PKOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 193 



The President said he did not pretend to have any particular know- 

 ledge of the subject. It seemed to be a question of deciding by staining 

 methods whether the result bore any definite relation to the true structure. 

 The only method to determine whether tissue such as had been de- 

 • scribed was of a certain definite structure must be to confirm that 

 structure by methods which were in accordance with the laws of micro- 

 scopical science. By means of dark-ground illumination it was easy to 

 determine the structure of bacteria unless the cells were beyond the 

 limits of resolution. The only other method by which they could see 

 the structure was by using ultra-violet light, and that method had proved 

 to be most valuable. One did not put a preparation into osmic acid for 

 a fortnight, but examined it within a few minutes from the time it was 

 spread. Dark-ground illumination should demonstrate the whole of 

 Mr. Gatenby's points. He would like to thank Mr. Gatenby for having 

 brought the subject forward, and would ask him, on behalf of the Society, 

 to deal with some similar subject on a future occasion. 



The thanks of the Meeting were accorded to Mr. Gatenby for his 

 paper. (The paper will be found on page 93.) 



Mr. James Strachan read a paper on " The Chemistry of Dendritic 

 "Growths in Paper," with an introductory account of dendrites and 

 dendritic growths. It was illustrated by means of specimens and lantern 

 slides. 



Mr. Blood asked whether the marks on engravings in bound books 

 were dendritic growths. He had noticed that engravings near the cover 

 bore marks, while those in the centre were free from them. 



Mr. Strachan said in reply that any substance that crystallized would 

 form dendritic growths, and most substances would crystallize. In 

 reference to the marks on engravings, very few of them were dendritic 

 growths. The majority were caused by mildew, fungi, and bacteria. 



A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Strachan for his paper, 

 which will be published in the Journal. 



Mr. Scourfleld read a paper contributed by Dr. E. Penard on 

 ■" FoUiculina Boltoni S. Kent," which will be published in the Journal. 



The thanks of the Meeting were accorded to Dr. Penard and 

 Mr. Scourfleld. 



The President announced that at the next Meeting of the Society, on 

 May 21, the Annual Exhibition of Microscopic Pond liife would be 

 ield, and that the next Meeting of the Biological Section would be held 

 on May 7, when a communication' would be made by Mr. N. E, Brown, 

 A.L.S., on " Starch and its Formation." 



