316 



ment. The plant feeling out for something, taking a large sweep to 

 go round the pole, and when it reaches the top, and can go no higher, the 

 plant bends down, and it will reverse its course and try another direction 

 to find something to grasp. Another thing is, there must be some influence 

 which so far affected the cellular structure, and caused it to contract on one 

 side and expand on the other. It must be so of necessity. The spiral 

 must be shorter on the inside than on the outside. If the spiral could be 

 unrolled the cells on the inside would be found more contracted than those 

 on the outside. This was known to take place in the hop-plant, and, 

 of course, served some good purpose in the life of the plant. These details 

 of structure were not mere trifles, but something concerning the life and 

 development of the plant. 



The Secretary, in moving a vote of thanks to the President for his 

 paper, remarked that it was part of his (the President's) work to trace 

 the correlation between the life of plants and animals. Everything of 

 that kind was very important. The vote was carried uranimously. 



Mr. T. C. White called the attention of the Members to a larva which 

 Mr. Parsons had brought, and was exhibiting under his microscope. It was 

 a most curious creature, probably the larva of some Dipteron. Some 

 years ago Mr. Parsons brought up a larva of Limndbia, which the 

 present one somewhat resembled, but was of much more elaborate 

 structure. Each segment of the body had a pair of eight branched 

 processes which apparently carried on the respiratory system. It had six 

 legs on the thorax, and six or eight very small compound legs like a 

 caterpillar lower down. It was in constant motion, which made it difficult 

 to examine, but it was a very interesting creature, and had commenced to 

 spin a web in the cell in which it was confined. The Limnobia came from 

 Snai'esbrook : the present specimen was obtained at one of the Club 

 excursions, but the exact locality was not known. 



Mr. Parsons described some of the differences between the larva he had 

 exhibited. In the Limnohia the tracheal system terminated in spines 

 some simple and some branched. It had no legs, but managed to crawl 

 about on the moss ,'on which it fed. The head was retractile into the first 

 segment of the body. There were two hooks at the anal extremity, the use 

 of which he did not know, and it did not spin a web. In the present 

 specimen the spines were divided several times, and there were very few 

 simple ones. There were six legs on the anterior part of the body, and the 

 compound legs had two rows of very beautiful hooks. Two of these legs 

 were on the terminal segment or tail. The head was not retractile. The 

 motion of the creature in spinning its web was curious. It lashed its body 

 to and fro as if seeking for elbow room. 



The President announced the meetings and excursions for the ensuing 



month, and the meeting closed with the usual conversazione, at which the 



following objects were exhibited : — 



Tentacles of Barnacle Mr. F. W. Andrew. 



Plumularia setacea, mounted with extended") , r ~ „ ~ 



v Mr. C. G. Dunning. 

 Polyps ... ... ... ... ... ) 



