94 



At the meeting of the Club held on January 18th, 1907, the 

 Eight Hon. Sir Ford North, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair, 

 the minutes of the meeting held on December 21st, 190G, were 

 read and confirmed. 



Mr. T. B. Rosseter, F.R.M.S., communicated a highly techni- 

 cal paper on two avian tape-worms, Hymenolepis nitida and 

 H. nitidulans. 



Mr. A. E. Hilton read a paper " On the Nature of Living 

 Organisms." 



The Hon. Secretary said that biological chemists had as yet added 

 nothing to the work of working biologists, and in many cases 

 their theories do not accord with well-acknowledged facts. 

 Especially was this true with regard to certain statements made 

 regarding the Foraminifera. Reference was made to Butschli's 

 work on Foams ; but it had been shown that the very interesting 

 movements observed were purely due to chemical reactions. 

 Regarding the question of the making of life as a possibility of 

 the near future, he quite agreed with a recent statement by Sir 

 Oliver Lodge to the effect that he did not expect to see life made 

 in his time, and he would add that he thought such a thing quite 

 impossible. 



After some remarks by Mr. J. T. Holder on the difference in 

 the character of the plasm of the nucleus, and by Mr. T. J. 

 Edwards on reversibility of processes, Mr. Nevill thought the 

 electron theory much more difficult to accept than the atomic 

 theory. The atomic theory was difficult enough to understand, 

 but it at least agreed with observed facts, especially with regard 

 to the prediction of discovery of new elements. But, as regards 

 the electron theory, he thought one might say that it was 

 created by mathematicians to get out of difficulties, without any 

 one being much wiser by the result. Respecting the origin of 

 life, he thought it was the general opinion that beyond the 

 ordinary constitution of matter something more is needed to 

 account for the wonderful things we see around us in the organic 

 world. Referring to the reversibility of processes, the speaker 

 instanced the case in the development of the blow-fly, where, 

 during the pupal stages, the whole organism reverts to the egg- 

 state, and the perfect insect grows anew from the semi-liquid 

 contents of the pupa-case. He thought there must be some 

 intelligent power behind mere matter, 



