134 



" Proceedings of the Belgian Microscopical Society " from the Society. 

 The last volume of the Eay Society's publication ... by subscription. 

 " Annals of Natural History "... ... ... ... ,, purchase. 



" Journal of the Cincinnati Natural History Society " from the Society. 

 " Annual Report of the Brighton and Sussex Natural / 



History Society " ... ... ... ... J 



" Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science " ... by purchase. 

 " The American Naturalist " ... ... ... ... in exchange. 



" The American Journal of Microscopy " ... ... „ „ 



10 Slides of Acari ... ... ... ... ... from Mr. Michael. 



A Photograph for the Club Album , ... „ Mr. H. Davis. 



The thanks of the Club were unanimously voted to the donors. 



The Chairman said it appeared that they were without any formal paper 

 to be read that evening, but he had observed that when such was the case 

 it often happened that the meetings were not the less interesting. He 

 would suggest that the results of their vacation rambles would form very 

 interesting topics for conversation. It was not matters of great importance 

 which they desired, for, as microscopists, they did not despise the day of 

 small things. Perhaps whilst others were preparing to say something, Dr. 

 Cooke would be kind enough to offer some remarks upon some subject, 

 which from him would be sure to be interesting. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke, having expressed his willingness to gossip for a few 

 minutes, said that when one had ever so many ideas stored up in one's head, 

 it was sometimes rather difficult to pick and choose amongst them at a 

 moment's notice ; he had, however, had so much to do with one group of 

 organisms, that it would be strange if he could not find something to talk 

 about in connection with them. It was that old mouldy subject which 

 always cropped up whenever he got upon his feet. One of the commonest 

 things in the whole group was the common blue mould, and whilst he pro- 

 ceeded to describe it, he would just for a moment assume that the members 

 of the Club before him were a class of persons who had never before heard 

 of such a thing as blue mould. They had doubtless heard something of a 

 vinegar plant, a film of ropy substance which was often cultivated domesti- 

 cally for the purpose of producing vinegar by letting it grow in any sweet 

 mixture, such as sugar and water. In most cottages in the country they 

 would find it to be well-known, and most cottagers were very proud of it J 

 he had tried the vinegar of some of the most experienced producers, and 

 could only say that he should be very sorry to call it vinegar himself. If 

 this vinegar plant was exposed to the air, and its means of subsistence was 

 allowed to get dry, it would no longer increase in its former manner, but it 

 turned about to seek some other means of development. There were two 

 phases of fungi — the reproductive and the vegetative. The common mush- 

 room exhibited both of these ; the stalk, the cap and other portions re- 

 presenting the vegetative growth, whilst under the cap were found a number 

 of gills on which myriads of spores were developed, and these were the 

 reproductive portions, and sometimes it happened that under special cir- 

 cumstances, in the mushroom the reproductive growth became checked. 



