PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES....PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. DUBMN MlCEOSOOPICA ClTJBL . 29th April, 1870. REV. EUGEN O'MEAEE exhibiteA d specimens of G-omplionema balticum (Cleve), kindly

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

DUBMN MlCEOSOOPICAL ClTJB.

29th April, 1870.

REV. EUGENE O'MEAEA exhibited specimens of G-omplionemabalticum (Cleve), kindly supplied to him by Herr Cleve himself, therebeing, therefore, no possible doubt about the identity of the form.The point to which Mr. O'Meara wished, however, to draw attentionwas that there existed well-marked transverse strife, as well as acentral nodule, characteristics which are not described nor figuredby Cleve, so that his account of this species requires this importantcorrection.

Mr. Archer exhibited several Desmidiese rarely met with, and oneat least new, taken on a recent visit to Kylemore, County Galvvay,in company with Professor E. Perceval Wright. Amongst thesewas to be noticed Sphmrozosma secedens (de Bary), a form not yetrecorded, so far as Mr. Archer was aware, by any other observer,nor hitherto detected by himself. Though referred to the genusSphserozosma by de Bary, this form belongs properly to de Breb-issons' genus Spondylosium. On this latter genus de Bary makesno further comment in his work (' Untersuchungeu Tiber die Con-jugaten ') beyond simply quoting de Brebisson's original descriptionin Latin (' Ijiste des Desmidiees observees en Basse-Normandie'),and adding the remark," unknown to me." The minute connecting-processes between the joints characteristic in Sphserozosma are wantingin Spondylosium, and, simple as this distinction may be, it yet seemsto be of value, and even Dr. Wallich seems to have seen the necessityfor such a genus when he instituted the genus Leuronema (' Ann. ofNat. Hist.,' 3rd ser., vol.v, pp. 186 and 193), which corresponds nearlycompletely with Spondylosium, to which name Dr. Wallich's must,therefore, seemingly give way. I t is true, indeed, that some of thedescribed forms referred to Leuronema (Wallich) are three-angled intransverse vieV, whilst others, like the known European and Britishforms, are plane. Still, even the three-angled forms could not becorrectly kept out of the genus Spondylosium on that ground merely,just as we have compressed as well as angular species in the genusDesmidium, and even in Staurastrum. There could be no doubt ofthe identity of the form now shown with that of de Bary ; if therewas any difference traceable it would be the slight concavity shownin his figure at the top or end of the segments was less expressed inthe present specimens.

Another desmid new to Britain, shown by Mr. Archer, from thesame locality, was the form designated by Prof.Wittrock Staurastrum

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lave, var. Clevei. Side by side with the examples Mr. Archershowed that author's figure ("Anteckningar om Skandinaviens Des-midiaceer," Upsala, 1869, p. 18, fig. 9, a and b, in 'Nova ActaSociet. Upsal.,' vol. vii), which is excellent, and leaving not thesmallest doubt of the identity of the two forms. Whether, indeed,the very elegant form in question might or might not really morecorrectly be regarded as quite distinct from St. lave (Ralfs), Mr.Archer felt unable to do otherwise than leave the point in abeyance,as it would be premature in him to venture to speak decidedly, ashe had not yet had an opportunity to see veritable examples of thetypical St. lave (Ralfs) ; still, he suspected they would provedistinct. The present form is an exceedingly elegant one—indeed,far prettier than one might think from the figure merely.

Mr. Archer also showed examples of Dr. Barker's new Stauras-trum, first detected by him at G-lengarifF, and called St. elongatum('Minutes Dubl. Micros. Club,' in 'Quart. Journ. Micros. Sci.,' vol.ix, n. s., p. 424). The specimens now exhibited from Kylemore, Con-nemara, though comparatively few, were more numerous than theyhad occurred in any gathering made at Glengariff. I t must, however,be accounted a rare and scanty form, and, so far as experience goes,seeming confined to our western districts.

Mr. Archer likewise showed a new species of Euastrum, fromKylemore, County Galway; this he had taken on a former occasionat Glengariff, but he had not had an opportunity to exhibit aspecimen, nor did he record it pending seeing the figure of ProfessorCleve's JEuastrum intermedium. Thanks to that gentleman, hepossessed a copy of his paper, and there could hardly be a doubt butthat the present form was quite distinct therefrom. The formswhich most resemble the present are, however, undoubtedly E. inter-medium (Cleve) and E. ansatum (Ehr.) ; this latter commonspecies Mr. Archer exhibited side by side for sake of contrast andcomparison. I t would be of little value to give here a descriptionof this form, unaccompanied by a figure. This he would postponefor a little, till time permitted to put together this and a few othernew forms he had in view. I t would suffice here to mention that thethickened prominences on all the protuberant parts, and the thickenedrounded elevation on each front surface of the segments, which aredotted, coupled with the small size of this form and its broadeneddepressed segments, all combined, would render it not readily to bemistaken for any other described Euastrum.

Professor E. Perceval "Wright desired to mention that on micro-scopical examination of a section of the so-called MyreosteonHigginsii (Gray) the organism appeared to be some part of the bonyskeleton of a fish.

Dr. Pearsall exhibited slides containing material taken from thestomach of a trout from the Annamoe River, Co. Wicklow. Somespicules were noticeable, also various diatoms. Amongst the latterMr. O'Meara identified Ilimantidium undulatum, Navicula rhom-hoides, and Tetracyolus emarr/inattis, which last, he said, was of veryrare occurrence in Ireland, never himself having taken specimens.

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Mr. Archer desired to record the occurrence near Kylemore,County Gralway, of the remarkable and curious organism of" Labyrinthulean " affinity, first detected in, as yet, but a single poolonly in the County Westmeath (and briefly referred to in the minutesof the Club in this Journal, vol. x, n. s., p. 303); this station at adistance of close on 150 miles from the first at which it was found,thus widely extending the limits in Ireland of this form. I t is pos-sible, indeed, now that we know this production so far as to recogniseit when seen, that it may be more common and widely-spread thanwe might suppose from its having been encountered in as yet butthe two localities ; these are, as is seen, however, widely remote. I twould be of little value to expatiate here, further than has alreadybeen done, without figures, upon this singular form, beyond a mererecord of a new locality, as to do so would require more space thancould be available in Minutes like these, as well as reference to Cien-kowski's account of the marine forms, to which the present offers somuch resemblance, of an opportunity to do which, however, Mr.Archer hoped to avail himself on some future occasion.

19th May, 1870.Dr. John Barker exhibited a piece of apparatus contrived by

him for the purpose of catching atmospheric dust for microscopicexamination, consisting of fanners enclosed in a tube, worked by ahandle at the side, these destined to carry removable slips of glass,moistened with glycerine, in order to retain the deposit.

Dr. Barker also exhibited examples of an (Edogonium, doubtlessCEdogonium punctato-striatum (de Bary), distinguished by the cell-wall beiug marked by spiral strise of a dotted character, these finelyand closely set; these seen in an empty cell, through and through,the upper and lower striss being nearly in focus simultaneously, pre-sented a somewhat decussate appearance. The examples now shownwere not in fruit, rendering it impossible to say whether thischaracteristic of the filament itself accompanied any speciality of thefertile condition.

Mr. Crowe presented examples of Stephanosphcera plwoialis,accompanied by Uvella, from the Bray-Head Station—always prettyobjects—the former interesting, as no further station had as yetbeen found in Ireland. Surely it cannot be restricted to that singlelocality, however ?

Dr. Moore exhibited examples of a confervoid growth of a reddishcolour, growing in tufts on the apices of the leaves of Hypnuinstraminewm, and having much of the appearance of a distinct alga,the moss with these appendages presenting a remarkable appearance.Notwithstanding, however, their seeming want of affinity with themoss upon which these tufts of filaments were attached, and thestriking constancy with which they were confined to the extremitiesof the leaves, it is most likely they were truly protonematousgrowths, probably derived from the Hypnum itself by germinationof spores, or—from the chances against the spores always alightingat the ends of the leaves—could they, on the other hand, be terminal

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cells themselves, giving off these filaments, just as some mosses cangive off buds, a supposition, favoured by their constancy of situa-tion ? The septa between the joints were oblique, the cell-wallreddish, thus agreeing in character with certain " protonemata,"and antagonistic to the assumption that this was an independentalgal growth; but still it so may be, and in this latter view Dr.Moore was inclined to acquiesce.

Mr. Woodworth exhibited some fine micro-photographs whichhad been sent him from America by Colonel Woodward, executed bythat gentleman, including (on various scales) the whole of Mb'ller'stype-slide of 100 diatoms, and all very sharp and beautiful.

Kev. E . O'Meara showed a slide of diatoms from African guano,supplied to Mr. Early, of the Chemical Laboratory, TrinityCollege. The material was cleaned by incineration, a process whichin this case was most effective. Amongst the forms presented wasa fine specimen of Oosdnodiscus Mbssianus.

Mr. Archer showed examples of Slaurastrum maamense (ejus),and of Micrasterias fimbriata (Ralfs), both rare, and found in therecent gatherings from Connemara. The former is, as yet, altogetherwestern. The latter occurs very scantily, and only seldom en-countered, in County Wicklow and in County Westmeath.

2Srd June, 1870.Dr. Moore showed a preparation of the " collecting hairs"

clothing the filaments of the stamens of a species of Bulbenia,forming a pretty and interesting object. These hairs presented adense mass radiating from the " filament" all round, of considerablelength, unicellular, and terminating in a somewhat clavate extremity,their walls marked by finely set, closely wound, spiral stri». Theselatter, when viewed on a hair much collapsed, and then seen simul-taneously on both upper and lower surfaces, presenting a decussateappearance. I t could not be well made out whether these spiralstriae were due to a spiral marking or structure in the cell-wall, or tosecondary fibres. Whether viewed under a low power as a whole,or more magnified to see the strise, this formed an exceedingly prettyobject.

Mr. Archer presented several examples of the conjugated state,showing the zygospores, of Stawastrumfurcigerum (Auct.) = Didy-mocladonfurcigerum(RsiVs). This had never before been recorded,although this fine species, whilst never abundant, is seemingly notamongst the rarities. The zygospore is rather large compared tothe dimensions of the pair of conjugating cells in this species, orbi-cular, beset (but not very closely) by rather long and slender spines,these broadest at the base, whence they quickly taper into a linearshaft, and they are twice or thrice branched at the apex. Thus theyare not exactly like those of any already known species, and theyform a singularly elegant object.

Dr. Traquair showed preparations of the scales of Calamoicthys,being various sections well calculated to show the histological details,

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and were those illustrative of his recent paper on this subject in the'Annals of Natural History.'

Dr. Purser exhibited two microscopes—one by Nachet, the otherby Hartnack—his principal object being to show the immersionlenses of those makers, which have gained so great a celebrity on theContinent. Dr. Purser claimed that they admit more light, have agreater working distance, and require much less pains in the illumina-tion, than non-immersion lenses of the same power.—Dr. Purserlikewise exhibited a stage upon which objects could be kept at anelevated temperature whilst under examination. He further showedsome preparations illustrative of the use of chloride of gold andnitrate of silver in histological research.

Mr. Archer drew attention to the most abundant gathering of theunicellular alga, Polyedrium lobulatum (Nag.), he had met with,noteworthy, perhaps, as this not uncommon form generally occursseemingly rather isolated. From another gathering he showeduncommonly large examples of a Polyedrium, more approaching themore rare Polyedrium tetraedricum (N"ag.), but the angles morerounded, and without spinea. I t may remain a question if this bereally a distinct thing. Only for its (comparatively) large size(about - J J V in diam.) one might be inclined to regard this asPolyedrium mutieum (Al. Braun), which, however, is recorded asonly . ^ mm. in diam. (Al. Braun, in ' Algarum unicell. Generanova,' &c, p. 94, in note).

Dr. Moore showed the beautiful and curious aquatic moss Cono-mitrium Julianum in various stages of development, which madevery interesting microscopical objects in a young state. When thecalyptra almost envelopes the whole capsule the bright purpleteeth of the peristome are seen through it to good effect, and whenmore advanced and the calyptra removed the pyriform capsule withpointed lid is also a pretty object. Dr. Moore mentioned that hewas indebted to W. Wilson, Esq., of Warrington, the veteran mus-cologist, for the possession of this rare moss, which he was cultivat-ing successfully in one of the small conservatories in the BotanicGarden, in ajar filled with water. From his experience he believedit would be most valuable for cultivating in small fresh-wateraquaria, in a similar manner as J?ontinalis antipyretica or dnclidotusfontinaloides are now grown, but much prettier than either.

21st July, 1870.Mr. Crowe showed a Cosmarium from near Multyfarnham, which

seems most likely to be new; it may be said to be medium-sized,its segments elliptic, longer than broad, rough with minute pearlygranules ; end-view circular; constriction shallow, acute. This israther a difficult form to decide upon ; it resembles somewhat C.ctmcenum.

Mr. Archer mentioned he had taken this Cosmarium both atMultyfarnham and at Glengariff the previous spring, but had keptib in abeyance until he might become acquainted with O. amcenum,and compare both with G. cylindricum.

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Rev. E. O'Meara showed a slide of diatoms collected lat. 3 south,and long. 15 west, upon which he would more enlarge hereafter ;he likewise showed an unidentified Synedra from a well atBallinasloe, which he thought likely to turn out new, of which,however, more on a future occasion.

Mr. Archer drew attention to some examples of a production notin itself very attractive as a microscopic object, but on account of itsincapability of being identified as to what it was or to what belonged,might possess some interest until those points should be decided,when, perchance, indeed it might turn out to be something suffi-ciently commonplace. He had noticed it first at Kylemore,Connemara, but had seen it since in several other places. Occa-sionally, at first glance under a moderate power, it might be takenfor some elongate form of diatom, but that it certainly was not. Theclosest examination that could be bestowed upon it seemed to showthat this was composed of a hyaline, somewhat tough, smooth andcolourless membranous substance, which is folded longitudinally ina scroll-like manner. If formed of a membrane really so folded, itwould appear as if it must be of a more or less circular outline, or ofsome such shape, and possessing a gradually diminishing width, theedge, which ultimately sticks out when folded, being curved orrounded. And that this is most likely so would appear from thefact that at each end of the object could, be seen a zigzag line as ifformed by the edge of the supposed longitudinally folded membrane,whilst, moreover, along the edges of the scroll several series of linescould be seen, each terminating where begins a zigzag line, theselongitudinal lateral lines seemingly indicating the bounds of the folds.Further, mostly there appears a lateral wing-like projection, pre-sumably the last uncoiled outer rounded edge of the membrane, thesewing-like projections gradually diminishing in width till terminatingat the beginning of the first or innermost zigzag lines. All thespecimens presented these characteristics; in some might be seenthis wing-like portion broader than in others, indicating a partialunfolding or less completed folding, or two wing-like projections, asif the sheet of membrane were doubled up the middle, then coiled,and both flaps left outwards. No contents or living portion couldbe noticed. If we take an elliptical piece of semi-transparent paperand fold it longitudinally, causing each fold as it is made to bevery slightly wider than the preceding, finally leaving the lastrounded portion of the paper projecting, and then hold the scrollthus made between the eyes and the light, the seeming structureand appearance of this (under a low power) somewhat Nitzschia-likeobject will to a great extent be realised. To this attempt to conveyan idea of the thing or portion of thing now in question must besuperadded that the examples are sometimes, though rarely, metwith cohering or united in twos by the ends, and Mr. Archer men-tioned that he had seen some instances in which four examples wereso united in a parallelogram, enclosing a quadrangular space betweenthem ; or two or three scrolls are sometimes somewhat irregularlyappended together, thus, indeed, losing their quasi-diatornaceous

VOL. XI. NEW SER. G

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aspect. So far only did observation as regards this not very strikingbut puzzling production reach. If a folded membrane actually,whence does it originate? If the exuvium of any creature, whatpower folds it into these seemingly methodically made-up scrolls ?If it be such a " s k i n " or "cell-wall" of any organism, where arethe living parts or the "contents"? The very inexplicability ofthis production would be Mr. Archer's excuse for drawing attentionto an object so very unattractive to look a t ; indeed, he had toapologise for adding one more to the crude nondescripts he hadbefore now drawn attention to, but perchance a record of such mighteduce from others some elucidation of a thing, it may be, verysimple, though just now here to us, possibly from oversight or mis-apprehension, extremely enigmatical.

Dr. John Barker exhibited a large and handsome form of Euglena(which latter, indeed, all the forms are), which he was disposed toidentify as Euglena geniculata (Duj.). I t seemed, however, toagree with the forms referred to Euglena spirogyra (Ehr.) byCarter (in ' Ann. TSTat. Hist.,' n.s., vol. xviii, pi. vii, fig. 87) inseveral details. The present form was large, of very slow motions,flexible, but not metabolic, prismatic in section and twisted; nuclearbody central; "glair-cells" (Carter) two, one before and one behind thenucleus, these elongate, straight-sided with rounded ends, eye-specklarge, body spirally striate, striae uninterrupted (that is, not dotted),tail long, straight, obliquely set. Thus this agreed with Carter'sfigure, save that that does not depict the spiral stride. But thedescription of Euglena geniculata and E. spirogyra attribute cylin-drical or depressed, bodies to those forms, whereas here it was pris-matic. In this latter character, then, it agreed with the Fhacustripteris (Duj.) so called, but that form is described as withoutstriae. In this confused condition appears to be the identification ofthese handsome forms.

Dr. John Barker showed specimens from County Westmeath ofa very pretty alga-form, found in Ireland but once only before byMr. Archer, and, doubtless, the Jlormospora transversalis (Bre'b.).Dr. Barker was disposed, however, to think it distinct therefrom,and it certainly differs from de Brebisson's figure by the cells beingstouter and more broadly elliptic, and not having the tendencyto become grouped in fours within the characteristic investingmucous tube; but it coincides with the woodcut figure given inRabenhorst's ' Flora Europtea Algarum Aqus9 dulcis et submarine^.'These very pretty examples were, at all events, quite identical withthose previously taken by Mr. Archer at Kilbride, County Wicklow;it is seemingly rare.

Mr. Vickers showed examples of growing grapes attacked by thevine-fungus, and exhibited the strings of spores under higherpowers.

18tk August, 1870.Rev. E. O'Meara exhibited and made some remarks on various

specimens of the diatoms furnished in Herr Eulenstein's ' First

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Century 1 just published, referring to the great interest of manywhich had already been very useful to himself, as well as to the greatelegance of the preparations, one and all.

Mr. Archer showed fine examples of that handsome rotatorianNoteus quadricornis, which, at least in our walks, appears to be arare form. He also showed Anwrea heptodon, seemingly not common,and some other forms.

Mr. Archer showed various species of Euglena and Phacus in con-tradistinction, which presented themselves in a rather fortunatecollection for these forms; some of these it was not an easymatter to identify; Dujardin's figures do not appear sufficientlygraphie in certain cases. Amongst those shown attention wasdrawn to a much twisted form of Phaotis longicauda; this oftenoccurs with one twist, but the present examples were three or moretimes twisted, and, moreover, presented the characteristic of possess-ing a keel- or wing-like projection upon one face, giving the formstill -more of a screw-like aspect, and forming a pretty object as itprogressed along, turning on its axis as it went, and presenting avaried outline as it revolved. This could not be regarded as elsethan a form of Phacus lonqicauda, and might seemingly go to indicatethat Phacus triqueira {Euglena triquetra, Ehr.) and Phacus.pleurenectes (Nitzsch) were but one and the same. These were bothshown in the water, as well as that most tiny and, perhaps, mostelegant of all, Phacus pyrwn {Euglena pyruwi, Ehr.). I t wouldseem, perhaps, even to further indicate that the form broughtforward a-t last meeting by Dr. Barker, considered by him to beEuglena geniculata, and now again shown for comparison, may bothe representative of but one truly distinct farm only, called by thevarious names of E. geniculata, E. spirogyra, and even Phacustripteris, supposing the striae on examples of the latter to havebeen overlooked. There is, however, a considerably smaller form,than these, darker in colour, the skin brownish and thicker, and, aboveall, distinguished by the spirals being due to rows of thickened dot-Jike prominences, not uninterrupted minute ridges ; this form Mr.Areher showed side by side in the present gathering, so fortunate forforms appertaining here. If this latter be the true E. spirogyra,then Dujardin's figure is erroneous in presenting the striae as linearridges, not as rows of conspicuous dots. This latter form occurs inseveral places. There was also shown a very elegant form, pro-bably the Euglena acus (Ehr.). This is long, slender, fusiform,not flexible, swimming along by no means slowly ; eye-speck ratherlarge- and bright red, anterior extremity truncate, " tail acute ; this,in outline of the anterior extremity, might somewhat call to mindthe aspect of a " pipe-fish," without its flexibility. All these are,however, hard to discriminate, but, nevertheless, appear to be prettyconstant to themselves. And besides certain specialities of theexternals, those of the contents appear to be often characteristic too.Still, how far these are actually " specific" in their importance,though seemingly constant in their recurrence, would require a greatdeal more experience and research to determine.

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29th September, 1870.Read letter from Dr. J. M. Currier, Newport, Orleans County,

Vermont, U.S., proposing to exchange 'The Archives of Science andTransactions of the Orleans County Society of Natural Sciences ' forthe ' Proceedings' of this Club, and offering to furnish objects inexchange.

Resolved, that the foregoing proposal be, with thanks, accepted.Mr. Vickers exhibited a "mechanical finger" which he had just

designed and himself constructed for the purpose of assisting in theremoval of individual diatoms under the microscope in order to mountthem separately, by means of holding the " cover " intended toreceive the specimen in such a sloped position in focus of a lowpower of the microscope as would be suited to conveniently receivethe example to be mounted, first on the edge of the cover so held,and then pushed up to its centre and final position by the hand. '

Mr. Tickers also exhibited stereoscopic transparencies taken withdifferent parts of the same lens ; these, when transposed, had a pseu-doscopic effect, proving that there is a real difference in pictures soproduced. He therefore inferred that the images presented in thebinocular microscope, being obtained in the same way, have a realdifference, though produced by the one lens ; hence the conclusionsarrived at by appearance in the binocular microscope should beconsidered reliable.

Mr. Crowe again showed Stephanosplicera pluvialis from theoriginal site, thus probably later in the year than it had hithertobeen seen.

Rev. E. O'Meara exhibited a new and very handsome Pinnularia,of which he would soon furnish due description under the name ofPinnularia Tickersii. The same gathering (from stomachs ofAscidians, Roundstone Bay) afforded other fine forms ; amongst thespecies presented was Donkvnia compacta.

Mr. Archer mentioned having met with for the first time theseemingly cosmopolitan, but certainly not abundant, little alga, bestknown, perhaps, under the name Botrydium argillaceum (Wallr.),but, doubtless, more properly called Hydrogastrum granulatum(Desv.), the latter name having the priority. He had often lookedfor this little denizen of the muddy bottoms of partially or nearlydried-up pools, but, strange to say, never before encountered it,though, no doubt, it will be found, under suitable circumstances, invarious parts of the country. These specimens were taken from thebottom of the large pool to right of " Rocky "Valley," near Bray,a pool so large and deep that he had often wished for a boat toexplore its middle weedy parts; but this unprecedently dry summerhad dried it up so nearly completely that you could traverse thewhole site through and through, finding only here and there a fewdamp, not wet, spots.

Mr. Archer brought for exhibition two new species of Staurastrum,one of Cosmarium (descriptions deferred), as well as the rare formsClosterium prcelongum (Breb.), Desmidium aptogonwm (Br6b.)

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101(the plane variety—this he had only once obtained before, and itappears rare), also Sphcerozosma filiforme (Ehr.). As time waslimited, however, he would not now dilate on these, but pass on totwo rhizopodous forms which would nob keep.

Mr. Archer then exhibited a form of rhizopod new to Britain, andwhich he had encountered for the first time about a year ago, atfirst thinking, until he had had an opportunity to see Bailey's paperin full, that it must be a new form; it is, at all events, one verydistinct; there, however, could be extremely little or no doubt butthat this was truly none else than Bailey's Pamphagus mutabilisC American Journal of Science and Arts,' vol. xv, 2nd series, May,1853). I t would seem, at all events, sufficiently interesting todetect on this side of the Atlantic so singular a form, the presentbeing only the second instance, so far as Mr. Archer was aware, ofits record, thus, after being lost to observation for eighteen years,possibly ignored by some as an apocryphal species. Bailey's nume-rous figures, it is true (loc. cit.), are but poor, being only roughwoodcuts, yet there could hardly be a doubt, from his general de-scription, but that the form now shown was that hvmgry species,though the varied shapes assumed by B a i l ' s specimens were nothere presented, possibly owing to the food occurring in the poolswhence these examples came being more compact morsels than theelongate confervoid filaments taken in by Bailey's specimens, thusproducing less outward distortion. I t was curious, however, to notethe extraordinary variety and quantity of the most diverse preywhich these insatiable examples of rhizopodous life had captured—diatoms, desmids, infusoria, algee (detached confervoid joints andprotococcoids), in fact, everything manageable, ultimately denselyand closely packed when fully digested. A new point worthrecording is the possession by this form of a large elliptic so-called"nucleus," like that of Amceba, but this is surely not at all anAmoeba. I ts very long and linear branching and fitful pseudopodia(issuing from the broad end of a normally rather large pyriformbody) cause it more nearly to approach the genus Plagiophrys(Clap, et Lachmann) ; but though it may be said to have a kind ofskin, it does not appear to possess the distinct hyaline test-like coatof the form which Mr. Archer would refer to Plagiophrys sphcerica(Clap, et Lachm.). The examples are very rare, and found as yetonly in one or two pools in County Westmeath, but Mr. Archerhoped not to lose sight of it, this record being enough for fugitiveMinutes ; still, if future gatherings should present suitable specimensit would, no doubt, be worth while to try and make a sketch of thismost insatiable of gluttons, the highest goal of whose existence, atwhich some even seem to arrive, would actually appear to be tolive its gormandizing life and then to die of sheer repletion.

Mr. Archer further showed some examples of another sufficientlyremarkable rhizopod, which at first glance would be accounted anAmceba, but which, on closer examination, showed a speciality whichwould seem to place it apart. Under ordinary circumstances, stillless than Amoeba proper, did it show any projections or prolonga-

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tions that could be called pseudopodia. I t occurs of very varieddimensions, from a minute size even up to a diameter, spread upon-a slide, of as much as one fourth of an inch. Some of those evennow uuder view covered a space of ^yth or -J-th of an inch across, asthey lay spread for observation on the slide. The more minuteexamples maintained more or less of an oval figure, and progressedalong (in a manner similar to an Amoeba Umax or an Amoebavillosa) with no inconsiderable amount of locomotive power. Thelarger examples, forming a little whitish patch on a slide, presentedan indefinitely lobed figure, with only slow and very gradual changesof outline. Such specimens showed a considerable tendency to openup into holes of varying sizes, several of which could be sometimesseen in a single individual. All the examples were characterised bya thick and hyaline, and seemingly comparatively unyielding and, 30to say, somewhat tough " ectosarc," this very smoothly bounded,never falling into folds or inequalities, but occasionally spreading inshallow waves, the " endosare" keeping equidistant, thus maintaininga sharply bounded, very hyaline, narrow rim-like border to the body-mass, as well all round the exterior as around the boundaries of theholes or apertures formed through and through the body. Theendosare was of a nature seemingly different from that of atypical Amoeba, in that it presented an alveolar or quasi-cellularappearance quite comparable to that of Actinosphceriwn Eiclihornii,but no trace of " cortical" or " central " strata or regions. In allthis, however, there may not be much to distinguish this from anAmoeba-form ; however, Mr. Archer, on more than one previousoccasion on which he had seen it, had looked in vain for the so-called" nucleus," which should appertain to a typical Ameeba. Thepresent examples proved, he regretted to say, that he had previouslygiven this form a far too hasty examination, for here were multitudesof nuclei. As is well known, in an ordinary Amoeba proper there iabut a single "nucleus," and the examples now shown were sufficientto arouse attention. The nuclei here were far more minute and dif-ferent in appearance from that of an Amoeba. In a word, they formedlittle round, bodies lodged in the angles between the areolse quite likethose of Actinosphceriuvi JSiehhornii, and like them they compara-tively quickly take a deep red colour under treatment of Beale's Oar-mine Solution; but, as was mentioned, the body showed no corticalmargin. Numerous and varied objects were here and there imbeddedin the body-mass incepted as food. Now, if this form should turn outa really distinct type, that may be said to bear (to a certain extent)a relationship to Ameeba similar to that of ActinosphcBriumjEichhornii to Actinophrys sol. I t is well known, however, thatAetinosphwrium JSiehJiornii possesses the faculty or tendency tobecome fused several into one, and such examples are sometimes metwith ; indeed, Mr. Archer had just seen five of different sizes partiallyfused into a common mass, each, however, maintaining to a certainextent an individuality, and the external borders of the so-united exam-ples keeping their rounded outline. Mr. Archer had brought downspecimens showing this phenomenon, but time did not allow him to

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produce them. Such examples present a very conspicuous appear-ance, and rival the dimensions attained by the form now exhibited,But the latter is without pseudopodia, the whole endosarc beingalike through and through, and is bounded by the conspicuousthickened hyaline " ectosarc," but no " cortical" border. It is truethat across the holes which originate in the larger specimens whenspread upon a slide there are sometimes temporarily stretchedslender thread-like sarcode emanations from one side to the other,proceeding from the border-like " ectosarc," for so it is, though notki the normal external position. But these thread-like extensionssoon snap across and become obliterated, and do not appear to pos-sess the seeming axis penetrating into the body-mass characteristicin Actinosphserium. Further, at one portion of the border in some,of the examples could be seen what seemed to be a localised stilfurther thickening of the " ectosarc," showing in its substancevertical lines, as it were indications or roots (so to speak) of villi,thus with a certain amount of the appearance, though without allthe characters, of a " villous patch." Thus, though it cannot beaverred that this may not be a whole congeries of individuals ofActinosphserium combined into one and considerable amount of modi-fication of the, so to say, structural or histological characters under-gone, yet it would seem that the considerations drawn attention towould rather point to the present form representing a distinct type,and, as has been mentioned, one bearing such a relationship to Amoebaas is that to a certain extent (only) of Aotinosphtsrium JEiohhorniito A.otinoplirys sol. The question arises, has this form been recordedbefore, and what can be supposed to be its position ? Whether itmay ultimately prove a distinct type or not, Mr. Archer had pre-viously thought it must be the same thing as that alluded to byGrreeff in a paper published in ' Schultze's Archiv fiir mikroskopischeAnatomie' for 1867, Bd. iii, p. 400, in a paper entitled " UeberActinophrys Eichhornii und einen neuen Siisswasser-rhizopoden,besonders in Eiicksicht auf Theilbarkeit derselben resp. Vermehrungdurch kiinstliche Theilung." The present, Mr. Archer ventured tothink, was most likely the " new freshwater rhizopod" referred to inthe paper alluded to, but not named or figured by Grreeff, who atbri-butes to it only a size reaching that of a " pin's head" (but, perSaps,there are pins and pins, little and big), the actual measure stated asbeing attained being 1-5 mm., which, however, shows his examplesreally fell short of some of the present in dimensions. GrreefPsaccount would seem to apply here very closely. In brief and sketchyminutes like the present it would be unadvisable to go into detailand narrate the particulars given by him; suffice it to mention thatonly in one circumstance did tlie present examples seem to fall shortof Greenes, and that was that the present had never shown theevolution of the problematic basillar or wand-like bodies (" stabfor-mige Kb'rperchen") referred to by Grreeff as having been evolvedfrom the " nuclei," and conjectured to represent spermatic elements.This form, large as many examples are, seems rare, and hence theopportunity to make observations upon it are not often presented.

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No doubt it is well worthy future research, and to that it must beleft. Greeff, in a note (p. 402), remarks that, " Regard being hadto its peculiar structure, the rhizopod in question cannot be relegatedto Amoebae proper, nor, on account of its Aniceba-like movements andwant of radiating pseudopodia, to the Actinophryans, but ratherrepresents a special form." And so it is, provided only it be not acongeries of individuals of ActinospJicsrium JEKchhornii (calledAotinophrys JEichhornii by Prof. Greeff—Mr. Archer would ventureto think wrongly, for that form is something a good deal more thanan Actinophrys) ; but under such a supposition it must be admittedthe specimens of Actinosphcsrium would have suffered much modi-fication, losing the most characteristic features and gaining others toan extent that would be sufficiently surprising. Doubtless Greeffwill ere long be in a position to shed a light upon this as yetenigmatic form, and so must it for the present be left inabeyance.

ROIAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.

October 12th, 1870.

Bead papers on the " Coralliospongia, or Anastomosing Sponges,"by Mr. W. S. Kent.

" On Aplanatic Illumination and Aplanatic Definition," by Dr.G. W. Eoyaton-Pigott.

At the reading of this paper Professor Huxley waa present.He said that being practically interested in researches such asthose which Dr. Pigott was conducting with so much ability,and having seen his paper in the ' Proceedings' of the RoyalSociety, he had been much struck by it, and being very muchin w*nt of means of looking through tolerably thick glass undera high magnifying power, he made it bis business to ask ProfessorStokes about Dr. Pigott. The reply was so favorable that hewrote to Dr. Pigott for assistance, by whom he was told to applyto Messrs. Powell and Lealand, who made an aplanatic searcherfor him; and he (Professor Huxley) having used it frequently,must bear witness that there was no sort of doubt as to the won-derful illuminating power it possessed, combined also with thegreat magnifying power which could be got out of a compara-tively low object-glass by the use of this instrument. But whenthe attempt was made to go farther, that is to say, when theinstrument was applied to deeper object-glasses (it might be fromwant of proper knowledge in the use of it), it did not seem to beof much use. It was an exceedingly important practical question

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at the present time, and he was inclined to think that in histo-logy, for the purpose of analysing organic structures, the existingmicroscopes were, as the Yankees would say, " played out." Wehave got as far as they will take us. He believed that a -g^tih didnot enable anybody to see anything which could not be seen witha good j^th of Ross. He considered these deep objectives to beeminently delusive, and they were so doubtless for the reasonswhich had been stated by Dr. Pigott. He could not doubt thatDr. Pigott had got on the right track of showing what was to bedone in the present state of affairs. Practically the nature ofthe question just now is whether, in an organic tissue, one couldtruly define a point not more than 3-3̂ 5 gtb. °f a n ' n c a iQ diameter.There was always that unhappy luminosity about the margins ofsuch objects, which he did not doubt arose from the causes whichDr. Pigott had pointed out. Histologists, he feared, were at theend of their work unless, by the aid of some such appliance asDr. Pigott had endeavoured to furnish, they could obtain micro-scopes which would euable them to separate two points the100,000th of an inch apart. Only then could they say whetherthe object was homogeneous or not. At present when theytalked about homogeneous solids or fluids, or attempted to defineau object like Bacterium, they were absolutely in cloudland. Hehad come to the meeting in the hope that he might hear thatsome light had been thrown upon this subject; and he did indeedtrust that Dr. Pigott had proceeded some way on the road towardsthe solution of the difficulty; at any rate, he had macadamizedthe road, and that was a great matter.

Dr. Pigott said he could well understand that so ardent aworker as Professor Huxley should feel the urgency of thosewants to which he had referred. He thought, however, he mightbe allowed to say that in correcting the aberration of objectives,if there was nothing else to point to than a power of varyingchromatic effects by means of the aplanatic searcher, a great im-provement would have been made. The object-glasses of thepresent year were greatly in advance of those of previous yearsas regards the correction of visible error which must thereforehave existed, however unsuspected and denied, for the very factof their present superiority is a conclusive answer to the ques-tion as to whether any improvement had been made.

Professor Huxley has published the following statement sincethe meeting:

" I have had the great advantage of applying the ' searcher'to deep objectives under Dr. Royston-Pigott's guidance, and Iam disposed to form a very much more favorable opinion of itautility."

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November 9th, 1870.

Bead papers " On Notes on the Minute Structure of InsectScales," by Mr. S. Mclntyre.

" On a new Species of Sponge," by Mr. W. S. Kent." Note on Fluorescence versus Pseudo-dichroism," by the Rev.

J. B. Eeade, President of the Society.

It is with great regret that we have to announce the death ofthe Rev. J. B. Reade, the President of this Society. He wasthoroughly devoted to scientific pursuits, and remarkable for hisurbane and courteous manner. He joined the MicroscopicalSociety in its infancy, and no one could more appropriately havefilled the Presidential chair.

MlOBOSOOPICAI, Cl/UB.

September 23rd, 1870.

Dr. LIONEL BEALE, P.R.S., in the Chair.

A paper was read " On the So-called Spontaneous Generation,"by Mr. Benjamin P. Lowne. This paper was followed by adiscussion of some length, in which the President took part. Dr.Beale avowed himself as entirely opposed to the doctrine ofspontaneous generation.

Documents

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES....PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. DUBMN MlCEOSOOPICA ClTJBL . 29th April, 1870. REV. EUGEN O'MEAEE exhibiteA d specimens of G-omplionema balticum (Cleve), kindly