of Mz. Mr. Salter wrote the article on ‘The Fossils of the South Wales Coal Field,” which is published in the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. ] The following specimens amongst others were shown :— Anthracosia acuta Anthracomya subcentralis -—— pumila ———_ Adamsii, n. sp. modiolaris Asterophyllites grandis Bellerophon Urii Diplodus Athyris ambigua Alethopteris (pecopteris) heterophylla Calamites canneeformis Discites sulcatus Fish remains Fragments of fish bones and scales Headbones of fish Ferns “Jack” Goniatites Listerii Lepidodendron dichotomus Sternbergii obovatum Lepidostrobus ornatus Modiola Myalina carinata modiolaris Megalichthys Hibberti Ditto scales and teeth Old Red fish (?) Orthis resupinata Michelini Productus semireticulatus scabriculus cora Héninghausi Paleoniscus sp. Pecopteris abbreviata Psammodus porosus Rhizodus Hibberti Sphenopteris linearis Bevan and some few others, that Rosser veins, Dowlais ; Blue vein and Old coal, Ebbw Vale; ditto, Rhymney. Wyndham pits, Ogmore valley ; Black vein, Machen; # coal, Victoria. Ditto, ditto; } coal, Victoria. Soap vein, Ebbw Vale. Rosser veins, Ebbw Vale. Ell coal, Beaufort. Rosser vein, Ebbw Vale. Blaena black band. Fydylog coal, Beaufort. Ell coal, Beaufort. Black pins, Ebbw Vale; Pen- nant rocks, Victoria. Rosser veins, Rhymney. Sirhowy No. 1 pit. Bottom vein, Ebbw Vale. Bottom vein, Gantre. Coalbrock colliery, Llwchwr, Black pins, Ebbw Vale. Rosser veins, Rhymney. Bottom vein, Ebbw Vale. Ell coal, Ebbw Vale. Bottom vein, Ebbw Vale. Black pins, Ebbw Vale. Black band. Blue vein, Ebbw Vale. Bottom vein, Ebbw Vale. Bottom vein coal, Ebbw Vale; Rosser vein, ditto. Tounley colliery, Gantre. Durham ; Rosser veins, Rhymney. Rosser veins, Rhymney and Ebbw Vale. Pontypool; Blaendiare; Mea- dow vein, Pontypool. Rosser veins, Ebbw Vale. Ell coal, Beaufort. Bottom vein, Gantre pits, Ebbw Vale. Ell vein coal, Beaufort. Capel Newydd. Black band; Ebbw Vale. No. 6 coal, Prince of Wales pit, Abercarn, Bottom vein, 47 , Sphenopteris elegans : arbe Northumberland. Spirifer Urii Rosser veins, Rhymney. : —-— striata Capel Newydd. —— Capel Newydd. . Sigillaria Ell vein coal, Beaufort. Ulodendron minus Ditto, ditto. Xenacanthus Bottom vein, Ebbw Vale. ee ; Whilst these fossils were being examined, G. PHILLIPS BEVAN, Esq., said that, in spite of the rules of the Woolhope Club, he must crave permission to thank the members for their great kindness in electing him an honorary member. He did so very sincerely, for he thought it an honour, and was very pleased to belong still in this way to the club. After all he had not gone so very far off. He hoped to remain at Cheltenham, and he could only say that it would give him great pleasure at any time when he was able, to render any service to the elub (applause). NEW MICROSCOPIC LAMP. Epmunp Brown, Esq., of Mountain Ash, then exhibited Collins ; Microscopic Lamp. It was just brought out, he said, and as he could testify " was a most useful lamp, far surpassing any he had seen before. It was made with Fiddian’s metallic lamp shade and chimney, and, indeed, its great novelty consisted in its skilful adaptation to this invention. He had found its great advantages to be— 1st. That it throws its light solely on the object to be examined. 2nd. That being made of copper it acts asa perfect shade, and protects the eye from all extraneous light. 3rd. Being coated internally with a wash of plaster of Paris, it emits an intense white light imitating closely the white cloud illumination so prized by microscopists ; and 4th, being metallic and not liable to break there is a great saving in the expense of glass chimneys. He had no hesitation in saying from his experience with it that with these qualities the lamp and shade is as good as can be made for perfect vision with the microscope and a very great boon to all microscopists. To medical men using the opthalmoscope and laryngoscope he could strongly recommend it as a most useful illuminator, since only the ray of light coming from the lamp could enter the eye or throat. He ought to add, the whole cost of a perfect lamp with proper adjustments and reflector was 30s. ; the shade alone, which could be fitted to any lamp, was 8s. 6d. ‘ In answer toa question, Mr. Brown said he burnt paraffin oil in it, and certainly the light it emitted was very pure and white. The PRESIDENT thanked Mr. Brown for calling their attention so ably to such a useful lamp. Any one accustomed to work with the microscope must at once be convinced of its great usefulness. He then called upon Mr, Rankin to read his paper :— 48 ON THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS. By JAMES RANKIN, Esa, M.A., Vick-PRESIDENT. The following paper on the means of flight of birds, I propose to divide into three sections :— ist. The general structure of birds and the relation which it bears to the purpose of flight. 2nd. The special structure of the wings of birds. 8rd. The mode of action in flight, and some of the specialities in form of wings and feathers and manner of flight. SECTION I1.—GENERAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. Birds, as a class, are distinguished from other animals by the following peculiarities :—‘‘ They are vertebrate animals, breathing atmospheric air by means of lungs; with warm, red blood, and heart biventriculate and biauriculate, all oviparous, covered with feathers, with bill rather prominent, naked, destitute of teeth. Extremities, four: the anterior changed into wings, and almost always adapted for flying.” The above, I believe, is a sufficiently comprehensive definition of the class Aves, for it points out how they differ from all other animals, except Fishes, Reptiles, and Mammals, in the possession of backbones ; how they differ from Fishes, in the possession of lungs ; how they differ from Reptiles in having warm blood, and from Mammals in being oviparous. The possession of wings and feathers, though, by far, the most striking peculiarity of Birds, is not of so much classificatory value as might be supposed, for, both among Mammals, Reptiles, and Fishes, are found animals which have wings of some description, as, for instance, the Bats, the Pterodactyl, and the Exocetus or fiying-fish, and also some birds have a very rudimentary condition of wings. As it is not intended, in this paper, to discuss the question of the systematic position of Birds, I will only mention, in passing, that the morpho- logical affinities of birds connect them more closely with the class of reptiles proper (i.e., excluding the amphibia) than with any other vertebrates, for birds and reptiles differ from amphibia and fishes, in the absence of bronchiz at all periods of their existence, in having a well developed amnion and allantois, and no parasphenoid bone in the skull, and they differ from mammals in having a complex lower jaw, a quadrate bone, nucleated blood-corpuscles, and a single occipital condyle. Passing on to the consideration of the structure of birds, we find, with regard to the skeleton, that it is extremely light, but that the texture of the bones is firm and close, thereby combining lightness and strength, two important 49 points with respect to flight. The bones of the skull differ from those found in the skulls of Mammals in the complexity of the lower jaw, and in its being attached to the skull by the interposition of another bone called the quadrate- bone, instead of being attached by a condyle. The backbone of birds is remarkable from the anchylosis or union which takes place in the lumbar and dorsal regions of the back, so that in birds the neck and tail vertebre are the only moveable ones. This immobility of the dorsal and lumbar vertebre is for the purpose of giving firmer and steadier points of attachments to ribs, and to avoid the danger of dislocation during the + movement of the wings. The hip bones are long and thin, and the pubic bones f do not join to form an arch as in mammals, The thigh bones are short but very strong and cylindrical, especially in those birds which run. The tibia or leg-bone is long, and the fibula is present as a small fine bone which usually coalesces with the tibia. The tarsus and metatarsus are represented by a single bone, which is very various in length and shape in the different families of birds, and is one of the most important members in classifying. . The toes vary from five to two, but there are usually four : three anterior and one posterior. The number of bones in the toes (unlike mammals) vary according to the position of the toe, the outermost toe having five bones, and the innermost one bone, and the three intermediate toes having four, three, and . = two bones respectively. Passing on to notice the breast-bone or sternum, we find it assume very much the shape of a boat, being convex outwards and of large size, and along its median line is situated a projecting ridge called the keel, which ridge is immensely developed in birds of powerful flight, but nearly absent in cursorial birds, such as the ostrich, The breast bone extends beyond the thoracic cavity and emhraces part of the abdominal also, The ribs of birds present great peculiarities, for there are, as it were, two sets of ribs, one a vertebral and the other a sternal set; these sets of ribs both _ start in a posterior direction and join at an acute angle, and from the vertebral - ribs, which are the longest and strongest, a bony appendage proceeds upwards _ and backwards and overlaps the next rib behind, the whole apparatus of vertebra, ribs, and sternum forming an elastic, though firmly knit, case for the internal viscera. It should be mentioned that some of the ribs, both anterior and posterior, are not attached to the sternum. _ The anterior members of birds, that is, the wings, are composed of bones . which are homologous to the bones in the arm of man; they are the humerus or the arm, the radius and ulna or fore-arm, the wrist or carpus, formed of two ‘small bones ; the metacarpus, of two tubular bones which have coalesced, and 50 two fingers and a thumb, one of which is very much larger than the other, and consists of two or three joints. I will not delay longer upon this part of the anatomy of birds, as in the next section I shall have to describe the wing more particularly, and I will pass on to notice that portion of the internal organisation of birds which is most specially adapted to the requirements of flight, INTERNAL ANATOMY. With regard to the digestive organs I will only notice that birds possess similar parts to mammals, but that the intestinal tube, from the gullet to the pylorus, presents considerable diversities, there being present, generally speaking, two enlargements of the cesophagus, one called the crop, and the other, which is just above the gizzard, the proventriculus. In both of these receptacles the food is mixed with juices which accelerate digestion. The stomach: or gizzard, as it is called, is a very peculiar organ, and is, in fact, a sort of grinding mill, where the food which enters it is ground down. The eavity of the stomach is very small, and the muscles which surround it are very large. The intestines are variable in length, and do not present any marked division into large and small intestines, They receive, as in mammals, the secretions from the liver and the pancreas, With the above brief notice I will pass on to the organs of respiration, which as clearly as anything in nature, show the marks of a designing hand. The lungs of birds are of a lengthened oval shape, and are firmly attached to the dorsal surface of the thorax; they are not divided into lobes, and from each lung proceeds a bronchial tube, which tubes unite together to form the trachea, or wind pipe, and it is at the junction of the bronchial tubes that the lower larynx, where the vocal sounds of birds are produced, is placed. The main trunks of the bronchii after passing through the lungs open into the cavity of the thorax, and admit the air freely all through the body, for in birds there is no proper diaphragm, but the whole of the thoracico abdominal cavity is divided into cells which communicate with each other, all of which are freely permeated by the air, which therefore surrounds all the vital organs, and penetrates in many cases into the interior of the bones and muscle, The bones which are most commonly found hollow and pneumatic in birds, are the humerus, or arm bone, the breast bone, and the cranial bones, Some- times, however, the other bones are found so also. The pneumatic bones receive their air from the air-sacs which are connected with the lungs; but the cranial and facial bones receive their air partly from the Eustachian tubes, partly from the tympanic cavity, and partly from the nasal cavities which conducts it to spaces under the eyes, whence it pene- trates further into the bones of the skull, — 51 With regard to the uses of this pneumaticity of the bones the most probable are the following :— 1st. The air, by penetrating all parts of the body, secures the perfect oxygenization of the blood, a highly important matter for animals like birds, ’ which undergo violent muscular exertion. 2nd. The air becoming rarifed by the high temperature of the bird’s body, the specific gravity of the bird is diminished, and less exertion required to maintain its fight. To this use I must again refer in No. 3 section. 3rd. From the inflation of the body the muscles are enabled to act with firmer purchase and better leverage. 4th. It is from this arrangement of air-sacs that the singing birds are enabled to prolong their notes. SECTION 11.—STRUCTURE OF WING. : There is nothing, I think, in the whole range of Zoology which more forcibly illustrates the great truths of unity of design and adaptibility to special purpose which pervade creation, than the wing of a bird. For first let us briefly inquire what it is that a wing is required to do, and then let us examine how the vertebrate anterior member is modified to meet those requirements. a” First then, a wing is the instrument by which a bird strikes the air and raises itself from the ground and maintains itself in the air, and also is enabled to progress. : A wing then must be an instrument capable of producing by its strokes an amount of resistance in the air, superior to the entire weight of the bird’s body. It must also be capable of producing progressive motion as well as upward motion, and it must be most completely under the control of the bird to allow of all those beautiful adjustments which no one can fail to notice and admire in the flight of birds. Looking now carefully at the wing we find that, as I mentioned before, _ the internal structure of the bones and muscles are homologous to the fore-legs or arms of Mammalia, that is the wing is composed of a humerus articulated with the shoulder blades and clavicles or collar bones. In birds, however, there is a further provision for the stability of the wing in the shape of the coracoid process of the scapula, which assumes the _mportance of a separate bone, and is firmly attached to the breast bone, ’ The clavicles also are modified and joined together, forming what is usually called the “‘merry thought,” but which anatomists designate as the ‘urculum, This bone forms a sort of spring which prevents the wings pressing @ 2 52 too tightly upon the chest, and it also affords surface of attachment to the great pectoral muscle, Next to the humerus come the two bones of the fore-arm, the Radius and the Ulna, of which the Ulna is usually the strongest. These two bones are homologous to our fore-arm bones, from the elbow to the wrist. At the elbow of birds there is often found a little bone which is a sort of elbow cap or arm pan, Beyond these again we have the wrist or carpus, formed of two short bones; the metacarpus of two tubular bones which have coalesced at both extremities, and generally two fingers and a thumb; the thumb is usually nothing but a thin stiliform process, and one finger is always very much larger and longer than the other. Tt will be noticed here by those who have paid any attention to Com- parative Anatomy, that the modifications which I have mentioned above, are such as frequently present themselves in the vertebrate series, and it will also be noticed that those modifications consist of the coalescence of parts and never by their transposition. I will pass on to notice very briefly the muscular system by which these bones are set in motion. This is extremely similar to that observed in other vertebrate animals. The great peculiarity of the muscular system of birds is the enormously developed pectoral muscles; these muscles are well known to everybody in the shape of a chicken’s breast. They often weigh more than all the other muscles of the body put together. Although resembling one muscle, the mass of flesh upon the breast is really divided into three different muscles. The great pectoral is attached to the sternum or breast-bone at one end, and at the other to the humerus or arm-bone, and its function is to depress or pull down the wing. It will be easily understood how important a muscle the pectoral is to birds of prolonged or constant flight, for it is by the action of this muscle chiefly that % bird is enabled to give those powerful and rapid strokes upon the air which are sufficient to sustain it. I would also call attention to the fact that the pectoral muscles being so placed that the centre of the bird’s gravity is considerably below the line of the outstretched wing, so that in flying a bird has no difficulty in keeping its position, and has no inclination to topple backwards, This feat is sometimes performed by the tumbler pigeon, but it is a work of some difficulty, and the bird almost always requires the assistance of the wind, The muscles which raise the wing are the deltoid and the second smaller pectorals. The deltoid muscle is attached to the shoulder-blade and to the top of the humerus, and by its contraction raises the wing. 53 The lesser pectorals are situated beneath the great pectoral, and arise from the base of the crest of the sternum; they pass upwards, and the tendon by passing through the interspace between the clavicle, coracoid scapula, has the direction of its force altered, and being inserted on the upper part of the humerus, serves as an elevator of the wing. This isa peculiarly beautiful contrivance, as it enables the mass of the muscle to be kept low, and thereby the centre of gravity also—a point of great importance in flight—and it also provides for the raising of the wing. It is evident that the muscles used for raising the wing need not be so strong as those employed in depressing it; forin the up stroke the wing is always drawn in and the feathers overlap one another, so that a comparatively small surface is presented to the resistance of the air. They must, however be capable of intensely rapid action, as the up stroke must be repeated as often as the down stroke, and in some birds this is very many timesin asecond. The other muscles of the wing are the extensors and flexors of the fore arm and the fingers, by means of which they are enabled to stretch out or draw in the wing. With this brief review of the muscles of the wings, I will pass on to notice the feathers. Birds are the only animals furnished with feathers, and no covering could possibly be imagined which combined the needful qualities of warmth, firmness, flexibility, lightness, and I may add beauty, more admirably than feathers. A feather is composed of a quill which is prolonged into a shaft which runs the whole length of the feather, and from each side of the shaft proceed branches ; these branches are set on obliquely and point toward the end of the feather ; from each of the branches fine rays set very close together proceed, and on the side next to the shaft, small hairs turned so as to form hooks overlap the rays of the next branch and hold it firmly together. It is these minute hooklets which give the appearance of the vane of a feather sticking together when it is attempted to separate it. The whole feather is composed of a horny substance and is not vascular after the growth has taken place. It must be carefully noticed that the wing feathers have the shaft placed not in the middle of the vane, but considerably to the front, so that the stiff portion of the feather is presented to the wind and the more flexible part is behind: the object of this I will notice in the next section. The feathers of the wing are divided into primaries and secondaries : the primary feathers are much the longest and stiffest, and are the chief instruments in flight ; they are situated on the fingers and hand or carpus ; the secondaries are situated on the fore arm; they are much more numerous and also much more irregular in number than the primaries; they are also more flexible. The primary feathers are important aids in classification. SECTION IIL. Having now taken a brief view of those points in the structure of birds which are peculiarly modified for the purpose of flight, and also having noticed 54 the structure of the wing, I will pass on now to consider the kind of action and the mechanical laws which are called into play during flight. The first requisite for flight is weight, that is, the action of gravity, which pulls a bird to the ground. It may seem a little strange, at first sight, that the law of gravity, which birds in flying are using great exertion to overcome, should be actually indis- pensable to flight, but if birds had not more weight than the air they could not fly, for they would simply float in the air like a feather, and be at the mercy of every current. Thus we see that weight is necessary for flight in order to give the power of directing the course of a bird, and to enable it to fly against the wind. It is a mistake, however, to suppose that great weight is essential to flight, for so long as the weight of the bird is greater than that of the air, the lighter the better for sustained and continued flight, for it requires less force of wing to raise and support a light bird than a heavy one, and it is to this end, as we have already seen, that the bird’s body is made light by several beautiful contrivances. I mention this as the Duke of Argyll, in his very interesting book the “‘ Reign of Law,” in the Chapter on ‘‘Contrivance or Necessity,” seems to scout the idea that the air-cells of birds have any function whatever in decreasing specific gravity. Now although this is probably not the only function of the air-cells, as I have already mentioned, yet it is most undoubtedly one of them, and I think can hardly fail to strike everybody as a most beautiful contrivance for lessening the weight of a bird, and at the same time not interfering with its muscular power. Having now seen that some degree of weight is necessary for flight, I will pass on to consider the method by which that weight is raised, sustained, and caused to progress in flight. The instrument by which flight is accomplished is, as is well known, the wing. I have already described the animal mechanism of the wing and will now attempt to point out how it acts when employed in flight. The wing, when in the act of flying, may be regarded as a lever of the first kind ; that is to say, when the power and the weight are on different sides of the fulcrum, but act in the same direction ; for in the case of a bird flying, the air below the wing is the fulcrum, the body of the bird is the weight, and the power is applied at the end of and along the wing. It must be observed, however, that although in mechanics forces are always regarded as being applied at definite points, yet in the case of a wing the power is applied throughout the whole length of the wing decreasing from the point of the wing inwards; likewise the fulcrum acts as the resisting force all along the wing and not at any one particular point ; nevertheless for the sake of clearly comprehending the principle the action of flight, it is quite allowable to suppose all the force applied by the wing to be concentrated at the end, and 55 also that all the resisting force of the air, that ia the fulcrum, should be applied at a point, which would be somewhere not very far from the end of the wing, for the resistance of the air is necessarily much more intense near the tip of the wing than near the body. Thus we may say for sake of clearness that the action of a wing in flight is the same as the action of a rigid rod placed across a bar, which is the fulcrum, and which rod has a weight at one end and a power or force at the other end, both of which pull or act in the same direction. Now it is a fact in mechanics that the length of the lever from the fulcrum to the power multiplied into the - power, must equal the length of the lever from the fulcrum to the weight multiplied into the weight, to produce a balance or equipoise, and therefore it is apparent that the shorter the arm of the lever next to the power the greater must be the power in order to balance the weight. Now that is just the case with a wing, for the fulcrum there is nearer to the end of the wing, or where the power is applied, than to the body of the bird or the weight, and therefore, as we have seen above, it will be necessary, to produce balance, that the power should exceed the weight. In flight, however, more than balance is required, for itis necessary that the body or weight should be lifted, therefore it is evident that a much more intense force is needed. From the foregoing arguments it may be concluded that the power or force applied in the stroke of the wing is considerably greater than the weight of the bird’s body. We may sum up, therefore, the mechanical principle of the action of the wing in flight, as that of a lever of the first kind, where power and weight are acting in the same direction but on opposite sides of the fulcrum, the power being applied to the shorter arm of the fulcrum, and therefore requiring to be con- i siderably greater than the weight. Before proceeding to notice the niceties of adjustment found in the wing, _ and the methods in which progression, soaring, hovering, and other motions are _ attained, I will just pause for a moment to point out that the wing, with reference to the body, may be regarded as a lever of another kind. That is a lever where the power and the weight are on the same side of the fulcrum _ but act in opposite directions, and where the power is next to the fulcrum. This, _ which is called the third kind of lever, is the class to which all bones and muscles a belong, for in the case of the wing the fulcrum is the shoulder joint ; the power is the muscle or tendon applied just over the joint, and the weight is either ‘the limb itself or some actual weight attached at the other extremity. ‘ In this kind of lever the power must always be in excess of the weight, and therefore this kind is never used in mechanical operations for raising weights, but inthe animal organisation it is the kind always found, because the “fulcrum and the power are thus placed close together, and a great economy of Space and compactness is gained, 56 I have made this special notice of this kind of lever, which is not in any way peculiar to the wing or connected with the mechanical principles of flight, because in the book which I have referred to already, in pages 158 and 159, the Duke of Argyll speaks of the wing as an implement through which the vital force (muscular I suppose) is exerted with immense mechanical advantage for the purpose in view, viz., flight. Now we have seen that the wing in flight does really act as a lever, but that it is a lever which places the power at a dis- advantage, or in other words the power or vital force must be in excess of the weight to be moved ; and again, if the Duke is referring the wing to the third kind of lever, which I hardly think he can be doing, he has missed altogether the principle of flight, for he has not got any fulcrum on which the lever may act ; and indeed, throughout his argument, it seems to me that he misses the great point of the air being the fulcrum. I mention this because I think his use of the word mechanical is apt to mislead, for according to the usual acceptation of the term, there is certainly no mechanical advantage in the kind of lever to which the wing belongs; and with regard to the third kind of lever to which bones and muscle belong, the advantage is not mechanical, but merely convenience. It is very necessary to bear in mind, when speaking of the principles of flight, that the fulcrum is not altogether a fixed one, but is a compressible fluid which endeavours to escape in every direction, and therefore it is apparent that much of the force of the stroke of the wing is lost owing to the fulerum giving way, so to speak ; for it is easy to see that the body of the bird is moved upward a very short space in comparison with the space through which the wing moves. The same thing is observable in rowing a boat, for the water which is, in that case, the fulcrum, is to some extent displaced, and the boat does not move through so great a portion of water as it would do if the oar acted against a fixed and immoveable fulcrum, This motion of the fulerum, allowing a corresponding motion to the wing or lever, seems to give the idea that the body or weight is attached to the short arm of the lever, whereas, as far as the mechanical principle is concerned, it is attached to the long end. I make these remarks because, although in flight the compressibility of the air isa most important condition, yet no mechanical principle is involved in it ; for in mechanics a moveable fulcrum would be a contradiction, While speaking of the compressibilty of the air, I would call attention to the concavity of the wing below and its convexity above ; this form confines the air as much as possible, and allows the wing to act firmly upon it in the down stroke before the air escapes; and in the up stroke the convex form of wing allows the air to roll off with but comparatively little resistance. This brings me to speak of the up-stroke ; here the mechanical principle of the stroke is quite altered, 57 The air is no Jonger the fulcrum but the weight, the shoulder joint is the fulcrum, and the deltoid and lesser pectorals are the power: this is a lever of the third kind, where the power and the weight act in opposite directions but on the same side of fulcrum, the power being inside, or next to the fulcrum. It is to be noticed, also, that in the up stroke the feathers of the wing fold over one another, and the arm bones are drawn in, so that a comparatively small surface is presented to the air: this is very essential, for if it were not so the bird would lose during the up stroke what it had gained in the down stroke. ~ : Having now looked into the laws of the strokes of the wing, I will briefly direct attention to the manner in which progression is effected. Birds, when flying straight forward horizontally, keep the body nearly horizontal, and flap their wings nearly perpendicularly to the horizontal line. When in that position the motion of the wings has the tendency to send them forward as well as sustain them ; and the cause of this is a very beautiful contrivance in the structure of the wing. It will be remembered that I called attention to the fact that the shaft of the wing feathers was not set in the centre of the vane, but considerably forward. Now the whole wing is constructed on the same principle, namely, that the ridge which meets the air is stiff and inflexible, and all the feathers which cover the wing have their stiffer side presented to the wind, and their more flexible portion turned backward. The effect of that is that the air, when _ compressed by the down stroke of the wing, and trying to escape in every _ direction, finds the ends of the feathers offer but little resistance to it, and it therefore bends them up, and that resistance or force sends the bird on in a horizontal position, The up stroke, also, must have some effect in this way too. In proof of the above statements I would call attention to the position of a bird when soaring or hovering, which is always more or less inclined to the - horizon: the reason for the bird adopting this position is to alter the direction of the force of the air upon the flexible ends of the feathers, so that it shall act asa raising and not a propelling force. # When there is a considerable breeze less inclination is necessary for the resultant direction of the forces of the wind and the down stroke is upward. Some birds rarely hover or soar except when there is a wind. There is no motion which requires more complete command over the wings, and greater muscular power, than soaring and hovering ; but, indeed, it is quite impossible to watch any of the motions of a bird without being struck with admiration at their ease and elegance, and with the perfect command which birds have over their wings, being able to adjust them to the very nicest balance. u 58 Time does not allow me to go into the subject of the varieties of wing found among the feathered tribes, and therefore I will only make a few con- cluding remarks upon the subject of flight. In all birds of long sustained flight the wings are long and pointed, and the primaries are set close together so that no air can escape between them. The advantage of a long wing is simply that it is capable of «a longer and therefore more powerful stroke than a short wing, and it offers more surface for the support of the air. Types of the long wing are to be found in the Albatros, the Swallow, and among the Hawk tribe. Those birds which fly fast but seldom fly far have usually rounded wings and much shorter wings; the rounded form is given by the first two or three * of the primary feathers being shorter than those which follow them ; this is the case amongst the gallinaceous birds, such as the Pheasant, Grouse, Partridge, &c. This kind of wing requires very intense action and rapidity of stroke to enable it to sustain the bird, as it cannot be worked to so much mechanical advantage as the long wing, and the quills not being placed so closely together the air escapes upwards. I will only add a few words upon the mode of turning of a bird. This is usually effected by the bird depressing the inside wing, so to speak, and elevating the outside, and by so doing throwing the centre of gravity inside or towards the direction in which the bird desires to turn, and by this means overcoming the law of motion which urges it on ina straight line, and at the same time presenting the wings to the air or wind like a sail and thus being blown round ; this motion may frequently be noticed in the flight of the swallow. If a bird merely requires to alter its course a little, the change in direction is effected by simply altering the muscular force on one side of the body or the other just as aman turns in walking; it is also not at all improbable that the wings assist them in turning, although it is difficult to detect any difference in the stroke of the two wings. And now to conclude, I will just notice the tail-end of our subject. This feature in birds has given rise to a good deal of discussion and difference of opinion ; it used to be and still is very frequently given, as its function that hy it the bird steers or turns itself; that this cannot be its chief use a moment’s reflection will prove, for it is set on horizontally and not vertically as a rudder should be. This then cannot be its chief function, and its use probably is to balance the bird, and it also is a great assistance in stopping a bird. All hovering birds have fan-like tails, and all long-continued flyers have well developed tails. It is very likely that the tail is a great assistance in turning by enablivg a bird suddenly to stop, but undoubtedly the great function of the tail is to add to the general stability and balance. 59 Having now briefly reviewed some of the principles of flight and also some of the main features and adaptations of the feathered races, which enable them to take advantage of those principles, I would venture to point out to those who _ May not have had their attention already directed to it, that the whole range of creation, and as I think, especially Comparative Anatomy affords endless examples of creative wisdom and design, and that the more these subjects are studied the more will the student be led to exclaim, ‘“‘O Lord, how manifold are Thy works: in wisdom hast Thou.made them all” The PRESIDENT gave the thanks of the Club to Mr. Rankin for his excellent paper, amidst general applause; and called upon Mr. Steele to read the following paper— 60 ON SOME SPECIES OF MASON WASPS AND THEIR PARASITIC BEES. By ELMES Y. STEELE, Esa Gentlemen,—Obedient to the call of our President I rise to present a few observations on the habits of some species of hymenopterous insects, belonging to the families of the solitary earth-working wasps, and of the bee-like insects, their parasites. I ought perhaps to apologise for bringing this subject before you, because my limited acquaintance with Natural History gives me no pretension to the title of an entomologist ; but asa field naturalist I have been for the last few weeks past deeply interested in studying the operations of these insects under the promptings of their marvellous instinct, and I have thought that the page I have thus been reading might possess sufficient attraction to gratify those members of our club who may not be already familiar with it. Let me, then, introduce to your notice a sunny spot within a quarter of a mile of Abergavenny, where lies an ash tree of about fifty years’ growth, prostrated by one of last winter’s gales. This tree had been for about two years under the keen observation of my friend, Dr. Chapman, who discovered that it was being ravaged by a wood-boring beetle, Hylesinus crenatus, and that ere long it would decay and fall to the ground. When this predicted event had come to pass it became the prey of Hylesinus fraxini, and of many other insect wood-destroyers. Dr. Chapman, whose interesting paper, read at our last meeting, was published in the Hereford Times on the 13th inst., computes that up to the present time at least forty species of, insects have found a lodgment and food within, or building materials upon, this fallen trunk. It was whilst pursuing his hunting explora- tions after beetles that my friend became aware of the fact that Odynerus Spinipes, one of the solitary wasps had taken possession, not indeed of the tree itself, but of the sandy clay which had been brought up with the roots when it fell. This curious insect (Odynerus Murarias of Latreille, Vespa Muraria of Linnzus) is called solitary because each female excavates a burrow in the soil, wherein she forms cells for the lodgment of her eggs, and does so unaided by other individuals of the species ; unlike, in this respect, to the tribe of wasps, with which we are more familiar, who, as is well known, construct a complex habitation, built up of woody fibres agglutinated together into a sort of paper, in which operation they are associated, often in great numbers, and thence are called social wasps. Odynerus Spinipes, if it be not social, is not, however, unsociable, for. as in the instance I am relating, many individuals may congregate on the same spot if the material and the situation be favourable. I need not enter into a systematic description of her anatomy, for I have come provided with the insect herself, which I will now pass round the table for your inspection. You will find her set up in company with the other insects, to whose history I propose to draw your attention. Well, then, this wasp, which is a burrowing i f i ODYNERUS SPINIPES. A Colony of OpYNERUS SPINIPES, with the tubes of open filagree work, where the wasps are still working, and the closed mouths of completed burrows. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SEEDS OR SPORES OF FUNGI, MAGNIFIED 1,000 DIAMETERS. Fig. 10.—Spore of Lactarius quietus. Fig. 11.—Spore of Agaricus ( Psalliota ) campestris. 'The Mushroom. Fig. 12.—Spore of Gomphidius viscidus. Fig. 13.—Spore of Coprinus micaceus, common on old stumps everywhere. Fig. 14.—Spore of Spathularia flavida. Figs. 15, 16, 17, 18.—Spores of Spathu- laria flavida, in the act of germination. Fig. 19.—Mycelium of Spathularia fla- vida, produced under the microscope from the confluent germinating spores. Fig. 20.—Discs from human blood, drawn to the same scale, 1,000 diameters, to give an idea of the exceeding minuteness of the objects, especially of Fig. 1, which, how- ever, is by no means unique for smallness. ON THE FORMATION OF FAIRY RINGS AND THE FUNGI THAT INHABIT THEM. BrEDWIN LEES, Ese, F.L.8., F.G.8., &e., Vioe-President of the Malvern and Worcestershire Naturalists’ Clubs. Particular attention has been lately called by Dr. Bull, in the Transactions of the Woolbope Naturalists’ Club, to the species of edible Fungi inhabiting Herefordshire, and the learned doctor has also kindly given recipes for cooking them, with the tasty zeal of an Apicius. I shall not emulate my recondite friend in the gastronomical department, though collaterally the subject I have taken in hand bears upon it; but, leaving him to his stews, broils, and omelettes, take a philosophical and contemplative view of those Agarics that (arranged in remarkable curved lines) adorn the verdant fields, and, finding the ring ready formed, I shall invite you to conclusions within it, showing sport in as many rounds as you please. My object then, in the present paper, will be to describe those appear- ances in pastures that commonly bear the name of Farry Rios, and to notice thus dovetail into the subject of edible Fungi, for nearly, if not quite all, the Agarics that grow in or about Fairy Rings, may be regarded as innocuous or edible. } I shall divide the subject into four parts, for the sake of perspicuity, and inom 2nd. The Mythology and Folk Lore of the subject. 3 3rd. The Theories that have been entertained with regard to them. And 4th. Give the correct explanation of their formation. a The fact of rings existing in pastures and occupied at times by various kinds of Agarics, will be admitted by every inhabitant or even wanderer in the country. But ideas on the subject are not very exact, and it is generally stated that the rings are green. But in fact these rings exhibit different aspects at different times, though the fungologist is only interested in them when Aga- rics or other Fungi appear round the border of the rings, which is by no meant always the case. 212 Rings may be brown, forming a band of up-turned soil, or of a greener hue than the pasture in which they appear, or they may present a hairy or rough aspect like the tails of some animals, from a dense mass of tall grass growing in them, and the latter I call comet-rings. It is only in the spring and autumn under meteorological circumstances that the rings become conspicuous from Agarics either scattered about or in a dense mass spreading around theit ~ circumference. Now let us attend to the exact formation of the Fairy Ring, for on this depends the interpretation of a passage in Shakspere that is well known and often quoted :— “You demy-puppets, * That do by moonshine green sour ringlets make, Whereof the ewe bites not.” Here our great bard alludes to the current belief of the times in which he lived, and also mentions a rural fact that we may suppose came under his par- ticular observation. Ewes, he states will not bite the grass of a fairy ring. Now this is not true with regard to the area of the circle, but it is correct when the expression is limited to its circumference, which is truly the ring that the ewe will not bite. This I once satisfactorily proved by observation in the vicinity of Stratford-on-Avon, and probably in a field that Shakspeare had himself trod. In this pasture, through which was a footpath, there was a flock of sheep’ grazing, and several rings of Agaricus gambosus. The exterior circle of each ring was occupied by a tall growth of the coarse grass called Brachypodiwm pin- natum, among which lay nestled and cencealed the savoury agaric. The sheep had close grazed most of the herbage of the field, but the grass oceupying the circumference of the rings was entirely untouched, It was then, doubtless, the vernal fairy rings to which the immortal bard alluded. The ring itself, which bounds the area, is often divisible into three bands, of which the outer one is the most distinctly marked, and the ring spreads and dilates in this direction, while its inner margin joins with and is scarcely distinguishable in places fromthe area, But though the term ‘‘ring” is generally applied to these appearances, it must be borne in mind that a perfect circle is rarely formed, and mostly only arcs, portions of circles, or long waving lines are presented to the view. Some of these rings or ares remain with little alteration for years, while others slowly increase till if uninterrupted they assume vast dimensions, for my friend Professor Buckman has mentioned some on Salisbury Plain that were more than fifty feet in diameter. Finally they die out after a longer or shorter continuance. Various fungi occasionally dot or fill up the circumference of the rings, and these are either vernal or autumnal, but chiefly the latter. The first rains of May bring up the common Fairy Ring Agaric (A. Orcades), and also the less common but larger Agaricus gambosus, which has been called St. George’s’ Agaric, as appearing about the time of the feast of St. George. Few other fungi appear so early in the year, the majority preferring the misty season of autumn, and then, besides Agarics, Puffballs and other funguses adorn the rings, These’ 213 fatter soon disappear from decay, but a green conspicuous band marks where they grew. But the rings occupied by gambosus and Oreades mostly remain brown and bare through the summer. These circles in the grass are not confined to any particular district, but pastures are necessary to their production, and my friend Dr. Bull has met with many about Hereford, and I have seen some in this vicinity abundantly crowded with agarics myself, as well as in other counties. They are not so common on the Continent as in England, though I have noticed some in Switzerland. In an article upon Fungiin the ‘American Naturalist” (1868) it would appear from a remark of the writer, that they are unknown in the United States of America, where, however, Agarics are very abundant. With regard to the mythology and folk-lore of the subject, much may be written, and very curious matter collected, but I shall select chiefly what bears upon the appearances presented to view, and which led people in olden times to believe that fairy dancing had taken place where these circles met their view. Up to the middle of the 17th century, and perhaps nearly to the end of it, there was a general belief in the existence of a race of unsubstantial pigmy elves commonly called fairies, to whom various good as well as malicious qualities were attributed ; but on the present occasion I can only notice their dancing; » pastime to which they were said to be addicted, especially when the moon illuminated the midnight scene. An old poet alluding to this says :-— “Dance like fairies a fantastic round, Who neither change their motion or their ground.” It was this keeping to one place in the fairy dance that made the impression it the grass visible to the rustic eye the next day, as Michael Drayton observes in his “*Nymphidia,” thus endorsing the popular belief—- ** And in their courses make that round, In meadows and in marshes found Of them so called the Fairy-ground, Of which they have the keeping.” Now this was not a mere poetical idea, but the general belief, and the fairies and their love of dancing being believed in, it seemed not unlikely that traces of their light revelry should be left in the spots they frequented, which was an easy solution of the phenomenon presented to view, and kept up the credit of the fairy people as ever at work although invisible to mortal eye. Chaucer has it: timated the existence of the belief in Fairies as universal before his time, though in his satirical way he suggests that “‘limitours” and ‘‘holy freres” had in- creased to such a degree that by ‘“‘blessynge halles,” bowers, and all other places, they had frighted the Fairy people away from their accustomed haunts; and where before was ‘‘walken an elf,” the intrusive limitour alone on the scene now presented himself only. But they were stillin existence if not se manifest as formerly. “In the olde dayes of the King Arthour, Of which that Britouns spoken gret honour, All was this land fulfilled of Fayrie ; The elf-queen with her joly compaignye Daunced ful oft in many a grene méde, This was the old oppynyoun, as I rede.*” * Chaucer—in the opening of the ‘‘ Wyf of Bathes Tale,” 214 But evidencé was not unfrequently obtained from some “belated peasant,” as Milton intimates, that the Fairy people were still to be seen at their dancing pastime if aman was out wandering in the moonshine late in the night, and had the eyes of his imagination sufficiently ethurielized. Such appearances even learned divines professed to have seen, as appears from the following relation in the Miscellaneous Wiltshire Collections of Aubrey, preserved in the Library of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Aubrey wrotea ‘‘ Natural History of Wilt- shire,” and lived in the latter part of the 17th century. He says— In the year 1633-4, soon after I had entered into my grammar at the Latin School at Yatton Keynel, our curate, Mr. Hart, was annoyd one night by these elves or fayries comming over the downes, it being near darke, and approaching one of the fairy dances as the common people call them in these parts, viz., the greene circles made by those sprites on the grasse, he all at once sawe an innumerable qnantitie of pygmies or very small people dancing rounde and rounde, and singing and making all maner of small odd noyses. So being very greatly amaz’d, and yet not being able, as he says, to run away from them, being as he supposes kepte there in a kinde of enchantment. They no sooner perceave him but they surrounde him on all sides, and what betwixt feare and amaze- ment, he fell downe scarcely knowing what he did; and thereupon these little creatures pinch’d him all over, and made a sorte of quick humming. noyse all the time; but at length they left him, and when the sun rose he found himself exactly in the midst of one of these faery dances. This relation I had from him myselfe a few dayes after he was so. tormented ; but when I and my bedfellow Stump wente soon afterwards at night time to the dances on the downes, we sawe none of the elves or fairies. But indeed it is saide they seldom appeare to any persons who go to seeke for them. Even in the early part of the present century in the remoter parts of Wales the peasantry if they did not fully believe in the existence of Fairies _had a great dread of Fairy Rings, and the writer on the “‘ Popular Superstitions of Wales” in the ‘‘ Graphic and Historical Illustrator ” (1834) quotes a corres- pondent of Mr. Croker, as thus writing to him on the subject :—‘‘ Many old per- sons have told me that when they were young, and had occasion to go to the mountains to look after their sheep or to fetch the cows, their parents always cautioned them to avoid treading near the Fairies Rings, or they would be lost.” This is alluded to by a modern poet as not yet forgotten :— “‘ Some say the screech-owl at the midnight hour Awakes the Fairies in yon antient tow’r ; Their nightly dancing ring I always dread, Nor let my sheep within that circle tread ; Where round and round all night in moonlight fair, They dance to some strange music of the air.” The same writer on Welsh superstitions asserts that still in Sweden if a peasant sees a circlemarked out on the morning grass he attributes it to the midnight dance of the Fairies. f Thee Barham might have made a good Ingoldsby Legend out of Aubrey’s narra- tion, which I adduce without attempting to account for the curate’s bewilder- ment, but only to show at how late a date such a narrative could be received as a veritable fact, : Aubrey, at a later period of his life, when he wrote his ‘‘ Natural History of Wiltshire,” discarded the fairies, assumed the philosopher, and was, I believe, the first to suggest a natural cause for the rings, though his supposition of ‘‘ a fertile subterraneous vapour which comes from a kinde of conical concave,” and assumes a circular shape at the surface of the ground, was rather too recondite to be generally received, 215 This notion of Aubrey’s, however, brings me to the third division of my paper, as to the Theories adduced by philosophers and naturalists to account for the appearance and continuance of the rings so common, in pasture land, Dr. Darwin, the botanical ‘poet of the last century, was of opinion that electricity gave the form7to the fairy ring, and in a note to his poem of “The Botanic Garden,” contends that “‘flashes of lightning attracted by the moister part of grassy plains, are the actual cause of fairy rings,” and in the poem itself, he says :— * So from the clouds the playful lightning wings, Rives the firm oak, or prints the Fairy Rings.” But if so, these rings would be evident to some eye or other immediately after a thunder storm, and the blackened; grass would be an incontrovertible wit- ness 5 but there is no reliable evidence that}I know of as to lightning making such circular marks on grass lands, while trees and prominent objects are generally the subjects of electric strokes. Mr. J. F. Dovaston, at a later period, in Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, like Darwin, ascribed the exciting cause of the formation of rings to ‘‘ strokes of electricity, » which laying bare the ring the first year, by “‘the fertilization of combustion,” gave rise the second year to a crop of grass “‘with -highly increased vigour and verdure.” This fertilization, however, Dovaston remarks, though violent, is of very short duration, and thus the circles soon disappear. It may be well to remark that both Aubrey, Darwin, and Dovaston, all believed the rings to be formed of their full size at once, and by a sudden act, without which, indeed, the idea of dances in the moonlight, made evident when the sun rose, would have been un- sustainable. ' But as Agarics often fill the outer margin of a Fairy Ring, a question arose as to how they came to be there, and this has led to the supposition that the Fungi were the efficient cause and origin themselves of the circles in the grass. This was first suggested by Dr. Wollaston, and has been since admitted as a vera causa by the Rey. M. J. Berkeley, Dr. Greyille, Mr. Cooke, and almost all British Fungologists. It is therefore necessary to examine it in detail, and see if this theory really agrees with careful observation. Mr. M. C. Cooke, adopting the explanation of Dr. Wollaston and Mr. Berkeley, thus expresses himself in an article on Fairy Rings in Hardwicke’s Science Gossip* :—‘‘ There are green circles of luxuriant grass on pasture lands, sometimes of immense size, and to be seen from a considerable distance. Romance ascribes their origin to the dances of fairies by moonlight; science to a much more matter-of-fact cause. These circles are the result of Fungi, originating at’ first from a single mushroom. This parent mushroom exhausts _ the soil beneath it, ‘and nearly destroys the grass by the spawn or mycelium which insinuates itself among their roots. When matured, the spores of this mushroom are shed at an equal distance all around the plant, which latter dies, decays, and manures the soil around it. The next season a circle of Fungi spring ap about the spot occupied by the mushroom of the preceding year, but all 216 within the circle is barren. These shed their spores and decay, as their parent had done, and thus year by year the circle increases until rings are formed in some cases three feet, and at others thirty yards or more in diame- ter. The turf cut from within the ring exhibits a network of spawn, interlaced amongst the roots of the grass, Thus the fairy palace is demolished, and the airy dancers dispersed by the hard-hearted and unpoetical mycologist.”* Berkeley, the great expounder of Fungology in the present day, takes the same view, and after remarking upon the tendency of minute Fungi to “assume a circular disposition,” he goes on to say: ‘‘In the fields we see this tendency illustrated by the formation of Fairy Rings, which have for a long time puzzled philosophers, and are not without their difficulties now. These rings are sometimes of very ancient*date, and attain enormous dimeusions, so as to be distinctly visible on a hill-side from a considerable distance. J¢ is believed that they originate from a single Fungus, whose growth renders the soil immediately beneath unfit for its reproduction. The spawn, however, spreads all round, and in the second year produces a crop, whose spawn spreads again, the soil behind forbidding its return in that direction. Thus the circle is continually increased, and extends indefinitely till some cause intervenes to destroy it. If the spawn did not spread on all sides at first, an are of a circle only is produced.” There is some confusion among authors in this theoretical explanation, some saying the spores fall in a circular form, while Berkeley gives this power to the mycelium. It is extremely easy for a theorist to sit in his easy chair and propound a bold hypothesis, which he fondly hopes may solve a difficulty and obtain for him a reputation ; but if truth is the object in view, it does seem astonishing that people when out in the country look upon objects with sych a careless eye, and will not closely examine things before they come to a rash conclusion, Poor Peter Bell, of Wordsworth’s imagination, has been often held up to repro- bation, because, like hundreds of the unthinking multitude,— “A primrose by the river’s brim, A yellow primrose was to him, And nothing more.” But perhaps the majority of persons in walking through a meadow, if asked about a green circle, or an agaric-filled circle there visible, would say—‘‘ Ah! only a fairy-ring!” and see ‘‘nothing more in it,” and care nothing more about it than Peter Bell did about the primrose! Even Mr. Berkeley takes the suppo- sition about the single Fungus forming the circle for granted, without due examination himself, and says :—‘“‘It is believed” that such is the case. Now, after attentive observation, I myself do not believe it. No one appears to have tried to make a Fairy Ring on this principle, and it is clear that if this was the modus operandi, instead of one large circle only, a number of small circles would appear intersecting the original one, because if the first fungus could * Science Gossip, October 1, 1866. t Berkeley’s “ Outlines of British Fungology,” p. 41. On 217 form a circle by its sporules falling around it, every other offspring of the family could do the same in its turn. But such an appearance is never presented to view, and the supposition is therefore fallacious, This may be made clear to the eye by reverting to a diagram. For thus numerous intersecting circles would be of necessity formed, and the pasture, if the agarics were not too numerous and close, might look like an orrery. Let me now, then, attempt the elucidation, as the last part of the subject I have undertaken to discuss. Discarding then the mythological Fairies, as well as the various hypotheses that have been eliminated to account for the commonly-called ‘‘ Fairy Rings,” let us look at the matter in a common-sense ‘but botanical point of view, remembering that we have here to deal not with flowering, but cryptogamous plants, Yet the same law of Nature will apply. Turn up a mass of soil in any place, make a bank of manure, or leave the cultivated soil of a garden to itself, and what are generally called weeds soon congregate. So in a wood, if the wind upsets a tree, or scatters dead branches about, Fungi quickly find them out, feed upon them, and flourish on a pabulum congenial to their nature. All fungi, whether Agarics, Boleti, or Polypores flourish on decaying substances, and rotting matter of some kind they require as a pabulum of support. Whatever, then causes the withdrawal and death of grasses in pastures, or displaces the soil, enables the sporules of fungi floating in the air to settle down, and Agarics or ‘‘ Toad-stools” to appear, and thus we notice them scat- tered about, without much wonder at their appearance, in the autumnal season, for, as Shelley says— ** Agarics, fungi, mildew, and mould, All start like mist from the wet ground cold.” But they do not start without some predisposing cause, or without something or other has caused decay where they arise. That circles or arcs, forming rings of Agarics or other fungi, should appear in meadows must be admitted to be curious, and require explanation. For this purpose two things are required—the forms which attract the eye, and incipient decay. The marked green or brown rings in the grass was the ground of popular appreciation, and gave rise to the supposed fairy dances— ‘‘ The nimble-footed fairies dance their rounds By the pale moonshine.”— Fletcher. and hence a cause must be shown for the sudden appearance of a round in the grass, and the decay that, allowing fresh grass to spring up in the track made, gives a new verdancy to it that keeps the circlet visible for a considerable time. Shakspeare says— : “And nightly meadow fairies, look you, sing Like to the garter’s compass, in a ring ; The expressure that it bears, green let it be, More fertile fresh than all the field to see.” * Shakspeare—‘‘ Merry Wives of Windsor,” , c2 218 The theory of Berkeley and other modern fungologists by no means explains the phenomenon that has attracted popular notice ; for on the idea of an origin from a single fungus, it would be two or three years before sufficient space was made for a proper dancing ring, and, the fairies with their nimble feet would not trouble themselves with such a slow process, nor would the clown be attracted by it, We must have a suddenly formed circle in the first instance, to show the fairy dance mado in the night, and exhibit their pastime as Shakspere in- timates, ‘‘to make these midnight mushrooms.” No supposed centrifugal growth of spores scattered round from a single agaric will make the large circles that have been noticed in pastures occupied by the mushrooms, for, theoretically there ought to be @ number of small circles. Now let us look at what is really done, and inquire what will do it, and then we shall see that the observation of Nature’s operations carefully made repays any trouble the en- quirer may have, and gives interesting facts instead of unsubstantial theories. Though these pasture-marks, the subject of my paper, are commonly called rings, they are by no means as a yule regular circles, but in fact for the most part incomplete circles, ares, and wavy lines of variable and undefined dimensions. Their primary aspect is brown with upturned soil, then they be- come either greener than the pasture in which they appear, or, a8 circumstances happen, brown and scorched from decaying vegetation, or at times throughout one clustering mass of Agarics, so close and firm that a light-footed gil might really dance upon them all round, Now having paid close attention to these appearances for many years, and not merely looked to the fungus growing in the circle, but the circle itself, this close observation tells me that in the great majority of cases the original disturbance of the soil in a circular or semicircular form is due to that little mining animal the Mole (Talpa Europea ). His gyrations close under the surface of the ground are very yemarkable. In making his runs he disturbs the roots of the grass, and the grass itself withers and dies in the round that he has made. This offers a pabulum to the wandering sporules of Fungi not to be neglected, and they seize upon these rounds accordingly, and once there make an occupation of the ground for as long a time as favourable circumstances allow, and then fly off elsewhere. For an uncertain time their occupation increases the size of the ring, but they do not originally form it. The ring is increased too, not by the sporules of the plant scattered about, but by the perennial underground mycelium, which slowly spreads until it is killed by meteorological causes, or like other plants dies out from exhausted vitality. By reference to some of the diagrams I have made from actual field observation, you may see that in numerous cases I have established not merely the presence of the Mole near the circles, but the certainty of his formation of them. (See Plate of fairy-ring circles and ares p, 224. ) But so far from Fungi in their growth forming these rings, some of them are never attacked by Agarics at all, and here it is that from grass first wither- es eS ee 219 ing, and fresh grass afterwards springing up over the run of the Mole, the ring formed appears greener than other parts of the pasture that have not been thus revivified. Tennyson noticing this, refers to “A foot* that might have danced The greensward into greener circles.” The decay of agarics about a ring will also cause a fresh and greener appearance of the turf in autumn, but more frequently in this case a taller and coarser grass is stimulated to grow in the ring at the vernal season, and I have observed the circles in which Agaricus gambosus flourished in May to be surrounded with a tall grass hiding the fungus completely from view, while the turf in the area of the ring was quite of a different character. This luxuriant growth of tall grass often reveals a ring in a meadow at some distance, and where the circle is imcomplete it bears some resemblance to the tail of a comet, a molehill representing the comet itself. Then again I have observed long wavy lines in flat meadows, undoubtedly the work of moles, and these at irregular distances were spotted with indi- viduals of the large cup-shaped Agaricus gilvus, which certainly had nothing to do with the formation of these long sinuous lines. But let me here particularize one case from my journal, to show the close observations I have made, and fifty more might be adduced if necessary. “*May 16th, 1848. I observed at Salwarp, Worcestershire, a large ring, though not a perfect circle, full fifteen yards in diameter. It commenced in a molehill, and then proceeded to another, and finally took a semicircular sweep nearly back to the molehill from whence it started. The circular track was evidently the underground work of a mole, although very near to the surface, and this track was now brown and bare from the very hot weather of the last fortnight. Now, a few weeks ago, I saw in Spetchley Park a similar largo ring covered with rank grass much superior in height to the herbage within it. This rough grass which thus springs up so luxuriantly in the track of the mole, and which does not appear to be eaten, soon withers away, leaving a bare place, on which, after rain, Agarics mostly of one particular species appear in each ring, though various species and even genera of fungi, are adapted to grow in such rings.” To any one only looking upon some neglected meadow or wide-extending heath, where hundreds of molehills appear scattered about in the most irre- gular manner, it may appear a strain upon credibility to suppose the mole to form ares and circles in anything like a regular way ; but these common heaps are only thrown up in the process of searching for and feeding upon worms; and there are times when the little burrower yields to that overpowering principle that impels all animals to the process by which their numbers are increased in the world, and the species they belong to maintained. By recurring to this phase in the mole’s history, we shall see how the various phenomena of nature are connected and dove-tailed into each other. * This “foot” is that of the little unseen burrowing Mole, 220 Both English and French writers have given an account of the gyrations of the mole in the soil when love inspires his movements, and when the nest is formed where the young moles repose and have to be fed. Sir Charles Bell in his “‘His- tory of British Quadrupeds,” says, when alluding to the habits of the mole,— “‘The tracks by which the mole pursues his mate are curiously divaricating ; they are very superficial, and are made with great rapidity ; they are termed by the French ‘ traces d’wmour; and by our English mole-catchers ‘ coupling-runs,’ or ‘rutting-angles.”” Persons engaged upon other pursuits may tread upon a thing and not see it, for unquestionably we here find the primum mobile or originator of our old friends the Fairy-Rings in these circles amour. Mr. Jesse, also, in his Natural History ‘‘ Gleanings,” has alluded to these curious “‘ rutting- angles,” which he says are formed by the male mole, and ‘‘are as near the sur- face as possible.”* In fact they often break up the surface. M. de St. Hilaire, a French naturalist, who has gone into details of the mole’s history, taken from practical persons who were familiar with the operations of the mole, shows fully how the sportive animal is incited to these amatory runs; and I am in- clined to believe that Miss Mole at these times takes a ‘‘run” also, and from the form of some double circles that I have seen, I should conclude that the runners run into each other’s arms! Of course many of these courses would be of a sinuous character, but as to perfect and complete circles, which are occasionally met with, M. de St. Hilaire states that when the mole has made a nest for its young, which is under a hillock much larger than the ordinary mounds, he is careful to surround it with a circular path of communication, from whence other passages divaricate deep into the soil, and when these circular walks of which M. de St. Hilaire has given a plate, are near enough the surface to break the soil, the grass is disturbed, a circle is apparent to the eye, and finally this becomes of a vivid green from young and fresh grasses springing up. All this is plain and natural, and we may therefore dispense with the theo- retical idea that the sporules of the Fungus are obliged to ‘‘ spread centrifugally” in every direction to produce Fairy Rings, which is as much an illusion as the dances of the Fairies themselves. If one species of Agaric alone occupied Fairy Rings, it might be imagined that the growth of this Fungus was peculiar, but when not only numerous kinds of Agarics but even Puffballs and the Chanterelles are at times found in the rings, it is clear that the circle has been formed in some other way than by centrifugal propulsion.-+ In some cases, I have reason to believe, that a small ring has been formed by wire-worms, but any action that breaks the soil or burns up the grass, will tempt a Fungus or colony of Fungi to take up a position * Jesse’s Gleanings, p. 136. + Mr. Berkeley has in one of his works, ascribed the formation of the ring to ‘‘ the radiation of the mycelium” from the first central Agaric, and says that the space within the ring has ‘‘ been previonsly exhausted by the demand of the former crop;” but this is so far from being the case that the area of the ring is often green with grass equal to any in the meadow, while the circwmference is brown and bare, 221 there, and if this takes a circular form there is a ring marked in the grass, or the portion of one. In conclusion I will only remark upon the continuance of the rings and their mode of increase. Rings occupied by Agaricus Oreades seem more per- manent than many others, and may be of considerable age, and in this case all traces of the primary work of the Mole is lost, but he was not the less there originally. For the most part, however, as Mr. Dovaston has remarked in Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History,the rings are not of very long continuance, and I can testify to the evanescence of many that I have known and sought for in after years in vain. In truth, Linneus correctly gave the name of Womades, or wanderers to the Fungi, and their sporules fly off to settle again miles from their original location. The mycelinm, or the underground plant of Agarics, maintains an existence beneath the soil as long as it can find a pabulum for its support, and having exhausted this it dies out. However, as what one robber may leave behind, another may come and think worth having, so a ring deserted by one agaric that has flourished there may be occupied by another in suc- cession, and this is frequently the case. This may account for Mrs. Key’s observation in the last volume of the Transactions of this Club (1867), without necessarily supposing that two kinds of agarics are varieties of one species, be- cause successively growing in the same ring ; and, indeed, I have been informed of Agaricus campestris taking possession of an old ring of Agaricus gambosus, without troubling itself to form a circle by means of centrifugal propulsion. On this point I have received a note from my friend Professor Buckman, who has made many experiments on edible Fungi, and on one occasion was almost poisoned by eating too much of one particular kind. The Professor remarks that from a notice in Hardwicke’s Science Gossip, that a lady (Mrs. Key) in the Transactions of the Woolhope Club, supposes that because two kinds of Mushrooms have been observed by her in the same ring, that they are therefore not specific, but varieties of each other. ‘‘Now I have found,” he continues, “in the same rings Agaricus gambosus first, at a later time Agaricus Oreades, and later still Agaricus personatus. However, I always looked upon it as a fact that most of the Agarics grow in the same way and require like conditions, and so the different species come in their season.” This opinion and observation places the growth of funguses pretty nearly on a par with that of ordinary phanerogamic vegetation, where as we see on rocks, walls, and ruins, and any ground left waste, that some roving seeds find out the vacant spots and colonize them accordingly for a time ; only that in the case of fungi there must be some decaying substance for them to feed upon. The withering of the grass in a meadow where rings have been made by the bur- rowing mole, invites the sporules of Agarics that are floating in the air to rest, and these produce an underground myceliwm, from whence the fleshy hymenium, which is their fruit, isdeveloped. This in its turn decays, and acts as a manure to stimulate the grass to a greener and ranker growth, But the mycelium, like 222 the roots of perennial plants, lives, and spreads its fibres onwards in search of further nourishment, which if it finds it develops its fruit again, though not always the succeeding year. How long this mycelium may exist is uncertain, and an undetermined point, but in many cases its existence is not carried on for many years, and it dies when exhausted, which is the general lot of all other plants. At any rate when the annual crop of one species has died and rotted on the ground, it is open for any other fungus to occupy the old ring, and Dr. Wollaston was even of opinion that the same Agaric could not grow on the same spot two successive seasons. This may not be exactly correct as to the vernal species of A, gambosus and Oreades, but I believe it holds good as to the autumnay ones, and thus it is that the old rings are lost, while new ones are developed in fresh places every succeeding year. Dr. Bull indeed has informed me that a fine ring of Lycoperdon giganteus that he saw last year has re-appeared this season in a somewhat larger but more irregular ring; but splendid rings of Ag. geotrupus that met his view two years since have not appeared again in the same place, The foreign writers, Dutrochet and Turpin agree upon this continued ad- vance of the Fungi to fresh places, and Sir Humphrey Davy has illustrated the doctrine of the rotation of crops on this very fact of funguses requiring a per- petiial change of supporting pabulum. In fact Fungi and the Agarics especially are urged into active growth by exciting meteorological causes, such as electric rain. Scarcely an Agaric could be met with during the great drought of the last summer, but after the first thunder storms that swept over the country, mushrooms sprang up inastonishing multitudes, the markets were crammed with them, and tons collected. Soin like manner, up sprang rings of Agaricus Oreades, complete at once as Minerva is said to have risen full armed from the brain of Jupiter; and soon after one of these heavy thunder-showers, my friend the Rev. J. H. Thompson observed three large Fairy Rings suddenly apparent in a croft some time since added to Cradley churchyard, where he feels assured they were never present before, as he was in the habit of noticing this piece of ground almost daily. But, no doubt, I think, the rings were really there before, though not made apparent till after the rain by the sudden growth of the Agarics. This may be often the case, for Dr. Bull mentioned to me a ring in a garden grass-plot that appeared in a very similar way. If then, after all, we find nothing miraculous in Fairy Rings, and require neither fairies or centrifugal propulsion to form the rounds so often perceptible in the meadows, we see at least a law that acts upon cryptogamic equally with phanerogamic vegetation—that progressive change, which, with every alteration and disturbance of the ground, has something prepared for the situation, and leaves no spot unoccupied. So that, in conclusion, with a slight alteration only, and having in view the edible utility of the tribe whose growth we have been contemplating, I may say, in the language of the observant author of ‘* The 223 Seasons,” whose descriptions and reflections have never been exceeded— *« These as they change, Almighty Father, these, Are all thy varied works ; the rolling year Is full of thee; forth in the pleasing spring Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness and love.— Thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined, And spreads a common feast for all that lives.” Thus Nature is ever progressive, and fertile in expedients that every disturbance of the soil shall bring its recompense in fresh vegetation that shall take its turn in the march of utility. The air abounds with the sporules of cryptogamous plants ready, like birds of prey, to pounce down upon any place that will afford them a footing. The mole has his living to get and his duties to perform, and he makes his gyrations in the meadows accordingly ; but thus in his train a new creation follows, and though unconscious of the result of his capricious circlings, yet, as was said of the good fairy of old, his track is marked by a sudden effusion of heauty to the eye and a product of utility to the human family. As a supplement to this paper, it may be well to subjoin a list of those Fungi that have been noticed as inhabitants of Fairy Rings, either by myself, or recorded by other observers. AGARICS, Agaricus (Tricholoma) gambosus, Fr. A, (Tricholoma) personatus, Fr. A, (Tricholoma) grammopodius, Bull. A, (Clitocybe) giganteus, Sow. A, (Clitocybe) infundibuliformis, Scheff. A, (Clitocybe) geotrupus, Bull. A, (Collybia) confluens, Pers. A, (Heboloma) crustuliniformis, Bull. A. (Psalliota) arvensis, Scheff. Hygrophorus virgineus, Fr. Lactarius piperatus, Fr. Cantharellus cibarius, Fr. Marasmius urens, Fr. Marasmius Oreades, Fr. OTHER FUNGI, I observed once in Haywood Forest, Herefordshire, in company with Dr, Bull, a considerable quantity of Hydnum repandum, that occupied a long waving line that appeared to be due to the operations of a mole. The Giant Puftball (Lycoperdon giganteum), has also been occasionally found occupying a ring, as well the commoner species LZ. gemmatum. The various kinds of Fungi found in Fairy Rings, surely suggest that they occupy a figure made by some other cause than the supposed centrifugal arrangement of the sporules from a central agaric, REFERENCES TO PLATE OF FORMS OF FATLBY REN GS: No. 1.—An irregular ring of Ag. geotrupus, reduced from a drawing by Dr, Bull, of a ring on Wickliff House lawn, Breinton. Diameter of the lower part 22ft. Gin. In one part within this ring an apple-tree was growing. The spot is marked by a section of the bole. No. 2.—A very large semi-ring of Agaricus personatus, very much like a sickle, no less than 51ft. in diameter. Grass in the ring half concealing the agarics within it. At Norton, near Worcester, in autumn, No. 3.—Bare ring of Ag. gambosus, after the agarics had died off. A mole- hill evident at one end of the incomplete ring. The area was occupied by the same grass as the pasture around. At Bradford Abbas, Dorsetshire. Longest diameter 15ft. No. 4.—Assemblage of arcs or portions of rings, two of them bare with groups of A. Oreades, and one filled with coarse grass, the latter evidently pro- ceeding from a mole-hill. At St. John’s, near Worcester. No. 5.—Very large double ring of green grass in a pasture at Bransford, Worcestershire. Measured along the exterior, this was 90ft. in extent. Bare of agarics, although early in autumn. No, 6.—A comet ring or waving line of luxuriant grass, having mole-heaps at either extremity, and no agarics within it. N.B.—In all the above forms of rings there was evidence of the operations of the mole, except in No, 1, the attention of Dr, Bull not having been then called to molar work, eee scuniaag ye —— P D inn pte ert MM Une Pemon \ 3} zt = => ne ee aXe 6 ERS 225 A very lively discussion then took place in which Mr. Blashill, Dr. Bull, Messrs. Curley, Flavel Edmunds, Harrison, Haughton, Lloyd, Griffith Morris, Worthington Smith, and Williams took part. The opinion supported in the paper, however, took every one by surprise, and its novelty as a matter of course, created considerable antagonism. It was however thought better to postpone the discussion until the observations of another year had been brought to bear upon it. Yes, another year, thanks once more to Mr. Lees and to Mr. Worthington Smith, to whom in chief measure, it is due that the present ‘‘ Foray Amongst the Funguses” has been so eminently successful. As our American cousins would say, it promises to become ‘‘an Institution” of the Woolhope Club. We have yet to add a postcript, and say that another ‘‘ Foray” was made by Mr. Lees and Mr. Smith for a short time the morning after the meeting to Haywood Forest, with an amount of success which deserves a record since it is not only most interesting in itself, but it shows what a field we have at hand for the interesting study of mycology. The result of this “Foray” was two magnificent specimens of the extremely rare fungus Strobilomyces strobi- laceus; the uncommon Wyctalis parasitica growing upon Russula adusta; the Agaricus bufonius; the A. placenta; the A. vulgaris; the A. velutinus; the very pretty A. acutesquamosus which also is not common, the rare and poisonous Coprinus picaceus, the magpie toadstool, and several other species which the hurry of the Foray and their own perishable nature did not allow time to determine. Greatly delighted with their success the Naturalists departed with a high appreciation of the natural products of Herefordshire, D2 The Toolhope Raturalists’ Sield Club. THE ANNUAL MEETING, Monpay, Marcu 1, 1869. The Annual Meeting of the Woolhope Club took place at the Green Dragon Hotel, on Monday last. Dr. M‘Cullough, the President, was in the chair, and the following gentlemen were also present: The Rev. H. C. Key, and James Rankin, Esq., Vice-presidents; the Rev. William Symonds, F.G.S., Pre- sident of the Malvern Naturalists’ Field Club; Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.8., Vice- president of the Worcester and Malvern Field Clubs; the Rev. J. D. Latouche, of the Caradoc Olub; Dr. Griffith H. Griffiths, Honorary Secretary to the Worcestershire Naturalists’ Club; R. Lightbody, Esq., F.G.S. ; Arthur Armitage, Esq.; Dr. Bull; the Rev. J. F. Crouch; Captain Pateshall ; the Rev. S. Clark; T. Cam, Esq. ; John Lloyd, Esq.; the Rev. F. T. Havergal ; ©. Lingen, Esq. ; the Rev. T. Thistlethwaite Smith; D. R. Harrison, Esq. ; T. Curley, Esq., F.G.S.; the Rev. J. E. Jones; C. G. Martin, Esq.; the Rev. J. H. Jukes; J. F. Symonds, Esq. ; J. Price Hamer, Esq. ; O. Shellard, Esq. ; R. H. P. Styles, Esq.; J. E. Smith, Esq. ; Mr. Henry Southall; Mr. With; Mr. W. Adams; Mr. J. P. Jones, and Mr. Arthur Thompson. The first business of the day was the election of the officers for the ensuing year, when the following gentlemen were unanimously chosen:— PRESIDENT: Jas. RANKIN, Esq., M.A., Bryngwyn. VICE-PRESIDENTS : J. H. Argwricut, Esq., Hampton Court, ARTHUR ARMITAGE, Esq., Dadnor, Ross, The Rev. James Davies, Moorcourt, and Dr. M‘CutLoven, Abergavenny. HONORARY SECRETARY : The Rev. Sir Grorce H, CoRNEWALL, Bart., Moccas Rectory. 227 CENTRAL COMMITTEE : Dr. But, Hereford, T. CurLgy, Esq., F.G.S., Hereford, and Joun LuoyD, Esq., Huntington Court. ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND TREASURER : Mr. ARTHUR THOMPSON. The thanks of the meeting were given by speaker after speaker, and cordially supported by all present, to the retiring president for his very great and successful exertions in promoting the welfare of the club during the past year. The Field meetings for the ensuing year were then appointed as follows :—The 1st, on Thursday, May 20th, at Ledbury, to meet the Malvern Club ; the 2nd, on Friday, June 25th, at Pontrilas ; the 3rd, “‘ the Ladies’ day,” on Tuesday, July 20th, at Ludlow and the Downton Castle grounds; the 4th, on Friday, September 3rd, at Usk; and the 5th. on Friday, October 1st, at Hereford, for ‘‘a Foray amongst the Funguses.” The Financial Statement was then given, the names of several gentlemen were proposed as new members, and other business matters discussed. The first paper read was 228 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR 1868. By E, J. ISBELL, Esa. To those who take any notice of the records of Meteorology the past year. has been one of singular interest, and will hereafter occupy a prominent place in scientific history as a year distinguished for its very high temperature, ex- traordinary drought, and abundant rainfall. The heat of July and the first five days of August, I quite believe, equalled, if it did not surpass, any summer heat ever before experienced in England by any person living. The drought during June and July exceeded that of 1864, its effects upon the depth of the river Wye being decidedly greater. And yet, strange to say, the total amount of rainfall during the year was above the average by a very considerable amount ; the fall of rain being great in August, and quite extraordinary during the month of December. Some thunderstorms remarkable for extent and severity occurred during April, according to Mr. Symons, ‘‘had more than its share of electrical phenomena, thunderstorms, large falls of hail, and diminutive but very violent rushes of wind.” This description of the weather during April applies to part of Scotland and Ireland, and a very large portion of England. The extent of the thunderstorm (or storms) on the 29th of May was so remarkable that Mr. Symons has published a map to show how vast a surface of the country was affected by it. He says, ‘‘ We have very little doubt that not half the accidents are reported, but the following analysis is somewhat formidable :— Men struck...... 16 Churches struck ... 5 ea Piet i Ys We 4 i EE QUSOS' ice -cessaseerens 10 Beasts killed ... 13 OBIEATEC icc ccccnceccs ih Sheep killed ... 112 | (BATT Se.sesecedetesase co GE HiMPsPONb). Pasecesarsseeceedeqees 1 This storm reached Hereford, and in fact, nearly the whole of England felt its influence; but although the darkness at 8 a.m. was very remarkable, and the storm lasted about four hours, no harm was done in the city itself. I cannot answer for the surrounding country. Thunderstorms of extraordinary extent and severity occurred also on the 11th and 12th of July. Iam not aware that these storms affected our city at all, at least I have no note to that effect ; but we had a thunderstorm on the 15th, when the chimney of the foundry in Bath-street was destroyed by a vivid flash of lightning which appeared to descend in nearly a straight line from the clouds. The great mass of metal in the foundry appeared to determine the course of this flash. The men at work escaped without injury. During the past year, the volcanic regions of the globe have been fearfully shaken by earthquakes, and a fearful loss of life has been the consequence of these visitations, At least two shocks of earthquake were experienced in 229 England; one affecting a limited space only, whilst the other was quite as extensive as that of 1863, but much less violent, The November meteors were again visible in England, but the appearance did not equal in grandeur the wonderful display of 1866. As I trust the Tables will be found to contain all the information my observations during the past year enable me to offer, I shall not attempt to enter into detail here on other points, but confine myself to a few observations respecting the high temperature of the past year, and a few remarks on the October earthquake. In the Times of Monday, July 27th, 1868, Mr. G. J. Symons has pub- lished some very valuable information respecting the temperature of the hottest years of recent date, commencing with 1806; and from his figures I select the following records of the high thermometer readings :— 1806. At Plaistow, in shade, June 10th, 95 deg., and 90 deg. or upwards on three days. 1808. Somerset House, Max., in shade, July 12th, 90 deg., 13th, 93°5 deg., 14th, 91 deg. Plaistow, Max., in shade, July 12th, 92 deg., 13th, 96 deg., 14th, 94 deg. 1818, Tottenham, July 24th, Mr. Luke Howard registered 93 deg. in the shade. 1825. Stratford, July, Mr. Luke Howard registered 90 deg. or upwards, in shade, on seven days ; the highest reading being 97 deg. on the 18th. 1826. Mr. Luke Howard registered, in shade, 92 deg. on the 27th of June, and 91 deg. on the 28th. The mean temperature of the summer months was very high, and the drought excessive. 1846. July was very hot; highest reading, in shade, at Greenwich, 93°3 deg., and 94 deg. at Clapliam. 1852. A wet year, but July remarkably hot; ‘‘the monthly mean tem- perature 66°6 deg., having been only exceeded by July, 1778, when it was 67 deg., and July, 1859, when it was 681 deg. The extreme heat, however, was only 90°3 deg., in shade, at Greenwich.” 1857. Greenwich, June 28th, 92°7 deg., in shade. 1858. Greenwich, June 16th, 94°5 deg., in shade. 1859. ‘Temperatures of 92, 92°5, and 93 deg., in shade, recorded at Greenwich, and 80 deg. reached on 21 days at that station.” So much for the high temperatures of past years. We see that 90 deg, (or upwards) in shade is occasionally recorded in England, but that it is a very high reading for this country, and always noted as something out of the common, During the hot weather of 1868 the thermometer registered, at Hereford, 91 degrees or upwards in shade on eight days, and with us July 22nd was the hottest day of the year; but it was not so at all stations, and Mr. Symons observes :—‘‘ That the date of the hottest day seems to have travelled certainly in rather a remarkable manner, being the 13th (July) in the West of Ireland and North West of Scotland, 14th in the middle of Ireland, and at one or two 230 stations in Scotland and Wales; 15th on the East of Ireland, generally throughout Scotland and Wales, and at stations in Cornwall and Devon. The next hot day was the 21st in the counties of Middlesex, Oxford, Cambridge, and Stafford ; the 22nd was hotter still at all other stations except Worthing and Ventnor, where the maximum, such as it was, occurred on the 23rd.”— Symons’ Meteorological Magazine, September, 1868. In the same number of his magazine Mr. Symons has published the returns of 94 observers—English, Scotch, and Irish—of whom one, Dr. Fielding, of Tunbridge, registered 100°5 on July 22nd, ‘‘ with a verified thermometer’ box stand, double, with Venetian sides.” G. Pigott, Esq., of Abington Pigott, Royston, sends a reading of 99°9, July 21st; ‘“‘verified thermometer, mounted on a Glaisher stand, in a very open position.” Mr. Skinner, of East Sutton, Staplehurst, makes a return of 99 deg., but does not state the position or character of his thermometer (no date given). T. Burgess, Esq., of Wigston, Leicester, registered 98 deg. on the 15th and 22nd. At Evesham 97°3 was recorded by RK. Burlingham, Esq., on the 22nd, and 97 deg, by my friend, Mr. Southall, of Ross, on the same day. In both eases the thermometers are verified and well placed. At Wimbledon Camp, Linton Park (Staplehurst), Greenwich Observatory, Epping (Essex), Hereford, and Belmont Villas (Leicester), the readings on the 22nd of July were above 96, but not quite up to 97 deg. in the shade. At thirty-six stations the readings ranged from 90 to 96 degrees, and at forty-eight other stations from 71.6 to 89.8 in the shade. The lowest reading in the whole list (71.5) was registered on the 15th at Sandwich, Orkney. Of the high readings thus collected by Mr. Symons, forty-three were registered on the 22nd; but at two stations, Linton Park (Staplehurst), and Wigston (Leicester), a reading equal to that of the 22nd had been previously registered on the 15th, and at another station (Cranbrook, Hartley, Kent) the readings of the 21st and 22nd were alike. Speaking generally, we may say that the highest readings were registered in England on the 22nd, in Scotland on the 15th, and in Ireland on the 14th. The whole of the readings given above, however, must be understood to belong to July alone. But we had, at Hereford at least, very great heat to record up to the 5th of August ; indeed the fourth day of this month was the second hottest in the year; but on the 6th rain commenced, and the exceedingly high temperature of the year ended. During the period of extraordinary temperature I registered, as already stated, 91 degrees, in shade, or upwards, on eight days, viz. :— July. August. bth) Se -cs. 91.6 ZO icceres 91 21st . 93.1 Cs |e 92.4 2200 vn suse ove, 96.1 | SiN os csesestt 93.1 BIGD sescccee 91.3 DUP ivetre 91.8 231 he temperature on the same days as shown by a verified black bulb thermometer placed in the sun, was as follows :— Upon the whole, we may conelude that the temperature of 1868 will bear com- parison with that of any year of which we have authentic information. The summer was not tropical in its temperature ; those who think it was so cannot knew what the heat of a tropical summer really is ; but it was exces" sive for these regions, and had a perceptible influence on health and on the bills of mortality. The grass also was burned up, hills took fire, and thus sheep- walks of considerable extent were destroyed; and the distress in agricultural districts would have been very great indeed had a severe winter followed. But it has been most mercifully ordered, in the providence of God, that a winter unusually mild has followed the heat and destructive drought of the memorable summer of 1868, and thus, up to the present moment at least, the anxious fears of many have been altogether set at rest, and the apparently well-grounded predictions of others have failed of realization and come to nothing. I have already alluded to the fact that two earthquake shocks were felt in England during the past year. The first was very limited in extent, being confined apparently toa portion only of one county, viz., Somerset. It is thus noticed in ‘‘Symons’ Monthly Meteorological Magazine” for February :—“‘ On January 4th, at 5.10 a.m., a slight shock of earthquake was felt throughout the southern part of Somersetshire, Taunton, Wellington, Langport, and other places. Beds and houses were shaken, lamps and windows rattled, &c.” The second shock, however (which occurred on the 30th of October), was felt over a very large portion of the surface of our island; for the movement extended from Plymouth to Liverpool, and from the centre of South Wales to the neighbourhood of London. In fact, as Mr. Symons observes, ‘‘its apparent extent agrees very well with that which prevailed in October, 1863.” The motion was, to my own feelings at least, very gentle. Those persons who were out of doors or on the ground floors of houses, speaking generally, failed to observe any movement whatever. Persons in bed or in the upper rooms of houses felt the shock very distinctly, and the higher the house the more per- ceptible was the motion. I was in bed at the time, and my bedroom being tolerably high above ground, the rise and fall of the earthquake wave was very distinctly felt by me, whilst the people down stairs were unconscious of any shock at all. The movement appeared to consist of a gentle but very perceptible rise and fall, and there was no sound whatever. Thus the earthquake of 1868 differed essentially from the alarming shock of 1863. Of course I speak only of those two movements as we experienced them at Hereford. In 1863 there was first a trembling of the earth sufficiently 232 strong to make the windows rattle, and with this trembling of the earth there came a sound like that of a train approaching at inconceivable speed. Then the earth appeared to jump up suddenly with a loud crash, and the subterranean thunder was heard dying away in the distance. The shock was violent, and needed, I am quite certain, but a very slight increase of force to have caused a fearful loss of life by the destruction of the strongest houses. All who felt this shock were assured that the force was travelling in a certain direction, viz., from some point in the west to some point in the east ; but I cannot say that any impression of that kind was left upon mind by the earthquake of 1868. The movement appeared to be vertical only, simply up and down, With respect to the moment of the shock there is a slight differ- ence in the statements of various reporters. I believe the true time to have been 10.38 p.m. The earthquake of 1863 occurred, it will be remembered, on the 6th of October at 3.20 a.m. THE TABLES FOR 1868. The tables this year are five in number, our arrangement being as follows :— Table I.—1st, barometer readings and means ; 2nd, the wind. Table II.—Thermometer readings and means. Table III,—Rainfall in Herefordshire, as shown by eight rain gauges. For materials for the compilation of this table I am indebted to the following observers :—Rocklands, J. M. Herbert, Esq. ; Ross and Leominster, Messrs. H. and E. P. Southall; Sellack, Rev. W. Clement Ley; Stretton, the Rev. H. C. Key; Tupsley, Mr. Ballard; Whitecross-road, Mr. Davison, who has kindly taken charge of the eight inch gauge belonging to the Woolhope Club, The Richmond Place rain gauge is my own. Table IV.—Rainfall in Herefordshire by ten observers, beginning with the year 1818 and ending with 1868. Table V.—The Register of the water-level of the River Wye for the year, kindly forwarded by John Lloyd, Esq., of Huntington Court. We are going forward with our barometrical measurements of the hills in the neighbourhood of Hereford. A fault having been discovered in one of the instruments used last year we have gone over the whole of the work again, and hope to repeat our visits to two or three hills concerning the measurements of which, in consequence of the disturbed state of the atmosphere at the time of our observations, or want of time, we feel there may be some small error, The following values may be safely taken as very near the truth :— Above Hereford at Richmond Place. Feet. In. Feet. In. GBrWAY oa: ss tenssecescenrsanes cevehn 1013 BaACKDULY ccs cissavccevensca nese Ween 546 Acornbwry ivavi.cs vests cbse. snes Zod OG file Crodenuill, «cco a: Vesvechenthavtecy 533 10 Bad list vvssscues toudereccssesaet. 732 4 Hough Wood ............. epsaeacs 440 DBeAGAT. spc -csrieent=eenses-cccsers 704 Wirtedor ©h. .2, SAE. soreness tees 423 2 Bgdon wcliveskactete. wees lati bis 660 10 Hereford itself at Richmond Place is 184 feet above sea level, and this addition to the several measurements here given will, of course, give the heights above the sea, 233 Seb M1000 WVITTIIM "ITHASI “C NIMAH ‘JOAOT-BOS OAOGT SATOUT OT 40OF SVT PUL PUN0AS O17} WMoIZ SOTOUT OT 409y F AoZaTMoIeg Jo ur94zsT—y 6 | OF ait ve GE a 0g pis GGL-66 7" “"" ssurpeay, UL'e G Jo Uva A[Iva A PP Shel Po SO NG ree a 883.62 “TG G6P.86 T16 210-06 =" c) e ae NO LO OU ET: Dao. | G) |S lePed ae leering GZ8.66 “PUGS 898.86 “UT 914.08 a a semen eee TOU UIOKO NY zie lstis |e lolz le LLL-6E “UAT COF-6Z “1993 ZOO — ieee sesesieeseesessees 79q0990 (Cio ot Ural Em ce a hk GLE. 66 US LGT.66 “146 916-08 “-requreydag rp iele leila loiltit 6062 ‘pugz 720.6% "ST OGT.OG — [evreseesteseereestee cree qensiny L/> (2 |%2 10 |T 16 {2 106.08 "1963 LS¥-66 “TIS LER =e ee rasa eer eee 6 lo lo le lo le le lo £86.63 “pugz ISF-62 "1962 ETE 0G — ferrets ees ome elo letig9 le |t lz lo 008-62 "prez 68262 "IFT TOTO erettrttress teeters eteseeeeese eee Seger elzeleizeilziti¢ lo 6¢.66 “TIGL e91.6% ‘pug gez.0g |e Heeeeereeeeeneennenees Td i £81.66 “118 000.68 "T163 cep.og fee “yOARy b |G |st|/T jo |0 |0 |0 | &26.62 "981 120.68 "WT QLG0G if rrrerretreeteereeseeeeeeeee Anemtqour 6 |t |irl\¢ |F |O | OT|O | 906-62 "46T 6486 | “PIS ‘PUG ] GOTO — fr veeereereeeseeeereee* Aree “ALVa “ULV Rkualsteqlsivg steq|sceqecealseuqisiea| supe | “yoarwosoy | “qoaopwosoy, ff fal baal ow Paral e baexl om | Saene “Varwo p Seee oon “ase oe Sever, eS a ‘CNIM | UELAMOLV a ‘I D@TaVo 234 1000 WVITIIM *TTHASI “C£ NIMGA "96.09 “TT - SORT Jo amyeiodmoey, weayy SS FL-9F G.68 €-1P 6-08 "T1406 6-26 |10E “GT 08 HTL yet fc Daa ee CSS TOGULBOB ET $2-F Lee 0.98 LP "WNL 6.0% "aL PBZ “48T hag [eres ee ceeeseeteeeess zoquranogy 28.9% 1.98 0.68 9.95 "1408 ez "TIGL 08 QOL geg fe stevsnegeeseseceseeesessees 1900990) 46.29 L-9F 1.87 1.69 “T1496 v.0F THT GTP “TL cette Wee tani *ereseerenes eee qaquia7 dag 66-19 0.28 L&¢ 8.6L “TSG 6-69 ST FPP ‘4P £6 resestsererPsteQ RRO, 16.99 6-15 L#¥¢ 9.18 19 ¢.1F TIES °F “puzz L9g potest Bmp #8.09 0.17 Z.8F 0-22 “pie ole 18 ¥.68 "TAZ ggg | [utes Heese gue 06.99 - 9.bP 6-9F 8.0L “Tt &-8& “pug GPE “T6T QE 3 | SSePRas Eas cna ese oa A 6). LF 6.98 2.88 Z.09 “14ZT L4G ‘1HFT °z “TOT Tey 9 [ceneeseteeeeeeeee td 00.4% L-&§ §-16 Lg “TGS G.T6 “TSS £-F6 “TLE Goo me irae Ce ee ba 6 OL- FF 6.98 9.88 ¥-0S “716 &@ H8T T-96 “WG 6.09 srees Avenaqag 68-88 €-68 9.7§ P.E0 "PUG €.0Z PUG GGG 41 Cai a eae |e ae ar ee sereseee ore TENT "$8814 O[} H0}..9,, P 5 ‘ . ‘ : Pre Tprey]| ssntpvay] ‘oyep pue ‘ ssvid ayep pur ‘ apeys E ‘ Prd! phe te “UrUr *“XBUL 0 LeJOMOMIAIT, J, ERCUCIGLUACLAR ear ek ; ae ci "898T TH}40TT saben jo uvayq | JO uve | Jo Surpvoy ysaaoT | Jo surpvoy 4soaoT } Sappeey, 38eUerH “‘SUALANWONTIAG rr ‘Il @TAVG ‘AMOON WVITTIA "VAST ‘fF NIMGH "ez osud O08 SIOATIOSq() JO SOUTeU 10,7 OST. LE * Gh0°63 069.66 0g8. Te 086-86 088-16 00F-0€ OT. 2 010.9 org. 9 016-9 Ore. 9 08h g 0g0. qe ~ 0Re: ger 090-€ OF8-T 091-1 0&é-T 082.1 028-T GLP PLT 090.4 092-1 010-6 0106 069.T OSL. 169-T LEL1 098-F 0Gb-F OFS. 0€0-€ 099.¢ OLL-€ LEL-€ 969-€ 029.9 016-4 OLL-b 09.9 098.4 086-4 188.9 L819 0Zb-0 OTP-0 OLF-.0 0€9.T 008-T 096.0 g9o¢.T TET 086-0 086-0 0&6-0 029-0 OFE-0 O€P-0 ShP-0 gSP.0 068-T 089.1 061-6 O9F-3 002-T 008.1 909.3 GP8-T OFL:S 016-6 063-6 086.4 088. 006.T 9€3-T ZO0L-T 0GP-3 069-T OTST 0G2-T 099.T OST 899. S0P-T O16. 098.T OTg-T O&F-T OTST 066-T GZE-T F161 026-7 S8L-€ 016.6 061-6 098-6 09F-6 PE8-G 619-6 T&S-82 “ "STB T, cenbereneseecoveceers roqure0acy seeereveereveneserese TOQUIGAONT seesestovansesereseesese 19q0100) seeeeeacseeeeereereeetoqurandag Seeveeeees qsnsny “sine irene sen aeereeeeereeerens OTITLP sxtase yeu cai oe ssh ce esaueeb ese QiTin PITT TT Tee qudy ssesesenereeeees sO TBTIT See ee nanan nee Areniga,T steeesesecerseseevesnens KONTE *punoi3 *punoi3 “punoi3 on} *punoid *punois 91} *punois *punoi3 *punoid oy} Wosy ‘43 | OT} wHOAy “Ul aLOAy “UE TT “93 [| OU} WOAY “Ay [| WOIZ “UTO “9J F OY} WHOA “4F T | OF WUOAT “4F T | OY} WIOTZ “4y TL] “pLOJoroH 8°43 9 ‘OORT ‘spue[yo0y ‘SS03T *yovypog ‘TaqysuLuoe'T “M0901 ‘Aojsdny, WOIJ OTTO | ~=PULUTTOTRT ‘ssO1Q OFT AA | + PLOJOTOFL ‘WUIHSAUOMTUaH NI TIVANTVY : ‘III @TaAVAL 236 TABLE IV. RAINFALL IN HEREFORDSHIRE, 1818 TO 1868. 1 2 3 4 5 6 $ fa | ae ou s|3,|/2 ai| 3 | von a | 2a] 6s | &8 a] 22 ee 3 Peay — AB 2 23 Bo coy St io) ce s eo a2 oF aa ee Sie Ss] ms 2) m on £2 aA at Bis Aa Ross. | 8 & oH ox FEL sm 4. Ox = r= se | Cn | "se | se | Ba | 88 ge | Zo | 2s ae | & sk a aca See i ee 181g | 9799 | .. =a - , ; ; 18i9| 9678 | .. - % * : a 0 1820| 9243 | :. ke .. sy ; * a: x 1821 85°21 ta cn ae ms cS ae . Be % 1822] 3026 | .. Es - 4, 3 Ha es a SJ 1823 | 3385 | .. a ie ; } Be x 1824| 3176 | .. ae ae * fk 33 : 3 = 1825 | 2456 | .. ee 2 x : sae. base si zk 1826 | 9533 | 93°378 | .. ¥ : : fe ds ss 1827 | 2696 | 21930] .. * EF a - : * i 1828 | 3805 | 31230 | -.. ; : ‘ Ps 2 sf 1829 | 9874 | 95498 | .. ite a: ne A wa = 1830 | 3287 | 29319 | 2. = Bs cm 0 me S 1831 34°28 | 81°033 or) ee o. ag os . a oo 1832 | 9684 | 95234 | .. a ae : 2 Aes Bn 1833 | 2863 | 25338 | .. 5 3 oa as +: er sg 1s34 | 99:09 | (lost) | .. en os te Poel aes ie Be 1845 | 3273 | 297276] .. e = __ i . A a 1836 | 30°59 | 98168 | .. = = “f ae . i 1837 | 3014 | 26207 | .. Hg nf a, ¥ vs 3 = 1888 | 3564 | 27643 | .. a x e PAINE oe ’ as 1839 | 4063 | 34401 | .. ef Fe : leans eS = 1840 | 2470 | 21°38L 35 we “5 So 5 Ac a a 1841 | 39°73 | 32140 | 35°01 ee a : cm Pn i 1842 | 2990] .. 33°38-| .. x3 Me : ¥: AS , 1843]. a: g6-47 |: is - : ; a : 1gi4] 4 93°59 | o. a os Feccillate. # a 1845 |. = 29°69 |e 5 A 7 Bal cal x - 1846 Be ae 80 77 50 oe 4 a Rd oA at 1847 7A ss 29°99 ee o. a a “5 ow = 1848 a3 A 87 85 ae x a a3 = us 1849} x 2833 | «. * a Bs a Ae vk 1850] .. 3 2270 | v Bs - sal 8s E ke 185. | 2. 7 2458} oe E. s eal ee “4 1852] .. a 43°53 | 's. A bg ébalece Be S 1853 |. x 2770 | 8019 | .. * en ¥ : 2 1Bbdb| ate es 140 | 1942 | .. dy a paste of ; 1855 |. ve 2460 | 2512 | .. x5 Dior Pelee ae Pe 1856. | .. ap; 9870 | 3256) .. % canes a us IST cc x 9993 | 2018 | .. es Se op a a 1858 | .. iS 27°93 | 2404 | 22°040 | 92°46] .. : a - 1859 | .. t 3420 | 3353 |... 8:64 | 2814] .. a f 1860 |<. se - 4077 | .. 99°67 |3301| .. a wi 1861 sie ae AD 81°85 | 19'245 | 25°50 | 25 94] 2360 oa Be 1862] .. if ee 2527 | 19810 | 2909 | 29°58] 2836] .. * 1863. | |. & ss 99°32 | 17°563 | 2215 | 2526/2218] .. - 1Shdt| pas cs Es 2228 | .. 19°43 | 19:18]1865] 19318] .. 1865] .. s Ee 32441, 27°10 | 28°58 | 27°38] 25005] .. 1866] .. 3 es 8717 | 31°51 | 29:16 |27°57| 25898] .. 13867] <: a ae 3155 ¥ 2526 | 2910/2817] 26272 | 28171 1368! 5 3397 | 37:18 |.. 3185 | 29:04 2898] 25°367 | 28.531 1. Pool Cottage, 54 miles nearly South of Hereford and about 300 feet higher than the level of the High-town. 2. Titley, nearly 16 miles N.W. of Hereford. 3 Rocklands, about 134 miles S.S.. of Hereford, and about 100 feet above the sea. 4. West Lodge, Loominster, abort 11 miles North of Hereford, 264 feet above the sea, and about 80 feet higher than Hereford. 5. Ross (Archenfield), 11 miles S.B. by S. of Hereford, and about 180 feet above sea-level. 6. Stretton, about 2? miles W.N.W. of Hereford, and about 170 feet above the sea, . EDWIN J. ISBELL. 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The proposed reproduction and publication of the ancient map preserved in Hereford Cathedral was then discussed. The Rev. F. Havergal remarked that since the last annual meeting he had devoted some time to the Map, and had made many inquiries with a view to its reproduction in a manner worthy of its great Geographical importance. That it could be done well and faithfully he had no doubt whatever, photography being the basis with the aid of chromo-lithography. He had caused a fac- simile to be taken of a large portion of the African part of the map by Mr. G. C. Haddon and other assistants. With reference to the price at which the whole Map, with letterpress, &c., could be satisfactorily produced, he felt sure that it could not be done at less than two guineas per copy. There is no less than 30 square feet of surface, and, if done at all, it must be well done. This, however, was a matter that further inquiries would show more exactly. As great geographical skill and knowledge would be required in the com- pilation of the letterpress accompanying the fac-simile, he wished to have the co-operation of any gentlemen who were familiar with ancient geography. He would be happy to render any further assistance so soon as his work, now in the press, was off his hands, which would very shortly be the case he Loped, He asked for a committee, and eventually the following gentlemen were appointed, with power to add to their numbers :—Sir William Guise, Bart., Elmore Court Gloucester; the Rev. W. L. Beavan, Hay; the Rev. Samuel Clarke, Bredwardine ; the Rev. W. Phillot, Stanton-on-Wye; Dr. Bull, Here- ford; G. C. Haddon, Esq., Hereford; and the Rev. F. T, Havergal, Pipe and Lyde, Hereford. A fine photograph of the map in four sections was then exhibited. It was taken last year by Mr. Ladmore, of this city, solely with a view to the repro- duction of the Map. His utmost skill was required, for the indistinctness of the faded parchment renders the map an extremely difficult object to photograph at all, and certainly his efforts have been crowned with great success. The following Fossils have been selected for illustration :— hy is 9 6 ee Bi: BTYLONURBRUS SY MONDSITI (Woods : Berypterus Symondsti (Salter) The fret notice-of this crustacean was given w Rev. W. & Symonds a, President of the Malvern Natu: History Field Cinb, wi . per on the Berypterus in the Old Red Sandstone of Horcfordeh the British: Association for the advancement of Science, held at Dublin, A 185 ~ Symonds describes the fosall a» having been found in strata of grey ¢ above the cornstones on the sumenit ef Rowlestone Hill, ne Bywyne Harold and Pontriles, in this county. He says: ‘It was discovered by ‘! ~ by _— - - are Rowlost between correlation of the beds, t . had chtained p Lon the Eurypterus.”” The specimen wae described by J, W. Salter, .G.8., of the Geological Survey of Great Vritaim, fn the Quarterly Joureal ef Moclagh al Society (vol. 15, No, i, p “The specimen,” says Me * éf which we hare onty the exterior east of the heal perfectly reyoo g the surface is ‘fopr vesed One eth of howwnd fey miccovous yy: ta 410th inches Tong by 2 6-10th iiches broad at the wide anterior put dat bresath boing wh the anterior third 5 the hinder edge is anly two ictecs Side. Tho front margin isarched, sompwhsd tronente in front, and gihtens a @siden, Tho ridge is continnons all round with the somewhat elevated horiier tho sides ia such /a* way that the carapace appears compiete withent the ition Gf the anterior border, A deep ¥ shaped vertical furrow, forked ard, wt on angle of Q0° divides the space betwoen the eyes and oeoupies p middle third of the head, The apace between the branches is very conver. eyes are otretimecribed by & anuken ppace ; they are placed mors than half up the head und as wide apart as they are distar nt from the outer margin. ained ; they bppear to have been large and rounded. Tho great P Yhlia species di stinguishes it from any ? eviowsly described, excapt So tgealy the head of = | is aight * ¢ iD ches ida, ae. 2.8, of the British sesbadiho ne weil Sabie] by his aanadina en » eal “Recent Crustacea, has defarmined that the. fossil. antler vomeilie hare ings t the genus Siplon Vn" of the oriter Eurypieride, sad 24 coc © & éd. in the Guarterly Journal of the Geologion! Soctety (Vol. 2h Ma. Ae ‘with several other species of Stylonurun. It ia sleo figured by & tie ®. & x. jon ix his last oflition of Bileria. yp. 248, ‘The origiual speciawe t tow in the Masean é Sehewl ef Mines is antl ip the emiy spevimon ef thin species as yo discovered, Meyueit tow tugnatle whieh bore tage beon fownd in the eumo quarry, —— - i one - — rece eanerertnndinnine ste wapahee-sembennanatndtendiislnies + « Main, New Fill. Sournni, Grtsher 1857, vol. & Wo. >. 267 We le el ee —— < 239 STYLONURUS SYMONDSII (Woodward). Eurypterus Symondsiz (Salter). The first notice of this crustacean was given by the Rev. W. S. Symonds, F.G.S., President of the Malvern Natural History Field Club, who read a paper on the Zurypterus in the Old Red Sandstone of Herefordshire,” at the British Association for the advancement of Science, held at Dublin, August 28th, 1857. Mr. Symonds describes the fossil as having been found in strata of grey building stone above the cornstones on the summit of Rowlestone Hill, near Ewyas Harold and Pontrilas, in this county. He says: ‘‘It was discovered by an intelligent labouring man in a quarry near the church at Rowlestone, between Hereford and Abergavenny, where I examined the correlation of the beds, to which I was conducted by the Rev. W. Wenman, who had obtained possession of the Eurypterus.”* The specimen was described by J. W. Salter, Esq., F.G.8., of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society (vol. 15, No. 58, p. 230). ‘‘The specimen,” says Mr, Salter,” of which we have only the exterior cast of the head perfectiy repre. senting the surface is impressed ona slab of brownish-grey micaceous grit. It is 2 4-10th inches long by 2 6-10th inches broad at the wide anterior part, the greatest breadth being at the anterior third ; the hinder edge is only two inches wide. The front margin is arched, somewhat truncate in front, and gibbous at the sides. The ridge is continuous all round with the somewhat elevated border of the sides in such a way that the carapace appears complete without tke addition of the anterior border. A deep Y shaped vertical furrow, forked upward, at an angle of 30° divides the space between the eyes and occupies the middle third of the head, The space between the branches is very convex. The eyes are circumscribed by a sunken space; they are placed more than half way up the head and as wide apart as they are distant from the outer margin. As they are abraded in this unique specimen, their shape and convexity are not to be ascertained ; they appear to have been large and rounded. The great size of this species distinguishes it from any previously described, except Eurypterus Sconleri, the head of which is eight inches wide.” Since the publication of Mr. Salter’s paper in 1857, Mr. Henry Woodward, F.G.S8., F.Z.8., of the British Museum, so well known by his researches on Fossil and Recent Crustacea, has determined that the fossil under consideration belongs to the genus Stylonwrus, of the order Eurupteride, and as such it is figured in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society (Vol. 21, No. 84, p. 483), with several other species of Stylonurus. It is also figured by Sir R. I. Murchison in his last edition of Siluria, p. 246. ‘ The original specimen is now in the Museum of the School of Mines in Jermyn-street, and is the only specimen of this species as yet discovered, beyond some few fragments which have since been found in the same quarry. * Edin. New Phil. Journal, October 1857, vol. 6, No. 2, p. 267. 240 CEPHALASPIS ASTEROLEPIS (Harley). By J. W. Satter, Esa., F.G.S. (See the Photograph placed as the Frontispiece to this Volume.) An oblique view of a large specimen, seven inches broad, found on the east side of Skerrid-vawr, by E. Y. Steele, Esq., of Abergavenny, and now in the cabinet of J. E. Lee, Esq., of Caerleon, Monmouthshire. The surface is mostly abraded, and the large tubercles of enamel only seen in parts; but the peculiar form of head, a broad and blunt pointed gothic arch is well preserved in this specimen—the largest known. The eyes are small, placed more than half way from the vertex to the front, twice their own shorter Giameter apart, « narrow depression between them, with a tubercle behind it, and then a broad oblong flat space 1} inches long, by % of an inch broad, appears to have been bounded by low ridges of enamel. Posterior to this the vertex rises to a sharp high ridge, more elevated than in any other species, but unfortunately imperfect. We do not know the cervical spine. The lateral cornua (in Dr. M’Culiough’s cabinet) are 3 inches long, measuring from their contracted base, and are both larger, and more cylindrical, and narrower, than in the typical ©. Lyellii. The polygonal vascular areas which cover the head are small in this species. On the under side, the incurved bony margin is broad at the head angles, and as roughly tubercular as on the upper surface. Round the front it becomes semi-cylindrical. The enamel tubercles appear to have been one on each polygonal area. On the spines they are clear, compressed, and all but shortly spinose. The length is 6 inches, including the extreme cervical point, which is lost in this magnificent specimen. HOMALONOTUS JOHANNIS. (Salter, Pal. Tr. 1865.) @ fine specimen from Wenlock Shale, Usk, in the Cabinet of H. B. Holl, Keq., M.D. 247 eee HOMALONOTUS JOHANNIS (altor}, (A. Ibeal wad rare species of Trilobite from Usk, Monwenthehire.) By J. W. Sauren, Esa., F.C! * AM finer specimen than any yet collewted of this fine species adorns the © and well-arranged cabinet of Dr, Harvey B. Holl, of Worcester. This ate'and painstaling geologist and naturalict, for he combi beth scence ix fortunate enough, ‘thet ia, diligent enough, to a ood fi f his hammer falls, And he permits me to figure. amd describe ; By mon as 2 mpplement to my account of the species in the transactic Sadia tho Palacontographical Society, ( omalonotie, os. its name imports, ie the least Trilobitio of alk the obites, i.o., it Lng tho. mrface of the body. less divided into three lIebes any other genus, werbeis forme of Tleconus es cepted. Unlike the Dudley (Calymene) in erery point of mote ’ it b yet a releted to it, that certain for " which bot? pfound (Arenig or Skiddaw rocks of for the ot when wa come to Upper Silurian timer me twe § ¥ Le more distinct. And. while Owly ei : of - Bomalonotus in bulk y + Célymene fe smooth, Homaloncexe offen very svulptared, Soma of the later species (Devonian) ary armed with large # along their hacks, and all about their beads; and evon thoir tails bear it beil-Uike spines. Cnaly, however, they aro not so ornamented or enowai- 2, and th roughly grantlar svface is thee general character. The vider conse g xed Lower Sihuriz un) ate often. considerably trilobed, All the more n ones (Upper Silurian and Dovenlan) are nearly free from trilobation. %.& more or less elongate and very convex form, the depth of this ptrasting strongly with oe flattened, ehallow forma of Opygia, Para- t, Asuphue, and other large forma, with which Homalunciua may be com- | size, though widely mentéin chayacter. ‘ ae omalonutus de: Iphinocay of Green, the common and handsome fossil of . ‘ ju the species with wh jak ons Wenloek shale shonld be oom- ame 3 (see plate over lef.) The difterences ore a¢ follows: Both are nearty of a siza, » 4 grown apeclimena, measuring: ax, ea; seldom more, But while the Dadley Bk hiss thee Gothic head and trisngular tail nearly equal in sise, the tall pot H. Jphutnis, including the terminal spine, is rather longer. One @ is more strongly trilobed, ‘ogpecially ia the head, the glabella or contral m (stomach) being marked ont much more strongly s0 a trapexitum, aod ir D citeait sides and well marked lobes, while that of the Dudley fost / bore faintly indicated in all ‘these particulars, and hag the hinder portion tx in proportion, and the lobes very faintly marked. The head teo ia © ly trinngular. The thorax {or body, for it includes not only the tras thoras, of the abdomen in all trilobites) i is of 13 rings, but only 10 or Ll abow rt Arts SKeloprd NOS, Fae % Vi yg te , it : a y ‘ 7p HOMALONOTUS JOHANWIS. (Balter, Pal. Tr, 1865.) @ far specimen from Wenigok Piale, Vad, ten Mbit a’ 1. BR. Molt. Kee. MD. 241 HOMALONOTUS JOHANNIS (Salter). (A local and rare species of Trilobite from Usk, Monmouthshire.) By J. W. Sauter, Esq, F.G.S., &c. A finer specimen than any yet collected of this fine species adorns the choice and well-arranged cabinet of Dr. Harvey B. Holl, ef Worcester. This accurate and painstaking geologist and naturalist, for he combines both sciences well, is fortunate enough, that is, diligent enough, to secure good fossils wherever his hammer falls. And he permits me to figure and describe this specimen as a supplement to my account of the species in the transactions of the Palacontographical Society. Homalonotus, as its name imports, is the least Trilobitic of alk the Trilobites, i.e., it has the surface of the body less-divided into three lobes than any other genus, certain forms of Illenus excepted. Unlike the Dudley locust (Calymene) in every point of mere habit and appearance, it is yet so strongly related to it, that certain forms in the lowest rocks in which both are found (Arenig or Skiddaw recks of Sedgwick) may pass one for the other. Yet when we come to Upper Silurian times, or Devonian epochs, no two genera can be more distinct. And while Calymene, beautiful as she is, is short of stature, Homalonotus is bulky ; Calymene is smooth, Homalonotus often very roughly sculptured. Some of the later species (Devonian) are armed with large spines along their backs, and all about their heads; and even their tails bear great boil-like spines. Usually, however, they are not so ornamented or encum- bered, and a roughly granular surface is the general character. The older ones (Arenig and Lower Silurian) are often considerably trilobed. All the more modern ones (Upper Silurian and Devonian) are nearly free from trilobation. All possess a more or less elongate and very convex form, the depth of this genus contrasting strongly with the flattened, shallow forms of Ogygia, Para- doxides, Asaphus, and other large forms, with which Homalonotus may be com- pared in size, though widely different in character. Homalonctus delphinocephalus, of Green, the common and handsome fossil of the Dudley limestone is the species with which our Wenlock shale should be com- pared (see plate over leaf.) The differences are as follows: Both are nearly of a size, full-grown specimens, measuring six inches, seldom more. But while the Dudley fossil has the Gothic head and triangular tail nearly equal in size, the tail piece of H. Johannis, including the terminal spine, is rather longer. One species is more strongly trilobed, especially in the head, the glabella or central portion (stomach) being marked out much more strongly as a trapezium, and having turned sides and well marked lobes, while that of the Dudley fossil is more faintly indicated in all these particulars, and has the hinder portion narrower in proportion, and the lobes very faintly marked. The head too is truly triangular. The thorax (or body, for it includes not only the true thorax, but part of the abdomen in all trilobites) is of 13 rings, but only 10 or 11 show F2 242 distinctly in our specimen, some being pushed under thé head piece. The trilobation is more marked on this part also than in its Dudley ally, and the axis a central portion thus marked out is narrower than in H. delphinocephalus. The tail, however, shows the distinction more strongly, the short trigonal tail iece of the Dudley fossil being here replaced by a long triangular organ, pro- luced into a stout thick mucro more than one third the whole length of the tail, It is sharp, but the tip is not recurved. There are about nine furrows on the central axis of the tail, and seven on the sides, and these join on to the furrows on the axis, while they do not do so in the Dudley fossil. There is a species in the Woolhope limestone which should be diligently sought for by the Club, H. cylindricus. Salter (Trans., Pal. Soc. vol. xvii. pl. xi., fig. 12, and woodcuts), which in some respects is more like our A, Johannis than the Dudley fossil. But this has a narrower and more cylindrical tail, with a much stronger and longer point; and the back of the creature is flat, with the sides turned sharply down. Its head is more like that of Z. delphinocephalus. I wish we could get perfect or numerous examples. Enough has been said to show that while the species of this genus differ from each other sufficiently, they yet are like enough to be readily mistaken for each other. What natural objects are there which may not be thus con- fused by the careless observer? It would puzzle any body but a close scrutiniser to recognise, under their varieties of colour, the true characters of humble bees, or wasps, or ants; but the practised entomologist knows them well. The business of natural history observation is to detect these differences under the mask of general similarity, which covers the species of all large genera, Whether the species were derived from each other by long selection, according to the true and earnest philosopher, Darwin, or whether created separately, as some would have it (and there is about equal probability for both views, since some forms must have been original), the acumen of the naturalist is best brought out, not by confusing himself with theoretical views, however probable, but by close observation of the real differences which exist even between nearly related species. H, Johannis was named in compliment to John Edward Lee, Esq., of Caerleon, a true man of science and a true friend, LB AD, delptinocophatun, 3,4 I. cytinitrions for compotion with H. JORAN NES. (Beiltor a. ‘? i ay é Dx ion bh rc ole tle i r + 5 t 4. Ov erthé howd pieds.’ The) - . : » its Dadley ally, and the > ti] Li, delphinocgphabie, short trigonal tail: " organ, PRs pith of tha > On 5, a ‘ ‘ diligentiy (TY Son. VOL xvik, ners Like ourvtij : iarr~ower SncdMore cylindrical ager : : tack of the oraatire im sarply do tx bead ia more like thatet ' ul at pert i exsrmpjen, the speciosa of this genus differ: —.- they yet cc enough to be rearhily mistaken. objects are the vInic ay not be thug som. It would puzzle any body but » close serdtinige vilea of colour, the true characters of humble bees, knows thent woll, The? observation is to dotéat theo differences oder the “) especies af — all lay ge genera, - t by long sélection, sueardimg- = a or whether created soparaiely -— ~ £73 for bet : 4 ; r : : \ 4h wero moncly John Edward Lee, Haq, of science and cue friend : ‘ is a ’ AP ' 2 + ; « 4 VV Homalonotus Konig. 1, 2, H. delphinocephalus, 3,4 H. cylindricus for comparison with H. JOHANNIS. (Salter) ; ye ne Om 243 POLYPORUS ANNOSUS. FR. Several specimens of a fungus were then exhibited which had been found growing on the shoring timber of an unused gallery in the ‘‘Park Slant” coal mine, Tondu Iron Works, near Bridgend. They were kindly sent by Wm, Adams, Esq., President of the Cardiff Naturalists Society. Mr, Adams was desirous of knowing whether they were the fruit of the Rhizomorpha subterranca, as the matted mass of fibres and fila- ments has been called, which in the coal mines of Germany often shows a beautiful phosphoresence and lightens up with indeseribeable splendour the vaulted arches and passages of the mines, Mr. Adams instituted inquiries amongst the miners as to whether this phosphorescent mycelium had ever been seen in the Welsh colleries, and he obtained distinct evidence that the ap- pearance of the phosphorescent light was well known to the working colliers. In consequence of these inquiries the funguses now exhibited were brought to him, but there was no evidence of any phosphorescent light about them. They have been carefully examined by Worthington G. Smith, Esq., F.L.8., and pronounced to be specimens of Polyporus annosus Fr., a fungus of very variable appearance, and which usually grows on old larch stumps. Berkeley thus describe it ‘‘pileus woody, convex, then flattened, rough with tubercles. In the first season brown and silky ; in the second and when old covered with a rigid, smooth, black crust; substance white; margin obtuse, whiteish as well as the middle-sized obtuse pores. Extremely variable, common in some districts,” There is no record of the mycelium ever having been observed to be phosphorescent, and therefore Mr. Adams’ question cannot positively be answered. However, from the inquiries he has instituted, he will, doubtless, be told when the phosphorescent light is again observed in the coal mines, Then by a careful examination of its source, and by observing whether it . produces any distinct fungus much more light may be thrown upen it, FAIRY RINGS. Dr. BuLL said he would take that opportunity of reminding the members of the club that at the last meeting of the ensuing year—the one appointed for a “* Foray amongst the Funguses”—a discussion would take place on the causation of “Fairy Rings.” It was a subject of considerable difficulty, and there could be no hope of any satisfactory result being arrived at unless they would take the trouble to make careful observations through the year. They were aware that the most commonly accepted theory of their formation was what was called the ‘centrifugal theory,” that is, that they sprung from a single fungus, and that the mycelium or underground plant would not grow two years on the samo ground, and could only grow therefore on the outer margin of the exhausted soil, and so the ring grew larger from year to year. Mr. Lees, on the contrary, in the excellent paper read at their last meeting, maintained that the rings eften appeared of large size at once, that the mycelium would grow wherever 244 it found a favourable state of the soil and the requisite materials of growth, and that both these conditions were provided by the moles, which usually made their spring wanderings in runs of a more or less circular form, This may be termed the ‘‘mole theory” of their formation. He was not going to discuss these theories or any other, for there were several, but he mentioned them because he wished to suggest a few experiments of a very simple nature to such of the members as lived in the country, and had leisure to carry them out. Directly they observe the rings of the common ‘Fairy ring fungus” (Marasmius Oreades) springing up, first let them cut asquare foot of turf and soil out a few yards from the ring, loosen the soil, and add if they please a very little rotten manure, then cut a piece of the same size, including a portion of the ring, and remove it as carefully as possible to the prepared hole ; in short, making an exchange. 2ndly. When the ring is large—a ring of the horse mushrocm (Agaricus arvensis) is particularly favourable for this experiment—let them cut a straight trench at right angles to the ring, say a yard long within the circle up to the ring, and a yard long without from it, raise the turf and loosen the soil toa depth of 8 or 10 inches, add a little manure all along it, and then restore the turf. By this experiment the ring need not be disturbed, nor the mycelium injured. Srdly. A carefully cut, and still more carefully carried, portion of a ring might be inserted into the middle of a mushroom bed purposely made, or of a used-up cucumber bed, where the soil was loose, and the material of growth abundant in all directions. Other modes of varying these experiments would suggest themselves to any one who thinks over the subject. They would require great nicety in carrying out, so as to be deep enough to get the mycelium, and to move it with as little injury as possible. No doubt many of these experiments would fail, and be therefore simply negative, but if any one of them succeeded, it could . not fail to be of great interest. He did not believe common observation of the rings themselves would give the solution, or it would bave been discovered ere this. The President supported Dr. Bull in urging the members to interest themselves in this subject, and to make the experiments; but he thought, however, that a good deal might still be learnt by careful observation of the growth of the rings from year to year, marking the size of the rings accurately by fixing pegs into the ground and leaving them for the following year. He was quite sure, if they would take the trouble to make the experiments and observations suggested, that they would become interested in it, and could not fail to gain some useful information. Dr. Butt said: Gentlemen -fond of gathering mushrooms in their own fields might like to know that a dressing of common salt on the grass in spring was the best manure to encourage their growth, and it was also equally good for the pasture itself. ~ ber wlabesrans’ Sey oo 4 f Snape els x, Smith, del. et lith IWS \ Mili + Brooks, Day & Son, imp IW, AND RARE D By ¥ Daring the ohn ; ot a uh si 160 of the count o f jared be n : * ent an-ne % i ons LAtTTAR! wor Ls This noble edditior ct ; aa ; a the Bxhi + lant Cetober, . The spatizoe : &.0-milo anda, half.feom Al (agein under poplars feet ie diameter, . Tho specimens i pond several attained sa djsmeter of : for illustrat Jon was one of the ¢ héral appearance it considersbly resem! Lact ; ‘ re leva Fr;, Ro, bub it divers frow f DAN mer and feels and} 20k: MPT, 5 ‘ Tage Coxr wovMEBOS, Pere bom ato! porgatime encentric, pritimnee ae | aad ' ; ‘ ier: gille-deomrrent, wiih’ WB Lac” ‘tt. pilews, fooks wnt, gonver, then decreed amt oud nf vn r ¢ me feet. de A alte poids fe ell ite part margim & rvt te Des 7 6 oF lens cove th Qied-red spots ond stonara> teed {perates Fr: milk very peri, 2 alte, ful, oder tests oxcondingly sacri id CMmves W —_s NEW AND RARE HEREFORDSHIRE AND BRITISH HYMENOMYCETOUS FUNGI. By WorrsHineton G, Situ, Esq., F.L.S. During the abnormal summer and autumn of last year (1868) a large number of new British species of Hymenomycetous Fungi appeared in various parts of the country: of these few or none were second in interest to those gathered by different members of the Woolhope Club—Dr. Bull, Dr. M’Cul- lough, the Rev. W. Houghton, M.A., Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., and J. Griffith Morris, Esq., being especially fortunate. Of these species several remain at present un-named, but I select for description and illustration, first, LACTARIUS CONTROVERSUS, PERS. This noble addition to our cryptogrammic flora was found by Dr. M’Cul- lough at and near Abergavenny, and by the Rev. E. Du Buisson, at Breinton, and taken by Dr. Bull to the Exhibition of Fungi at the Royal Horticultural Society last October. The specimens sent from Abergavenny grew under poplars about a mile and a half from Abergavenny, and it also grew in great luxu- riance (again under poplars) at Abergavenny, forming a semicircle of some twenty feet in diameter. The specimens were crowded together in great numbers, and several attained a diameter of more than a foot—the specimen selected for illustration was one of the smallest, in order to get it into the plate. In general appearance it considerably resembles other Lactarii as D. vellereus Fr., L. insulsus Fr., &c., but it differs from all in many specific characters; it is highly acrid, and feels and looks soapy. Lactarius ConTROvVERSUS, Pers,—Stem stout, swollen, one or two inches long, sometimes eccentric, pruinose at the top, never marked with pits or depressions: gills decurrent, with an obscure tooth: pileus, fleshy, compact, rigid, convex, then depressed and subinfundibuliform: at first dry, but after rain viscid in all its parts: margin at first involute and villous, stem and pileus more or less covered with blood-red spots and smears: flesh very firm, like ZL. piperatus Fr.: milk very acrid, white, plentiful: odour faint, but pleasant : taste exceedingly acrid. 246 AGARIOUS (ENTOLOMA) JUBATUS, Fr. This species was also shown at Kensington last autumn by Dr, Bull. He found it growing in great abundance on Merry-hill Common, and in and near Haywood Forest, near Hereford ; it grew in dense clusters, some of them taking a circular form, Young specimens are acutely campanulate, and full grown plants attain a height of five or more inches and a diameter of three or four. A small specimen is however selected for illustration to meet the restricted size of the plate. The taste, like that of many other pink-spored species, is watery and very disagreeable. I am not aware that this species has been before pub- lished as British, but I understand it was found by the Rey..M. J, Berkeley a year or two ago, at Ascot; and Mr. Currey informs me he found specimens on» October 13, 1868, in a meadow adjoining a house called Twisden, between Gondhurst and Kilndown, in Sussex, Mr, Currey was kind enough to forward me specimens, which precisely correspond with the Hereford plants. AGARIcus (ENToLoMA) JuBATUS, F.—Stem fleshy, glossy, striate, and shining, white at the base, stuffed or hollow, clothed with minute sooty fibres. Pileus fleshy, campanulate, at first acutely, then obscurely umbonate, clothed with fibres, glossy, not hygrophanous, gills slightly adnexed, inclined to he ventricose. HYGROPHORUS CALYPTRAFORMIS, B. AND BR. This distinct and beautiful species occurred in abundance in Holm Lacy Park last autumn ; where attention was first drawn to it and the first specimens gathered by J. Griffith Morris, Esq.* It grew amongst furze and in open places bordering the plantations, As it has not been figured before, our plate may perhaps lead to its detection elsewhere by other members of the Woolhope Club. It was first found many years ago by Mr. Broome, the eminent mycologist, on Hanham Common, near Bristol, but the habitat is now destroyed, and ‘the plant has disappeared from the district. It is thus described in Berkeley’s Outlines of British Fungology, p. 202 :— HYGROPHORUS CALYPTREFORMIS, B. AND BR.: Pileus thin, acutely conical, lobed below, minutely innato-fibrillose ; stem white, smooth, slightly striate, hollow ; gills rose-coloured, at length pallid, very narrow, acutely attenuated behind. One or two Fungi found by the Rev. W, Houghton, and not before referred, deserve a word here, First, Agaricus (Flammula) sapineus, Fr.—a very rare British plant not in Berkeley’s Outlines, and Agaricus (Clitocybe) fumosus P. var polius Fr., in great abundance and luxuriance in the woods round the Wrekin; always on charcoal heaps. These large agarics were black with charcoal dust, which caused Mr. Houghton to refer to them as ‘‘the dirty dogs.” A splendid and rare variety of Polyporus perennis, L. Tinted . with rich sienna, chocolate, and black, in great abundance, was also found on the charcoal heaps. * Thanks are especially due to Mr. Morris for driving Mr. Lees and myself over to Haywood Forest on the following day (Saturday), the 10th October, 1868. Had it not been for his kindness, Strobilomyces Strobilaceus, B., one of the rarest of British fungi, would not have been added to the Herefordshire list, mp. I Vieuees Moore, Dy $500; " Pileus: fleshy, camipanulate, at fret acutely, then obscarely ummbotate, a . AGARICUS (RNTOLOMA) TUBATUS, a. Preset: ‘This species was slao shows al Rasstagiom last outuma by Da | A ties ie Gov ag eh aehiaae eM Cmca “near Haywood Forest, naar Henlow. of coe Sa a circular form, Youn, Preceone an ettig mmpanulste, and plants atehin 6 height of Se ye cttw hethve eek & diameter of thew stuall spocimen pongo syPmtenpesectren ttre Pi : the plate, The tgp, of maey pee ae an : : Cy i tai 4 zi He Nes : af a area. : ‘ ; , 4 : ' 4 . Yank | oa mr AO . 4 } @ Santi Tey Se a) yeateg icity > Lt rt ul ep rd . ‘ ‘ a wy THE “CEDAR OFSEEBANON. QL TTEDRLD. gee tard ets 1 “iN ate At APRIL, 1209, eE gah SF Cie " d yy met nit This “handsome tree is situated ear they entvance to the mansion iby heres? Whitiield.. - Te is about 62 years old. At. 2ft, dim, ftom, the pe beh Nea giving off any branches, if meuatires oh Sin. if girth; ond at 3h eee joft. Gi. In direamiference, It ia about 3ft- in height, and t now yrownige eens wicnratithye’ ©" 3 ye ‘rhis Photograph is kindly jpresemted to. the Clab by pie Nev. Aruher Chives . re i at Lahore and Bom Photeyrag hers to the Wooihope Nahiratiats. Pild st = ‘ ; y' > a ee 255 A REPORT OF THE REMARKABLE TREES OF WHITFIELD. BY A COMMISSIONER FROM THE WOOLHOPE CLUB. (N.B.—The circumference of the trees is always taken at 5 ft. from the ground when not otherwise specifiel; and the figures given always refer to feet and inches.] In the manuscript Diary of Sir Richard Symonds, in the British Museum, printed by the Camden Society, the following passage occurs :— “*1645, May 12th. This night the King lay at Cofton Hall—(query, Corfton Hall, near Ludlow). These Colonels and Governors with the King : Colonel Scudamore, Governor of Hereford, &c., &c., &c. Here in Hereford, a quarter of mutton, 14d.; Rye, 12d. a bushel. Ryeis the best Grayne growen generally in the county, and Oates and Pease. Little Timber in the Shire.” There is no reason to doubt the truthfulness of this last observation. ~ The Court of Charles I. would gladly have seen an abundance of timber, for in those days—much more than in our own—timber meant money, and subsidies, and all other things that money can produce; and if we inguire a little into the causes of its scarcity then, we shall quickly see that the Court, at any rate, fully appreciated its value. Timber was at that time the only available fuel, it was largely employed for buildings, fences, and in every other possible way. Still, when the popula- tion was so small, this home use, extensive as it might be, could not in itself have produced any deficiency. A second cause, and one much more powerful, was the use of wood as fuel in the smelting of iron ore, as had been customary from time immemorial. The Forest of Dean bas always been noted for its ironworks. The Romans had furnaces there, and an examination of the cinder heaps they left, proves that their iron was all smelted with charcoal, The Forest at one time extended into Herefordshire, and in 1314 the writs for raising soldiers in the Forest of Dean were sent also to the Sheriff of Herefordshire. These furnaces must, therefore, have been partly supplied from this county. The difficulty of trans- porting timber of any size was then very great, as, indeed is to some extent, proved by its lavish use in the buildings and houses of the period, and there- fore, in addition to these furnaces, forges were established at intervals through- -out the wooded districts of the country. The iron ore was brought to the fuel to be smelted. Many instances occur where the names indicating the locality of these Forges are still retained, as Old Forge, Goodrich ; Kilforge, 256 Bolston ; Strangworth Forge, Pembridge ; Llangua Forge, &e. ; but many of the localities are now known only by some local name, as the ‘‘Forge barn,” at the junction of the rivers Monnow and Dore, near Pontrilas; the ‘‘ Forge farm” at Peterchurch, near the rectory ; the ‘Furnace farm,” Treago, St. Weonards, and in a field at Llandinabo is a place called ‘the Furnaces.” Doubtless there are many others known only by near residents, but about them all there is evident proof of their having existed, in the abundance of slag and scoriz left from the furnaces. The refuse heaps from the furnaces at Llangua—which were probably kept up +0 a late period—were so enormous, that they supplied sufficient ballast for nearly three miles of the Newport and Abergavenny Railway. These furnaces must have consumed great quantities of wood from the adjoining districts of the country. (See Appendix I.) The iron manufacture in England received a great impulse from the dis- coveries made in the course of the 17th century, and began to be much more extensively carried on. In 1640 the King, Charles I., sold the Forest of Dean to Sir John Winter —the great iron-master of the time—for £10,000 down; £16,000 a year for six years ; and £1,950 12s. 6d. a year for ever afterwards. Sir John, after he had satisfied his own needs, attempted to preserve what was left of the Forest, but the miners resisted, threw down his inclosures, and went on destroying the timber as usual, by using it in their trade. Sir John Winter states that above 40,000 trees in the Forest were cut down during the Commonwealth by order of the House of Commons. In 1656 a Bill was passed suppressing iron works in order to preserve the timber, In the same year, much more happily, Sir John Winter invented a plan of ‘‘ charring” coal by burning it in earthen pots, and thus converting it into coke,* This discovery led the way to the use of coal instead of wood in the manufacture of iron, and thus eventually saved the trees. The Act itself could have had but little effect, nor did the coke come rapidly into favour, for Andrew Yarrington, writing 10 years later (1677) speaks of the sale of timber for the iron works by the country gentlemen, as an established practice. “At the iron works,” he says, ‘‘the gentlemen and others have money for their wood at all times when they want it, whieh is to them a great benefit and advantage.” There was yet another and, for a time, a still more powerful cause for the general destruction of timber, and this was the great civil war which began in 1642, Throughout England trees were felled extensively during its course, * Evelyn says in his Diary :— : “July 11th, 1656. Came home by Greenwich Ferry, where I saw Sir John Winter’s new project of charring sea-coale, to burne out the sulphure and render it sweete. He did it by burning the coals in such earthen pots as the glasse-men mealt their mettal, so firing them without consuming them, using a barr of yron in each erucible or pot, which barr has a hook at one end, that so the coales being mealted in a furnace with other crude sea-coals under them, may be drawn out of the potts sticking to the yron, whence they are beaten off in greate halfe-exhausted cinders, which being rekindled make a cleare pleasant chamber fire, deprived of their sulphure and arsenic malignity. What successe it may have, time will discover.” a 257 to find money and guns for the combatants, and to pay the heavy contributions imposed successively by the King and by the Parliament. Contemporary tes_ timony asserts that between the cutting of timber by the landowners to raise money for the King’s cause, and the repetition of the same destructive process by the sequestrators appointed by Parliament, anxious to realise the amount of the fines imposed on the Royalist delinquents, it came to pass that most parts ef the country were very bare of timber trees at the time of the restoration. We have shown that on a visit into Herefordshire 20. years before this time, the sharp eyes of the Royalists could see even then but “Little Timber in the Shire.” The district of the county in which the estate of Whitfield is situated, and, indeed, the estate itself, was at that time for the most part a mere wilder- ness of brushwood and scrub, fit only for fuel, and which formed hunting grounds for the gentry of the district. A considerable portion of the Whit- field estate was formerly the forest of Trevil, extending as far as Trevil brook, as the small rill is called which rises in the Whitfield lawn, supplies the pool, and joins the Worm brook at St. Devereux; and this tract formerly belonged, by a grant of King John, to the Abbey of Dore. It remained in its forest condition, and supplied its contributions liberally to the furnaces of the district. Doubtless, in their day, it supplied venison to the monks at Dore, but at the time to which it is now more particularly referred, the falcons from More- hampton may have coursed their quarry here, or it may have supplied the stag for a royal hunt. The adjoining estate of Morehampton, three miles away west- ward as the crow flies, was then in its glory. It is now gone, divided and sold. The mansion itself was a timber structure. The last portion of it was destroyed about twenty years in order to build the present farmhouse on its site. The moat surrounding the old garden alone remains to show its former importance. Here, in the early part of the 17th century, Sergeant Hoskyns entertained King James I. The autograph letter of Mr. Sergeant Hoskyns to his housekeeper, with reference to the preparations for the royal visit, is still extant. It was contained in the collection of the late Rev. C. J. Bird, of Mordiford, and has passed into the possession of W. H. Cooke, Esq., Q.C. It is so little known» and is so singularly interesting, that it is quoted here at full length. It gives incidentally an admirable insight into the state of the country at that time, and the difficulty of travelling :— Letter from Mr. Sergeant Hoskyns (1), in London, to Mrs. Bourne (2), at Morehampton. “ Dec. 10, 1627. *«Pray God to bless us and yourselves. 1 think the matter will be so far settled to- morrow that we shall need no other help than God’s blessing, which is drawn down by the prayers of those that fear Him. “‘Proyide all things as well as you can: if it please God, we will be at Ross on Friday night. Thither must be brought some good coach with four horses, for I know not how we shall proceed further. Weare in hope of my Lady Cornwall’s (4) coach for part of the way. I had brought one down from London had not a foolish report caused a doubtful letter to be written to me, but now I will cut off all possabilitye of rumcurs, and therefore I must make sudden provision. Sir Samuel Aubrey (5), Mrs. Candish, Sir Giles Brydges (6), and every friend must be tried. My sister Kempe (3) hath a good coach, so hath my Lady Bodenham (7), but who hath horses? If any one knows of any noble gen- tleman that now would furnish me, I would truly requite him, and in such a case never H2 258 troble friend more, if it please God: and be ever hereafter able to do the like for another. We have somewhat to do, and I cannot write much. Commend me to Mr. Howarth (8), tell him if he can help us it shall be a worthy friendship. There must be horses sent to Oxford, to be there on St. Thomas’ eve to bring down William and Bennet Hoskyns (2). They mean to keep Crismas with us. There must be a hogshead of sacke from Monmout or Hereford to walke with our coach. Take care for the coach horses to be had at this time, and go presently about it day and night: the rest we have more time todo. Study the coach way; where to break hedges, and how to avoid deep and dangerous ways. So God speede you. J. Hosxyns. “ Mistake me not—no man resisteth me. We want nothing but coach and horses. To Mrs. Bourne (3), at Morehampton (9), in the Golden Vale.” (See Appendix II., to which the figures apply.) Bad as the roads may have been in this district, scarce as was the timber two centuries ago, it is the very reverse in these days—Moorhampton has fallen and Whitfield has arisen within this time ; and on the hills and vales that now form the fine estate of Whitfield, the timber is sufficiently abundant and good as to attract thither a Commissioner from the: Woolhope Club, and easy and pleasant be it added he found “the ways” of getting there. It is not that there are there as yet any very remarkable trees, though there are some, but that the estate itself has been so well attended to, the ground so well drained, the trees so well cared for, that it has taken upon itself a new character, and only requires time still further to develope itself. A careful survey now cannot fail to be interesting in years to come. There are three entrances to Whitfield. The south entrance from the Abergavenny and Hereford turnpike road leads to the mansion by a drive a mile and a half in extent. It completely threads the valley and presents scenery well diversified. Beginning with an avenue of mixed trees it becomes more and more parklike as it proceeds until passing the keeper’s house it reaches the richly wooded expansion of the vale in which the house stands. This lodge was built in the year 1850, and the trees, which consist of oak and beech trees, many of the latter having been replaced by oak, were planted about 40 years since. A tape thrown around a dozen of the finest gave these dimensions :— Oak, 4.4; 4.3; 46; 4.2; 5.3; 5.1; and Beech 4.10; 4.6; 4.9; 44; 4.2; 4.8, The second lodge or keeper’s house, was built about 1830, This approach is by far the best. It was the original, and indeed the only entrance until 1821. It has since been supplanted by another, but now by the formation of the railway it has again become the chief entrance, and it deserves to be so. It is already very good, but will become still finer as years pass on and as the opportunities for improvement which its great length affords are taken advan- tage of. The second or Thruxton entrance affords the most direct approach from Hereford, and since 1821 the bye-roads have become so good (better by far at this time—1869—than the high roads), that it has virtually been the chief approach to Whitfield for many years. The drive is pretty throughout, and from Thruxton takes the character of an approach to a good estate, The view from the first lodge (built 1850) is park-like and pretty, and gives some idea of — re 259 _ spaciousness in the arrangement of the hanging woods and the slopes of the hills. From the second lodge (built about 1836) the house and pleasure grounds are approached by a gentle descent, with an open view to the right, though it is contracted by too many scattered trees on the left-hand side (planted in 1821). The third entrance, the North, or Kingstone Entrance, has only become worthy of the name within the last 22 years, when it was laid out by Mr. Archer Clive in 1848, and the avenue of Scotch firs planted. The trees are growing well, and the entrance is now becoming handsome—albeit a wood that skirts it on the approach to the house, gives it a contracted effect. These firs may be said, therefore, to be 27 years old. The tape thrown round a dozen of the boles gave these results :—2ft. 10in.; 3ft. ; 3ft. 10in.; 3ft. 2in. ; 3ft. ; 2ft. Qin. ; 2ft. Llin. ; 2ft. 10in. ; 2ft. Lin. ; 2ft. 10in. ; 3ft. 3in.; and 3ft. lin., at five feet from the ground. The lodge was built in 1857. There are those who say that the mansion of Whitfield is not in the right place, that it should be situated on the higher ground above the garden, where the views commanded are so much more beautiful and extensive. This opinion may be regarded simply as a compliment to the fine growth of the timber trees there. Without this protection, and with it indeed to a great extent, a house in that situation would be exposed to all the violence of the western gales, which sweep round the Black Mountains with great force, and borrow a peculiar chilliness from the snow whenever it lies there. The house in reality is very well placed. It is on the slope of the hill below ; it has a southern aspect, and the ground falls from it on three sides. Though relatively low, it has indeed a very considerable elevation, This has been taken very accurately by E. J. Isbell, Esq., with the instruments of the Club, specially for this paper. The terrace in front of the house is 245 feet above the level of Hereford, and since this is 184 feet above the level of the sea, it follows that the mansion stands on ground 429 feet above sea level, a height that justifies amply enough the protection sought from the adjoining hills, : The home view of the valley the mansion commands is peculiarly rich, and no one can study it without seeing that considerable thought has been given, and great taste displayed to make the most of it. Kent may have been consulted, for the house a century ago stood ina plain lawn. Here certainly are the ‘‘clumps” of ‘‘ Capability Brown” and his hanging woods, and both are here seen to an advantage they do not always present. It was possibly Brown who marked out ‘‘the wood walk,” which though nearly two miles in length was made so as to wind round the valley as never to lose sight of the house, a peculiarity it has happily long since lost from the better taste of the late Mrs. E. B. Clive who planted out this walk, and by planting up to Brown’s Clumps, did much to retain the best features of both, whilst their formality was de- stroyed. Mrs. Clive was a good amateur artist, and the ornamental trees about the house and lawn were planted chiefly by her. Sir Uvedale Price, of Foxley, at a later period visited much at Whit- field and aided in its improvement. Sir Uvedale’s pleasure in life was land- 260 scape gardening, and his excellent natural taste was refined to the utmost by his intimacy with Mr, Richard Payne Knight, of Downton, and by the study necessary for the attacks they both so spiritedly made on the glaring faults of Kent, of Brown,* and of Repton. The great feature of the Whitfield estate is the abundance of the oak timber it produces. Oak woods hang on every hill; oak trees abound in every vale ; they are thickly scattered throughout the lawns; they even invade the pleasure grounds; and as a matter of course give their character to every landscape. Now, on oak scenery, all authorities unite in praise to the uttermost. “Tt is a happiness,” says Gilpin, ‘‘to the lovers of the picturesque that this noble plant is as useful as it is beautiful. It is confessedly the most pictu- resque tree in itself, and the most accommodating in composition. It refuses no subject either in natural or artificial landscape;” and Strutt says, ‘‘ Foremost in dignity and grandeur, the oak stands preeminent, and, like the lion ameng beasts, is the undoubted lord of the forest. Beauty united with strength characterises all its parts, The leaves elegant in their outline, are strongly ribbed, and firmly attached to the spray, which, although thin and excursive, is yet bold and determined in its angles, whilst the abrupt and tortuous irregu- larity of its massive branches admirably contrasts with the general richness and density of its clustered foliage ;” and so on, authority after authority might be quoted. But all these descriptions refer to the oak when advanced in age, when size brings out the contortions of its moss-covered branches, and a massive trunk gives a grandeur, indicative of boldness and strength. These splendid word paintings of the supreme picturesqueness of oak scenery, it must * Lancelot Brown was a man of the highest reputation as a landscape gardener in the middle and latter end of the 18th century. He had great taste, and though now thought formal himself, was the first to set aside the stiff formality of earlier times. From his frequent use of the phrase “This spot has great capabilities,” he got the name of ‘‘ Capability Brown.” It became the fashion to employ him everywhere, and his dictate became law. The poet Cowper introduces his name ironically in a well-known passage— “To ! he comes! Th’ omnipotent magician Brown appears ! Down falls the venerable pile, the abode Of our forefathers, a grave whiskered race But tasteless.”—Task III. But it was Brown’s fate also to go out of fashion, or rather let us say, to yield to a better and still less formal taste. Sir Uvedale Price never lost an opportunity of attacking him. One amusing instance of his sarcasms may be given. A rumour got abroad that George III. had given Brown leave to crop the oaks in Windsor Park, on which Sir Uvedale wrote the following caustic lines :— “* England thy sons their lessoned freedom mourn, Windsor thy parks and forests are all shorn, What various evils from his petty tricks, Whose taste was formed by Brown, by Bute his politics,” 261 be frankly confessed, do not as yet apply to Whitfield. Some of the knolls, scattered with oak trees, are certainly very beautiful and picturesque. The grove above the pleasure grounds, for instance, presents an admirable example of the superiority of clustered trees over formal clumps. Some one—Sir Uvedale Price probably—has said that trees should be planted as you see a herd of deer arrange themselves on rising ground, picturesquely clustered together, with scattered members here and there, and many examples of this form of planting are to be seen at Whitfield. The trees generally, as has been said, are more remarkable for their number than for their size. They present the well rounded outline of full- grown trees, but are as yet only just beginning to develope their true picturesque features. Indeed, studying them asthetically, they are far too numerous. The estate has the happy failing of being overgrown with oaks; for fine and bold and noble as the sturdy oak is in form and outline, it is by reason of these virtues formal and stiff when in vigorous growth. Doubtless, at this age of growth it owes much of the great appreciation it obtains to the knowledge of the value it denotes, and justly so. Still, when it is repeated again and again, when its monotonous outline meets a critical eye at every turn, the very fact of its value becomes almost an objection toit. To use an expressive Americanism, “the almighty dollar” comes oppressively uppermost. This is not as it should be. In the very heart and centre of a noble estate, value should ever be subordinate to beauty and variety of effect, both in colour and outline. In his last visit your Commissioner had the satisfaction to observe that several hundred trees of goodly size were marked for felling. The improvement will be very great, and the operation may still be continued with proportionate advantage The largest oak is at the entrance of the pleasure grounds from the lawn, and a very fine tree it is, though battered by storms and damaged at heart. It is of the sessiliflora variety, and has a girth of 16ft. Sin. The diametric spread of its branches is 25 yards-in extent N. and S., and 24 yards E. and W. Tt lost a very large bough from a storm in the spring of 1868. An ivy tree of " considerable size climbs the bole, and adds to its picturesque effect. About the Wormbridge property are also some fine old oak and other trees, denoting a gentleman’s residence. (ne oak tree, in Wormside meadow, measures 14ft. Sin. ; another, in Druid’s meadow, 15ft. 2in. ; and two others 13ft. Gin. and 12ft. 3in. respectively, all fine growing trees; a pollard oak behind the church H4ft. Gin. ; another in the garden meadow of Wormbridge farm house 16ft. lin. at 5ft. from the ground, with several other good trees scattered about, and most of them in a healthy, growing state. In the field opposite the church at Wormbridge, which was formerly the garden of the house, are two young oaks and two Wellingtonias, which were planted on the day of the Prince of Wales’s marriage (March 10th, 1863) and which are growing well. A pedunculate oak at the entrance of the fruit garden measures 12ft. Sin. in girth, A very fine picturesque tree, ‘the weeping oak ” in the Bason 262 meéadow measures lift. 3in., and several others of about the same size are to be found in the walk through the grove or rookery. This grove; by the way, occupies the north side of a steep hill, and affords ample proof that such a position is the best for the growth of oak timber. The boles of all the varieties here, whether pedunculata, sesilliflora, or intermedia, shoot up in the race of rivalry for air and sunshine from 30 to 40 or 50 feet in height, without any appreciable difference between them. There are various causes to which this may be attributed. The sensitiveness of the oak and some other trees to the south-west wind is shown by the leaning of the exposed branches from the south- west to north-east, and by nothing more strikingly than by the healthy and uninterrupted growth of this class of timber on slopes whose Northern aspect would render them most unfavourable for crops of annual growth, or even the more delicate class of shrubs. The N.E. wind, though equally tyrannical in its season, has no such chafing and distorting effect upon our forest kings, and it has the less power of mischief from its rarely finding the trees in foliage. The soil on Northern slopes also retains its moisture unaffected by summer drought, a condition of almost unequalled importance for the growth of timber, The annular deposits of fresh growth of wood will be found to indicate with exact fidelity the character of each successive summer, forming a sort of hygrometric calendar of past years, marked by an annalist that never errs, the hand of Nature. There is a sketch of the mansion at Whitfield made in the year 1800 by Mr. James Wathen, a well-known Hereford character. It represents the House standing on a plain lawn, and gives very accurately the grass slopes on the North and East sides of it. The sketch is too inartistic to lead one for an instant to doubt its exactitude, and it affords proof, therefore, that all the trees now there have been since planted. Allowing for their nursery life, they may be said to date with the century, and their measurements will therefore show a growth of 69 years. The finest tree here is the Cedar of Lebanon, opposite the door, It is a very handsome luxuriant tree, still growing fast. It measures, before giving off any branches, at 2ft. 6in. from the ground, 12ft. 8in. in circumference, and at 3ft., 10ft. 5in. It is well represented in the opposite photograph. Another cedar lower down, near the croquet ground, measures only 8ft. 4in. in girth. The trees, however, which give, and will continue more and more, to give character to the North side of the gardens at Whitfield, are a group of four Silver or Mount Atlas Cedars (Cedras argentea), or as they are sometimes called African, or again, Atlantic Cedars. Their tall, straight stem, their horizontal branches, and their fine grey or silvery foliage are already beginning to be very effective. The trees on the lower North side measure 7ft. 10in. and 7.6 in girth, and those on the higher ground nearest the drive measure 6.1 and 5.6 respectively. They are nearly 60 feet high, and are still growing freely. They have not yet began to show any signs of throwing out those horizontal branches 263 at the top, which make the table shaped head, which is the characteristic of old trees of their kind. The lower foliage of these trees has been injured by others, now happily cut away. Keeping still to the North side of the house, which we know to have been . bare of trees at the beginning of the century, the tape thrown round a very» fine growing Sessiliflora oak, named ‘‘ Bolton’s Oak,” with a straight clear bole, gave the girth of 8.3, This tree is growing luxuriantly. It is now 73 feet high, with a diametric spread of branches of 57 feet. Another well grown Sessiliflora oak, farther from the house, measures 6.3 in girth, and a sweet Chestnut, with boughs dropping to the ground, next it, measured 10ft. 9in., and two others 8.9 and 9.3 respectively. Still measuring, because they are there, on the North side of the Croquet ground, a Turkey Oak, ivy grown, and with loose straggling boughs, gave 7.10, anda birch 5.8; and two Hemlock Spruces prettily looked down upon from the drive, 5.5 and 3 feet. Crossing the drive to the house we have a Cedar of Lebanon planted in 1821, which gives a girth of 10.5, as the result of rather more than half a century growth, and another ivy covered near it measures 6.9. Near these cedars are three Scotch Firs, which are very ornamental trees, though of no very great size. They measure 9ft., 7.5, and 6.4 in girth respectively. They present clear straight boles from 30 to 50 feet high, whose characteristic red colour is admirably contrasted with the dull deep green foliage of some evergreen oaks (Quercus ilex) near them and the brighter tints of the beech tree (9.3), laurels and hollies in the back ground. One of these evergreen oaks with its dense robes of ivy, clusters very pictu- resquely. It measures 12.1 in girth. Three others standing forward in the open ground—meesuring 5.3; 5.4; and 5.9 respectively—would doubtless be called generally well grown trees of good shape. Your Commissioner thinks them stiff and formal, but then he has no great admiration for this oak, since evergreen though it be, it wears in winter so dull, and sombre, and melancholy an aspect that its foliage might as well be absent for anything it adds to the cheerfulness of the scene when other leaves are away; indeed he values it chiefly for its great usefulness as a -perennial screen, and for the deep neutral back ground tint it gives in the shrubbery during summer and autumn. In old age, or after misfortunes these oaks are often very picturesque, and surely the pruning saw might do much to lessen the bunchy formality of younger trees. The acorns of the Ilex Oak have none of the bitter taste of the acorns from our ordinary oaks. Virgil (Georgics I. 147) speaks of this fruit as having been eaten by mankind, before they began to raise grain crops :— *< Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere terras Instituit ; cum jam glandes atque arbuta sacre Deficerent sylvz, et victum Dodona negaret.” Don Quixote lauds these acorns “‘es a sweet and pleasant fruit which in the golden age man had only to raise his hand and cull.”—Pt. 1. c. ll. Possibly in that age they had no objection to the taste of astringency. The Ilex acorns certainly contain too much tannin for degenerate modern palates. Passing a sycamore, 6ft, 10in., with mistletoe upon it, in itself a rarity, 264 since only two other sycamores in the county are known to bear it, a sweet chesnut, 6ft. G6in., a larch fir, 6ft. 2in., and a beech, 9ft. 2in., or two, a well- contrasted clump of trees appears. A black spruce fir springs out from a mass of oak and sweet chesnut, with a base of yew trees and the ilex oak relieved by tall holly and laurel, through which a laburnum struggles here and there into air and sunshine. Continuing the shrubbery walk past the garden entrance and beneath the drawn up beech trees, whose stems are ever pretty and picturesque, the first noticeable trees are two wide-spreading sycamores (8ft. and 7ft. 3in.), whose trunks are showing that attractive mottled appearance so peculiar to this tree. They are worth preserving for it, but oh! how littering they are, not merely shedding their leaves in all directions—that is a passing evil and might be got over—but the abundance of their seedsis marvellous, and the way young sycamore plants come up in all sorts of places, at inconvenient times, is enough to try the patience of any...... gardener, A Scotch fir is next passed, 8ft. 5in., very handsome in growth, and a Spanish chesnut, 10ft. 2in., and then some young trees demand attention. There are four handsome Deodar cedars, from 33ft. to 34ft. high. They have been planted 23 years, and are now growing from 18in. to 20in. annually. Further on, a Virginian red cedar makes a very handsome pyramidal column some 46ft. high, Ata foot from the ground it has a circumference of 6ft. lin. There are here, too, some very fine specimens of the Douglas Spruce Fir (Abies Douglasii). The finest tree is 35ft. 4in. in height, and is now growing about two feet annually. This tree is a great favourite at Whitfield, and many young ones are being planted. Well it may be, foritis a graceful fast-growing tree, with a foliage of a bright and cheerful green. It grows to a great height (near 300 feet in California), and yields, itis said, a most valuable timber, ‘‘ close, and heavy, of the colour of yew, free from knots and not subject to warp. It is superior to the best red deal.” So here we have ornament and utility combined with rapid growth, and the tree moreover possessing these virtues thus proved to suit well our heavy Herefordshire soils. Oh, timber growers! Scatter Douglas Spruce Firs thickly in your Larch plantations. Point out to your neighbours how their pretty evergreen foliage will enliven the landscape ; tell them how much better they will protect their pheasants ; and take to yourself meanwhile the satisfaction that you are growing a very superior timber at an equally rapid rate. Scatter, it is said advisedly, for the young plants are dear yet—too dear to be planted very freely. ; Turning now from the shrubbery, and walking if you please through the hot houses—they are always most interesting, and many splendid specimen plants will be found here—let us pass on to examine what may be called The horticultural gem of Whitfield. It is the Salisburia Adiantifolia, the Maidenhair tree, or Ginkgo. It is believed to be the largest specimen in England with one exception. It measures 7ft. 2in. in girth at 5 feet from the ground, is 50ft. 6in, in height, and has a diametric spread of foliage of 40 feet, It is very a , Hs % Tey: ” Pi i) ean TREE sponte Addansifes he Foe) acetate gedin Vay 2TTS, suet 1s auce 66. ti. is dew sail y Beets ORLY ovr seater \e Rex. Archer Chive This Phamsciyeg ds tasdly Genet’ Ladinors anit Bee, Pee Re Sent, Wha eg (0; ee 45 sainpiees SAS mee A boat nc doy Sp bal Pa the Beech trees adjoining. It lost its leader from a storm, in the year 1797, a fact remembered by one of Mr. Clive’s labourers (who was born on the estate, and whose father and grandfather had always worked there) from the occur- rence of some event which happened to one of his children at the same time. The fellow tree which stands some 60 or 70 yards away amidst some oak trees is also a very remarkable tree. It measures 12ft. llin. in circum- ference at 5ft. —has lost its leader at about 50 feet from the ground—and reaches a height of 100 feet. These trees show the same appearance of age in the thinness of foliage, and were doubtless planted at the same time. They are thus, in all probability, rather more than 100 years old. The Beech Grove adjoining was probably planted atthe same time. The trees are fine but give no great measurement. A dozen gave these figures, viz., 9.3; 9.1; 9.5; 83; 8.9; 9.10; 8.9; 10; 8.8; 9.2; 8.1; and 8.4. On the ground beneath these grew a rich crop of that excellent fungus, the Boletus Edulis, which your Com- missioner would have rejoiced in the more, if he had but been sure of its identity. He has never seen it growing elsewhere in this county in such abundance. Beyond the giant Silver Fir and the Beech Trees is a most interesting plantation of young trees—let us term it ‘‘ THE Sequoia GRovE”—for its main and most striking feature is now, and will long continue to be, a group of the Sequoia Sempervirens—an old friend with a new name—for its old designation was Taxodium Sempervirens. It is a lofty tree from California, the Evergreen Red Wood Tree. The settlers in Upper California call it the Giant of the Forest —and well they may, for it frequently attains gigantic dimensions, It will grow toa height of 300 feet, and many trees have a circumference of about 50" feet at 6ft. from the ground. It is called the Redwood from the fact that its wood has a beautiful mahogany red colour. It is close grained and when once seasoned it will not warp, and is never attacked by insects, These Redwood trees have been planted 17 years, and are now 45ft. high. They are growing with great rapidity, not less than from 3 to 4 feet a year—and five of the best measured 2ft. 1lin.; 3ft. 3in.; 3ft. 7din. ; 3ft. 23in.; and 2ft. 103in. in circum- ference. They are most picturesque trees in their mode of growth, and their bright red bark; and the glancous green of their foliage makes them very striking objects in the landscape. They are now under the protection of the woods beyond them, and yet three of them have lost their leaders and sent up fresh ones again. As they get higher still, they will have great difficulty to contend with the powerful west wind. The Redwood is a brittle tree, and 268 must not be planted moreover in a low or damp situation, or it may be destroyed by a severe frost. The Sequoia sempervirens is own sister to the Sequoia Wellingtonia (once the Wellingtonia gigantea, oh those tiresome botanists!) but it is not so hardy as the latter tree. There is in this grove a Sequoia Welling- tonia about 12 feet high, planted in 1856, but though it looks well it has not taken kindly to its situation, and is as yet only growing at the annual rate of about 14 inches. A group of them, in honour of the grove’s name, should be planted lower down the bank. 1t will give a good idea of the rapidity of growth of the Redwood trees here to say that whilst they grow from 3 to 4 feet a year, the Larch firs scattered about them grow barely 2 feet per annum, the Deodar Cedars average two feet, the African cedar 2ft. Gin., and the Cryptomeri 2ft. 6in. These last trees are growing admirably here, and there are several specimens from 30 to 40 feet high. There isa Pinsapo fir (Abies Pinsapo) growing very symetrically, with branches brushing the ground. It has been planted eleven years. It is 19 feet high, and its annual rate of growth is about 2 feet. There are many smaller coniferous plants of great interest here ; but there is, however, one tree which demands a special notice, and that is a seedling oak which is nearly evergreen. It has a large, fine sessilliflora leaf, of a light and cheerful green, and it was first observed in the very severe winter of 1860, when it kept on its leaves with their natural colour until March. This variety is now being propagated for planting. Whilst approaching this tree to look more closely at it, a splendid cock pheasant flew rocketing up with much more noise and alarm than there was the least necessity for. ‘‘ A splendid shot,” was remarked. ‘‘I wish I had a gun,” was the answer, ‘‘and permission to shoot—not that brilliant bird—but I should like to blow off the leading shoots of five or six of the larch trees hereabouts ; it would make them send out fresh leaders in that picturesque form the larch always puts on when it meets with some such misfortune, and which would be the delight of visitors in years to come.” Those who like trees, may linger long here with much satisfaction and pleasure, It is as quiet as it is pretty and interesting. Let us meditate on "the estate in general. Whitfield, after all, conceals wonderfully well the beauty of its scenery. _ “ Visitors may come and visitors may go” with scarcely an idea of it, They must see to be sure, the abundance of its trees, and the richness of its wooded hills; and in autumn they cannot but notice the loveliness of its foliage tints ; but then this is not so very uncommon in Herefordshire, and is but one feature at Whitfield. If they take ‘* the Wood Walk” as they will be sure to do, it will probably remain upon their minds as the very model of what a hot summer's day’s walk should be, in its airy shade and its delicious coolness—and set too, in this pleasant remembrance as a framework, will be many bright spots—first, a most picturesque group of Scotch firs, with a wild and lovely entourage of undulating ground, parklike and wild, of brake, and of scattered trees. Again for a dark picture, the oak before mentioned shivered and blasted in the fulness 269 of its youth and strength, by the lightning :—and then the peep of the distant hills in the high corner will be its contrast. But fine as this isinits way, it is not Whitfield in the varied scenery it really offers—you must stay there, must shoot or hunt—or boldly push your way as fancy takes you—and you will come upon views unexpectedly, rich and varied, near and distant, and breathe an air the while of a purity that tells you itself how high is the situation. Let us, for example show a contrast to the ‘‘ Wood Walk,” it is easy to do it, Instead of turning into the pleasure grounds by the old oak, make your way up the oak-covered knoll, before admired, to the Sheep-cot above, from which you will catch a western view over the gardens at once rich and extensive. Then walk for the Park farm, and as you gradually ascend higher ground still, the trees are left behind, and you are in full view of a wide extent of distant hills, embracing the Saddlebow, the Skyrrid, the Sugar-loaf mountain by Abergavenny, and the nearer range of the Hatterill Hills, If the wind is stirring you will find a breeze to your heart’s content! But push on still to the Park farm itself, if you please, for you will find there cattle worth seeing—of a breed and quality dangerous to other competitors in the showyard. If trees and scenery are your objects however, and not cattle, turn at the second gate to your left by the hedge, and as you get over the stile you come at once in sight of the patri- archal tree of the estate—old, perhaps, as the time of the Ancient Silurians, who doubtless put it there—a tree of centuries indeed—the trunk of an old yew tree, of very remarkable interest. It presents an aspect white, weird-like, and barkless. It is hollow on the south side, but on the north side life lingers still. A few green boughs remain. One wonders how any sap can reach them, but a closer examination, however, amidst the netted fibres of the dry and whitened trunk, shows a tortuous stem going down to the soil, the only living portion of the tree and, indeed, its mainstay. The trunk has a girth of 13ft. 10in. It is altogether exceedingly picturesque and interesting. But, indeed, you must be a lover of trees, and of trees only, if you have not been struck at once by the beauty of its site. Looking down between the hanging wood on the left, and that pheasant-haunted wood (Thruxton Vallets) on the right, you command a pastoral scene of great richness and beauty, well worth the whole walk. Return through the hanging wood, a way had been cut there (though not quite broad enough) along the north sheepwalk and by the second lodge to the house. Then, be the weather what it may, you will have an idea of the varied scenery of Whitfield, and may take the walk again and again with renewed pleasure, for in the changing effects produced by variations of sun and sky, there will ever be something fresh to admire. Whitfield has great natural advantages, and care is being taken to improve them to the utmost. Your Commissioner has only to add in conclusion, that in the last few years the change that has taken place here is most striking ; and if he was asked to name the particular spot in the county which had most im- proved during the last 20 years, he should unhesitatingly answer, ‘‘ Whitfield.” . The very colour of its grass has changed, and the trees have grown with a 270 vigour quite pleasant to observe. Time has done much for it, but art has done more, until at length the poet’s lines descriptive of the good deeds of the ‘*Knight of Industry” have become fairly appropriate to the work done here :— ‘‘ Nor from this deep retirement banished was Th’ amusing care of rural industry : Still as with grateful change the seasons pass, New scenes arise, new landscapes strike the eye, And all the enlivened country beautify : Gay plains extend where marshes slept before : O’er recent meads th’ exulting streamlets fly : Dark frowning heaths grow bright with Ceres’ store, And woods embrown the steep, or wave along the shore.” Thomson’s Castle of Indolence. (See Appendix III. for an account of the Possessors of Whitfield.) APPENDIX I. HEREFORDSHIRE FORGES AND FURNACES.—The forges or furnaces, which were established in the different wooded districts of the county, were called ‘‘Glomerys” or ‘‘Bloomeries.” They were simply an ordinary blacksmith’s forge, worked by a foot bellows, and they smelted the ore so very imperfectly that in after years the slag was worked over again, and to such profit, that the heaps of cinders left by the ‘* Bloomeries” have been “‘sold for much more than the land itself on which they were placed originally cost”; and the fortunes of some existing families in the county are said to be due to this source. The town of Ross is spoken of by Camden as “‘noted for smiths,” a celebrity it has ceased so long to enjoy that it owes to him the credit of it. In a paper apparently published officially, in answer to one from the Earl of Kent relating to the rivers Wye and Lugg, dated ‘‘ Wormeloe Hundred, Herefordshire, January 29th, 1695,” it is stated, ‘‘ But there are several furnaces and forges for the spending of woods in Herefordshire; as Peterchurch Forge, Strangwood Forge, Llancillo Forge, Pontrilas Forge, St. Wannard Furnace, Bringwood Forge and Furnace,” and it then refers to some others. This paper also estimates incidentally the necessary consumption of wood for fuel for a peasant’s family at that time as not less in value than 50s. per annum. Brinewoop Forcr.—In 1604 Sir Robert Harley was made Forester of Bringwood alias Bornigwood Forest and Custodian of Prestwood Chase, and its management remained in the hands of the Harley family for many years. The following agreement (1663) has been kindly furnished to the writer by R. W. Banks, Esq., of Kington :—“‘Sir Edward Harley, K.B., and Samuel Baldwin, of the Inner Temple, Esq., agreed with William Lord Craven for a lease for 21 years of the forge and furnace of Bringwood and of several lands theretofore let to Francis Walker, and they afterwards relinquished the agreement in favour of the said Fras. Walker, to whom a lease was granted, and who afterwards assigned the term to his son Richard Walker. By an agreement (10th Sept., 271 1663) between Sir Edward Harley and Samuel Baldwin of the one part, and said Richard Walker of the other part, it was arranged that if Sir Edward Harley should during the term have so much to sell on the Manor of Brampton Bryan, Wigmore, Pedwarden, as being cut and corded would amount to the quantity of two coale hearthes of charcoale, or if the said Samuel Baldwin should during the same term have so much wood to sell on the Manor and demesne lands of Stokesay in the County of Salop as cut and corded would amount to the same quantity, the said Richard Walker would purchase wood at 5s. per cord, to be cut and fallen at the expense of Richard Walker. The cord to contain 4 feet in breadth, 4 feet in height, and 8 feet in length. The quantity to be seld by Sir Edward Harley in any year not to exceed 800 nor be less than 400 cords, and the quantity to be sold by Baldwin not to exceed 1,000 cords nor be less than 400 cords. Walker to have ‘liberty for the making of cabbins and digging and taking of turf and earth, and other usual necessaries for the making of charcoale of the wood before mentioned,’ ” Fore EXPENSES.—The following details of the expense of the manufacture of iron at the Forges refer to the years about 1640-50. These have also been kindly supplied by Mr. Banks :— “A corde of wood ought to be 9 foote in length and 43 foote in height, and ye wood for ye most part cutt 4 foote long. ‘*33 cordes of wood (being good wood) will make a lode of coles. ‘*4 lodes of coles and 4 lodes of iron stone will make a tonne sowe iron. **3 lodes of coles will serve for ye fyninge and drawinge of a tonne of iron at forge. ; ‘* A tonne and halfe of sowe iron ought to make a tonne of barre iron at orge. “The founders’ wages is about 5s, for ye castinge of a ton of sow iron. “‘The fyner and hammerman’s wages is 20s. for every tonne of wrought iron,” THE CHARGE FOR MAKING A LOADE OF COLE. 3 cord of wood, at 5s. per cord ............ee0ee050 00 15 OO Cutting and cording, 18d. per cord 00 04 06 (OY IA ie IA FE oe SSR 8 00 03 06 Carriage,’ Smeg A tetecttceenoesicetseeerebecn 00 04 00 01 07 00 THE CHARGE FOR MAKING A TONNE OF RAW IRON. 24 loade of cole, at ye rate above said ............ 03 O07 06 3 doz. and 3 strike of stone, at 17s. per doz.... 02 15 03 Founders’ wages per tonne .............0es0eceeeeeeee 00 03 06 06 06 03 THE CHARGE OF MAKINGZA TONNE OF BAR IRON. WOME OL- COIS t5....:tecctt Neer reterteee Cet ee 04 O1 00 28 ewt. of raw iron at ye rate above mentioned 08 16 06 Fyner’s and hammerman’s wages, pertonne... 01 00 00 13 17 06 272 THE LUANDINABO ForGE, OR FURNACE, affords a marked example of a coms plete change in the character of a district. Its very name has passed into oblivion. In the middle of an open arable field near the little church of Llandinabo,— from which over a wide expanse of country, looking west, every thicket, four- fifths of the hedges, and almost every tree has been grubbed away, and the whole. district given up to the plough, there is a portion of ground, consisting of several acres, to this day distinguished by the title of ‘‘The Furnaces.” Nota vestige meets the eye, even by the usual tell-tale mounding of the earth, to explain the name which thus capriciously distinguishes an uninclosed and otherwise unmarked spot. But on looking closely into the soil underfoot, an ample explanation of the traditional title reveals itself. Innumerable masses of furnace slag and half smelted iron ore, from the size of a man’s two fists down to that of a walnut, lie amongst the clods, at first undistinguishable owing to the coating they have acquired of the red soil of the field, but so thickly mixed with it as to be sensibly felt by the foot, and by the additional weight and toughness of the furrow-slice as the plough passes over that part of the field. An ancient road now entirely obliterated, but existing in the reccl- lection of the writer, passed through the field dividing it in two, close by ‘‘ The Furnaces.” The spot is itself the apex of an angle made by two roads—the one leading towards the Forest of Dean, and the other towards Gloucester and London. The district in question is spoken of in Domesday book as having been a dense forest waste. Judged by the remains, the smelting works must have been extensive. And here in a wide smooth tillage field with others equally bare around it as far as eye can reach, must once have been a busy mid-forest scene of smoke and glare and noise in all its picturesque wildness, Truly the face of mother earth witnesses some strange mutations, APPENDIX II. 1.—SERJEANT HOSKYNS AND THE PERSONAGES MENTIONED IN HIS LETTER. Amongst the characters who figured in the reign of James I., few en- joyed a wider reputation amongst their contemporaries than Serjeant Hoskyns. A good scholar, a clever lawyer, ready in speech, and bold withal, he could neither fail to be a man of mark himself, nor to incur the risk which distinguished talents brought down upon all who possessed them in those tyrranical times. In 1614 the national feeling ran strongly against the intrusion of the King’s Scottish followers and favourites into all the offices of the state, and it found an uncompromising exponent in the member for Hereford. Serjeant Hoskyns represented the City of Hereford for many years. He was returned in the 1st and 2nd Parliaments of James I. 1603 and 1613, In his place in the House of Commons he was amongst the foremost to denounce the conduct of the Court. In a speech of great boldness and daring, he even hesitated not to allude to the ‘‘ Sicilian Vespers,” as the great political massacre of 1280 was called. (Frenchmen had then been thrust into all State z 273 offices of Sicily, until the Sicilians rebelled, and a general massacre of 8,000 Frenchmen, it is said, took place as they were at vespers on Easter Sunday or Monday, for accounts differ as to the exact day.) The immediate consequence of the Sergeant’s rashness will be best shown by some quotations from a letter written by Sir Henry Wotton to Sir Edmund Bacon (June 8th, 1614) :— “Tt pleased his Majesty the very next morning to call to examination before the lords of his council divers members of the House, for speeches better becoming a senate of Venice, where the debaters are perpetual princes, than where those who speak so irreverently are so soon to return to the natural capacity of subjects, Of these, four are committed close prisoners to the tower. First Sir Walter Chute, secondly John Hoskyns, thirdly one Wentworth (ancestor of Earl Fitzwilliam), a lawyer, and fourthly Christopher Nevil (second son to my lord of Abergavenny).” . . . . . ‘‘John Hoskyns having been questioned whether he well understood the consequence of that ‘Sicilian Vesper’ whereunto he had made some desperate allusion in the House, made answer that he had no more than a general information thereof, being but little conversant with those histories that lay out of the way of his profession.” . . . ‘* Thus you see, Sir, the natural end of a great man, and the accidental ruin of others, which I had rather you should see in a letter than as I did, for it grieved my soul to behold a grave and learned gentleman of good hopes and merits carried away in the face of the whole court, and such a greediness at all windows to gaze at unfortunate spectacles.” He had, however, noble companions in misfortune. A recent historian (‘‘Knight’s Pictorial History of England,” vol. III., p. 72), with reference to the imprisonment in the Tower of Sir Walter Raleigh, writes as follows :—“‘ He found several men fit to be his mates, and these were increased year by year by the absurd tyranny of the Court, till it seemed almost to be James’s intention to shut up all the genius, taste, and enterprise of England in that great cage. Henry _ Perey, the accomplished Earl of Northumberland, the friend of science and scientific men; and Serjeant Hoskyns, the scholar, poet, wit, and critic, the admired of Camden; Selden, Daniel, Walton, and Donne, the friend and polisher of Ben Jonson,* were among the distinguished co-mates of Raleigh ; and these men constantly attracted to the Tower some of the most intellectual of their contemporaries, who enlivened their captivity with learned and pleasant dis- course.” Serjeant Hoskyns was, however, released after twelve months’ confinement, and was subsequently held in high estimation by the King, who appointed him a Judge for the Welsh Circuits, and one of the Council of the Marches, On the list of contributors towards the building of the College quadrangle at Hereford, the name of ‘‘ John Hoskyns, serjéant-at-law,” is placed second, next to Sir Samuel Aubrey, and he is followed by ‘‘Fulk Walwyn, of Marcle, * “T do confess it, Father Hoskyns hath made me speak clean,”—Ben Jonson. K2 274 Esq., the Right Hon. John Lord Viscount Scudamore, the Right Worshipful Fitz-William Coningsbie, of Hampton Court, Esq., and Cecilia his wife, daughter of R. H. Henry Lord Bergavenie,” &c., &c. In Nichols’ ‘‘ Progresses of King James the First’ Morehampton is spoken of as the place where the King paid a visit to his quondam prisoner, “that being the seat of the witty Serjeant Hoskyns.” If local tradition may be credited. the ‘‘Merry Monarch” (he was so called before Charles II.) was entertained not only by the performance of the masque, which seems to have been a regular and necessary thing, but also by a morris-dance noted for its dramatis persone. It is described as follows by Dr. Fuller in the introduction to his ‘‘ Worthies of Herefordshire.” “‘There cannot be given a more effectual evidence of the healthful aire in this Shire than the vigorous vivacity of the inhabitants therein: many aged folke which in other counties are properties of the chimneyes, or confined to their beds, are here found in the fields as able (if willing) to work. The injenious Mr. Sarjeant Hoskins gave an entertainment to King James, and provided ten aged people to dance the morrish before him, all of them making up more than a thousand yeares, so that what was wanting in one was supplied in another —a nest of Nestors not to be found in another place.” The dance nevertheless was not the real Nestorian dance of Herefordshire, though it doubtless might have taken place in imitation of it. The real assem- blage of veteran morris-dancers took place at the Hereford races 18 years before this time. In the ‘British Bibliographer,” (vol. iv. pp. 326, &c.), will be found an account of ‘‘ Old Meg of Herefordshire for a mayd-marian, and Here- ford town for a morris-dance; or twelve morris-dancers in Herefordshire, of twelve hundred years old,” London, 1609. The visitora of rank present were there recorded to have been ‘Lord Herbert, of Ragland ; Sir Thom. Somerset, Cha. Somerset, Count Arundel’s two sons, Sir Edwd. Swift, Sir Thom. Mildmay, Sir Rob. Yaxley, Sir Ro. Casey, Sir John Philpot, Sir Ed. Lewes, Sir Fr. Lacon, Sir James Scudamore, Sir Thom, Cornwall, Sir Ro. Bodenham, Sir Thom. Russell, Sir — Bascarvile, Sir Thom. Conisby, and Sir Geo. Chute.” Fi Tradition and history believes in these centenarians and they probably believed in themselves, But there were no parish registers in those days, and our matter-of-fact Registrar-general might possibly be somewhat sceptical on the point. It is true he makes Herefordshire still one of the counties most noted for longevity. But though octogenarians are numerous, and nonagenarians not uncommon, centenarians in our time are certainly but rarely to be met with. Serjeant Hoskyns died in the year 1638, and was buried in Dore Abbey, where there exists in the chancel a remarkable monument, on which is in scribed a variety of epitaphs and memorial verses, by Dr. Sharpe, Donné and other of his surviving friends, but so elaborately and delicately worked on the stone and so richly ornamentéd as only to be legible here and there, ae Pe 275 2. “William and Bennet Hoskyns” were the Serjeani’s son and nephew. Sir Henry Wotton writes to Bennet Hoskyns, in allusion to the circumstance which caused his father’s imprisonment : “* Sweet Benedict, since thou art young, And hast not yet the use of tongue, Make it thy slave, while thou art free, Imprison it, lest it do thee.” And the same circumstance gave rise to the family motto: “ Vineula da Lingue, vel tibi Lingua dabit.” Bennet Hoskyns represented the city of Hereford in the two first Parlia- ments of the Protectorate, and he was returned for the county in the two last Parliaments. 3. ‘“‘Mrs. Bourne” was probably sister-in-law to the Serjeant, as sister Kempe” is known to have been. 4. “My Lady Cornewall” was probably Katherine, daughter of John Harley, of Brampton Bryan Castle, widow of Mr. Cresset, of Upton Cresset, who married Thomas Cornewall, Barou of Burford. He also died in 1615, so that at this time she would have been again a widow. 5. “*Sir Samuel Aubrey,” of The Aubreys, of Grendon and Clehonger. Sir Samuel Aubrey was High Sheriff of the county in 1622. He lived at Grendon, near Ross, and married a daughter and coheiress of Sir William Rudhall of Rud- hall. A black marble tablet in the Cathedral records their many virtues after the manner of the period. Lady Jocosa Aubrey died first, July 12th, 1638, and Sir Samuel lovingly wrote :— “ Could dull words speak what buried here doth lie, *T would raise both envy and idolatry. "Twas an exchequer throng’d with so much good, The age that lost it never understood ; Just Heaven, finding 'twas but envied here, Left us the casket, fix’d the jewel there.” Sir Samuel Aubrey died May 19th, 1645, and of him it is said :— “ He who did never lodge within his breast Dishonour, baseness, or self-interest ; The just man’s friend, the poor man’s treasury, The oppress’d man’s patron in extremity, Lies here.—Reader ! if now thou grudge a tear, Find some more worthy object—spend it there.” 6. “Sir Giles Brydges” was High Sheriff for the county in 1625. He was created a Baronet May 17th, 1627. He lived at Wilton Castle, Ross, and would thus be well situated to afford help on the route. 7. ‘*My Lady Bodenham” was probably the relict of Sir Roger Bodenham, who is said to have been cured of some grave disorder by a pilgrimage to Saint Winifred’s Well, in Flintshire, now called Holywell; and in consequence of his miraculous restoration, he and his family returned to the fold of the Roman faith, which they had previously left. 8. ‘Mr. Howarth” was a neighbour residing at the Whitehouse, near Turnastone. The last of the family was a daughter, who married a Mr. Wood, of Leominster, and his grandson, Mr. Herbert Howarth Wood, now lives at the Whitehouse, “ec my 276 9. The Morehampton Estate was sold by the late Sir Hungerford Hoskyns, Bart., to the late Mr. Hamp, and is now again in the market. APPENDIX III.—THE PossEssoRS OF WHITFIELD.—In the 17th century Whitfield was in possession of the Pye family of the Mynde, and was sold in 1754-5 to Mr. Booth, a conveyancer of eminence, and a friend of Lord Mansfield (see Campbells Lives.) He first made Whitfield into a residence, lived there for some time, quarrelled with his neighbours—and especially with Scudamore of Kentchurch—about roads, and eventually sold the place in 1775 to Lady Catherine Stanhope, daughter of the last Duke of Chandos, and grandmother of Sir Edwyn F. S. Stanhope, and of the late Sir Hungerford Hoskyns, Bart., of Harewood. In 1798 the late E. B. Clive, Esq., bought it, and at once removed there. The estate of Wormbridge came into the possession of the Clive family by the marriage of George Clive, of Stych (Salop), in 1656 with the heiress of Martin Husband. He was grandfather of Judge Clive and great grandfather of the first Lord Clive. Wormbridge House was pulled down in 1798, A part of the offices only remain, and are now made into a school and school-house. The stables on the opposite side of the turnpike road—(now happily just freed from turnpikes !)—have been converted into a farm-house. The church at Wormbridge contains the monuments of most of the possessors of the property. It was cased with stone, the tower rebuilt, and the inside repaired between the years 1850 and 1860 as recorded on a painted window in the vestry. 277 “698T ‘1912 Arenigey ‘projer0 ‘S'D'd ‘ATTWUNO “LY « ‘a'W "ITN “*D ee imine bel sail ale at “AVAOSVAAT, ‘NOSdNOHL YOAHLUV “PL ‘SLT PEF ‘48010, U] O44 YIM “YUvg ssuIAVg projolo}y oY} ul pozsodeg 6 6t eae 6 6L &als 00 8 see on ase ee tee £1e401009 queysissy “ce Ga atone Os “99 ‘garedor ‘syuouMaysuy Teotsopo10940]" ** 0118 ‘“ “ OR Buyuiug orydessoqyry ‘uog y w0ueg * 0 LI 9 oe aoe oe wee (907) §}008UT jo 83N9poo A, “ 0 6Le “ (‘BAL *L) 91098 pus poom wo sayOZOHIg “ OGap se." eh 999 Tadry ‘uostyomyy Jo osvgoing “* r FP § a #9 a I9INSvaLy, 04 enp couse © ZL ‘'SURDeA ‘IW ‘a —uowmoxg feoruvjog jo sosuedxgy “* || 0 0 OF * = 42 ase “ yueg ssuLaeg paoyoroyxy ** OL ZL OL °" see see “ see ee one 89ST € 9 see one one SUOBIZSNIT] OJ poatooor yunoury “ (80013 puv [vorFopoox)) sydvafoqoyg ‘uog yorompey “* || 0 0 9 “* stoMovsuvry, Jo sordoo oreds IOJ poatooor yey ** 0 OL re: eee oe cen vos one sawyy plo Orr iae “"* GOST 0741p 0441p omiq -ala7T ‘(GZZ) S98T TOF SSuyVooWT PLLA Xts josysodoy “ || 0 O T “" ~" 998T _O94Ip 0941p og * 9 € BT (sduptqd) ‘o7 ‘sdwezg ‘Arau0rye4g ‘syunoyy ‘savjnormy 0: Ob Zio “* JOST Io} Poateoar suotydiiosqng jo savoury ‘ IL 6 OL o8vtiwo pure ‘suorovsuery, Jo souNjoA 70Z Sutpurg “* 00 0L “* SloqUIOM AOU (Z WOT} poatoood soouvaqguy “‘ 6 SL ZL LOST ‘stomovsuvay, toy sydvasojoyg ‘uog zy orompery ‘ O20. Fare ‘Y nes Q9ST 10 poatooor suorduiosqng ** OBVSCL= as ag + = “* sung, plofala Ay ee as eu a “" spuey sdomsvory ur 074g “ (00z) ‘ox ‘Buyooy lenuuy jo sordoo pus sytodey Mg | T 610 ~~ Mi “' yueg [CIOULAOIT [VUOT¥eN UT eOUNTYg OT ps 5 "m0 ‘p 8 F “ad ‘SO8T ‘ISIS UMANAOAC ONIGNA UVAA 94} 10} SLNQOOOOV J° LNAWALVLS re OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1869. President: JAMES RANKIN, Esq., M.A., Bryngwyn, Hereford. Vice-Presidents: Joun H, Arxwricut, Esq., Hampton Court. Arrnur ArmitaGp, Esq., Dadnor, Ross. The Rev. James Davies, M.A., Moor Court, Kington, Dr. M’Cuttoven, Larchfield, Abergavenny. Honorary Secretary: The Rev. Sir Geo. H. Cornnwatt, Bart., Moccas, Hereford. Central Committee: Dr. Buut, Hereford. T. Curry, Esq., F.G.S., Hereford. Joun Lioyp, Esq., Huntington Court, Hereford. Assistant Secretary and Treasurer: Mr. Artur THompson, King-street, Hereford. FIELD MEETINGS APPOINTED oi 1869. 1.—Taourspay, May 20TH. ...........0-00 00 Wall Hills and Ledbury. (To meet the Malvern Club.) 2.—Fripay, JUNE 20TH. ..........++00 ss oleae spvdseies Ves ie * he) “he, eM = tiste stress Pe aarer acess Seen So er ees Sane ee a ee eS