NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 77 



PAPERS READ. 



I. — On the Permanence of Sjoecies and the Limits of Variation. 



By Dr Scouler. 

 The author of this paper remarked that when naturalists confined 

 themselves to merely descriptive monographs, the tendency was to 

 confound the distinctions of species and varieties. The true method 

 to be adopted was the physiological, in which we begin by tracing 

 the development of a species from its first formation, and observing 

 all its changes in form and structure, from the ovum to maturity, 

 and then taking a survey of the species in its relations to time 

 and space. The study of the molluscous animals was by far the 

 most favourable for this purpose, as many of them had existed 

 from a remote geological antiquity, and were still living over wide 

 geographical areas. This view was illustrated by exhibiting an 

 extensive series of varieties of some of the more common species, 

 and a comparison with the varieties of the same species from the 

 tertiary strata. From an extensive series of comparisons, he 

 inferred that there was no ground for presuming that species were 

 transitory, or mere changing varieties. 



II. — A Short Account of Two Cyclones experienced on the Island of 

 Anietijum. By the Rev. Joseph Copeland, one of the 

 Society's Corresponding Members. Eead by Dr Alexander 

 Lindsay. 



This communication contained minute and highly interesting 

 details of the incidents connected with these hurricanes, besides 

 being illustrated by an elaborate series of barometric observations. 



November 24th, 1863. 



CONVERSAZIONE AND EXHIBITION. 



On Tuesday evening, 24th November, 18G.3, a Conversazione 

 and Exhibition took place in the Queen's Eooms. 



In the lower halls a fine collection of British mosses was 

 exhibited by Mr Alex. M'Kinlay. Mr John Shaw also exhibited 

 a complete series of the genus Orthotrichum — a genus to which he 

 had devoted special attention. 



In another part of the room, Mr John Young exhibited a 

 collection of the Carboniferous Fossils of the West of Scotland, 



