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the world. Kearly everybody has fought shy of the Bdelloids ; 

 certainly no one else has taken a grasp of the whole group. One 

 reason, perhaps, is that it is sometimes necessary to watch for 

 hours, and sometimes even weeks, to see Bdelloids feed ; and it is 

 rarely possible for amateurs to expend so much time for this 

 purpose. Hitherto there was no real classification of this group. 

 That adopted from Ehrenberg's to the present time is purely 

 artificial. He had been urgently clamouring for this classification 

 for some years. The most important of all the groups dis- 

 tinguished by Mr. Bryce was the " pellet-makers." The difler- 

 euces between these and other Philodinidae are so radical as to be 

 possibly even family distinctions. It had been objected that 

 when one ceases to make use of the eye-spots it is very difficult 

 to identify the species, but he did not think the objection valid. 

 If it were required to make use of the eye-spots, it would be 

 possible to use an artificial key. He was very thankful that the 

 new classification was an accomplished fact. 



The Hon. Secretary read a paper by Mr. E. M. Nelson, 

 F.R.M.S., on " Xavicula rhomhoides and Allied Forms." In the 

 paper the author referred to the old controversy as to the identity 

 of the Amician test, and gave quotations from writings dated 

 1850 to 1855 to show that it was not Navicida rhomboid'es, and 

 agreed with Dr. Karop, who, in a paper read before this Club, 

 March 15th, 1895 {Journ. Q.Jf.C, Vol. VI., p. 75), expressed the 

 opinion that Prof. Amici had no one particular test in mind, and 

 that the test as known in America differed from that used 

 here. He (Mr. Nelson) suggested the use of a numerical ratio 

 by which the validity of doubtful ascriptions might be tested. 



A cordial vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Nelson for his 

 interesting paper. 



Mr. A. Earland gave an address on *' Arctic Types of Forami- 

 nifera in the North Sea." Geologically, the North Sea, as it 

 now exists, is of quite recent origin. Until very late Tertiary 

 times there was no connection with the warm Atlantic by way 

 of the English Channel. The North Sea was then an Arctic 

 sea. From an examination of the Foraminifera dredged by 

 the s.s. Goldseeher, some Arctic types were shown to be now sur- 

 viving under changed conditions, and that an immigration of 

 warm-water forms had taken place since the removal of the 

 land-barriers. Mr. Earland said that all the evidence derived 



Journ. Q. M. C, Series II. No. 67. 10 



