1G1 



The thanks of the Club were voted to the donors. 



The Secretary exhibited a new Iris Diaphragm, by Mr. Hunter, made to go 

 close up under the object. 



The Secretary read a letter from Colonel O'Hara, enclosing a series of 

 photographs of diatoms from Galway Bay, and asking for assistance in 

 identification. 



A large number of dipping tubes of a superior kind were placed upon the 

 table for distribution amongst the members by Mr. Le Pelley, to whom the 

 thanks of the meeting were unanimously given. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke read a paper " On some remarkable Moulds," illustrating 

 the subject by drawings, which were handed round for inspection. 



Mr. Karop enquired if the fungus mentioned as having been found by Mr. 

 Durham in the human ear was associated with any disease, or whether it 

 was one of those aggregations which were sometimes found on the ears of 

 out-patients attending hospitals ? 



Dr. Cooke said he thought Mr. Durham stated that there was a disease of 

 the ear for which he was consulted, and that he removed the mould in the 

 course of his treatment. 



Dr. Matthews, in proposing a vote of thanks to Dr. Cooke for his paper, 

 said that there were certain subjects which seemed to be above criticism, be- 

 cause in the mouths of experts they were statements of facts which were 

 simply beyond dispute. In the instance before them it was well known that 

 Dr. Cooke had made the subject so much his own, and his observations were 

 so correct, that they were beyond the limits of ordinary criticism. 



A vote of thanks to Dr. Cooke was then put to the meeting and carried 

 unanimously. 



Mr. Karop said, that whilst this question was before the meeting, he would 

 mention a rather remarkable place in which he had once found some of these 

 fungi. He was examining some bottles of sections of human spinal cord 

 preserved in strong methylated spirit, and in one bottle of the series he found 

 the upper part of the spirit was covered by a mycelium of some kind, which 

 was quite black. He had mentioned it to Dr. Cooke, but he did not at the 

 moment remember anything which grew in spirit. 



Dr. Cooke acknowledged the vote of thanks, and said that the very short 

 time at his disposal for the preparation of a subject did not leave him much 

 choice as to what it should be, and in looking over what was ready to hand 

 he thought that the notes which he had read contained something which was 

 novel or new, and if not controversial they had at least some points of 

 interest. If there had been time in which to think over a subject, the one he 

 had brought forward would, perhaps, be amongst the last which would have 

 occurred to him as being suitable ; but under the circumstances it seemed 

 to him the best thing to be done. Amongst the five species named there 

 were some curious facts which showed the polymorphous character of these 

 moulds — the first being found in a stoppered bottle, the second in a dead 

 insect, the third in the ear of a living human being, the fourth on a living 

 tree, and the fifth found growing on the leaves of ferns, without apparently 

 doing any injury to them. He did not remember ever to have found them 



