64 PROCEEDINGS OF TIIE ACADEMY OF [187 9. 



March 4. 

 Mr. Thos. Meehan, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Thirty-six persons present. 



March 11. 

 The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. 

 Forty persons present. 



The following papers were presented for publication : 



" On the Nudibranehiate Gasteropod Mollusca of the North 

 Pacific Ocean," by Dr. R. Bergh. 



" On the Variability 7 of Sphseria Quercuum, Schw.," by J. B. 

 Ellis. 



The death of Dr. J. H. McQuillen, a member, was announced. 



Note on Opuntia prolifera. Eng. Mr. Thomas Meehan ex- 

 hibited specimens of proliferous fruit of this species, sent by 

 Mr. Jackson Lewis, of San Jose, California. The fruit of three 

 years ago were still fresh and green, and these produced other 

 fruit immediately succeeding the last year. Mr. Meehan remarked 

 that similar cases were on record in Masters' "Teratology," and 

 in connection with this species in Brewer and Watson's " Flora of 

 California." The latter authors state that the proliferous fruit are 

 always sterile; but in cutting open twenty from those exhibited, 

 one was found with a perfect seed. 



Mr. Meehan pointed out the value of these abnormal growths 

 in explaining structure and function. In the succulent Cactacere 

 we speak of the small green bodies which appear and early mature 

 on the young growth, as the "leaves;" but we know from morpho- 

 logical law that the whole fruit is formed of metamorphosed pri- 

 mordial leaves, and there is no reason why the whole body of the 

 cactus might not be formed in the same wa}', and we should then, 

 perhaps, have to regard the so-called " leaves" as mere appendages. 

 At any rate, here is a case of what should have been fruit enduring 

 but a few months, assuming a permanent stem-character, and per- 

 forming all the functions usually connected with stem. It seemed 

 scarcely to leave room for a doubt that not only the parts of the 

 inflorescence, but the whole stem-structure is but " modified leaf," 

 in text-book language. 



Again a lesson is afforded in relation to the essential difference 

 between growth and reproductive force. The one of course grew 



