47 



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



„ " Monthly Microscopical" 



'} - 



Journal " 



" Van Heurck's Synopsis of Belgian Diatoms ; ' purchased. 

 " Annals of Natural History " ... ... „ 



A part of Kent's "Infusoria" ... ... ,, 



Six Slides ... ... ... ... Mr. H. F. Hailes. 



One Slide ... ... ... ... Mr. J. W. Groves. 



Mi*. Goodwin exhibited and described the action of his Growing slide.* 

 This was formed of a triangular glass plate, each side being 3 inches in 

 length, supporting a circular thin glass cover 1| inches in diameter, kept in 

 position by three ebonite stnds round which indiarubber bands were passed. 

 The cover-glass was perforated in the centre by a small hole surrounded by 

 a brass ring. Through this hole objects were introduced, and water dropped 

 from a vessel by a thread of soft cotton. Three similar threads under the edges 

 of the cover drew off the superfluous water. The objects could be readily 

 examined in any part of the circumference of the cover. Mr. Goodwin 

 showed the plan adopted by him for keeping a number of the slides in 

 action at the same time. In reply to questions, Mr. Goodwin further stated 

 that the object of the ring was to keep the cover together and to strengthen 

 it as well. The large size of the cover glass was intended to give plenty of 

 room for objects, affording as it did nearly two square inches of space ; 

 whilst the glass was sufficiently thin to admit of a |-in. objective being used. 



Mr. Chas. Stewart thought it a most excellent slide, but suggested that 

 if glass stops were used instead of vulcanite, they would not be so likely to 

 scale off from variation of expansion. 



Mr. W. H. Gilburt read a paper "On the Structure and Division of the 

 Vegetable Cell," illustrating the subject by a series of coloured diagrams. 



Mr. C. Stewart, in reply to the President, said that Mr. Gi] hurt's account 

 had been so clear that it left nothing to be desired, and he had nothing to 

 add to it. In the animal cell the same steps were gone through ; the pro- 

 cess was best seen in the large nuclei of malignant tumours which divided 

 into 2, 3, or 4, the steps being exactly the same. He thought, however, 

 that he must object to the term " fluid" as it seemed to be used in the paper. 

 If they took the term as physicists used it, it was correct, for it was not 

 the extent of the motion which made the difference between the two states, 

 but rather that in the case of a solid the motions were fixed as regarded a 

 certain centre, whilst in the fluid the centre was not fixed, but there was a 

 constant migration of particles, because the centres themselves were in 

 motion. He might also say that these, examinations of vegetable cells 

 were not difficult ; it only required some rapidly developing cells hardened 

 in spirit and stained with logwood to see all the things which they had been 

 hearing about. 



The President inquired if Mr. Gilburt' s attention had been drawn to 



* This instrument was first described by Mr. T. C. White, at the meeting of the Royal 

 Microscopical Society on the 9th of November, 1881, and a description and figure of it will 

 be found in the "Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society," ser. 2, vol. I., p. 946. 



