120 



Balfour's work would no doubt have noticed that there was nothing what- 

 ever about the ascidians in the first volume, but in the second volume they 

 were placed at the beginning of the embryology of the vertebrates. He 

 fully saDctioned the idea that they led up to the vertebrates, and not the 

 mollusca as was formerly supposed. 



Mr. Bates' paper " On the supposed sexual nature of the threads of the 

 Zygnemaceee," being a criticism upon a paper by Mr. A. W. Bennett, M.A., 

 B.Sc, F.R.M.S., &c. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke said it was a source of great satisfaction to him to find 

 that they had acquired a member who would write papers, and who was at 

 the same time an indefatigable worker in fresh water algae. He thoroughly 

 endorsed the opinions expressed. 



The President said that this was no doubt a very remarkable group, and 

 having early paid some attention to it at the instance of Mr. Thwaites, of 

 Bristol, they were the first to make out that this conjugation was a sort of 

 anticipation of the sexual process in plants. In the Diatomaceaa they found 

 a perfect equality ; and in the Zygnemacese, taking the simplest forms, there 

 was no distinction of form, but as they went higher they came to cases in 

 which there was a difference, but it seemed to be a gradual differentiation. 

 This, at least, was his own old opinion. He would venture, however, to 

 suggest that there should be some modification of the language employed by 

 the author of this paper with reference to Mr. Bennett, who had been per- 

 sonally known to him for many years, and who was a very excellent man. 

 He was glad to find that the feeling of the meeting was with him in ex- 

 pressing himself on this matter ; there could be no reason why one scientific 

 man should in this manner impute motives to another. No good ever came 

 of it, and he was quite sure that their Journal would be better without it. 



Mr. Pennington's note " On a slide presented to the Club, being a series 

 of sections (10 on one slide) of the oral Disc of Cerianthus solitarius" was 

 read by the Secretary. 



The President said that these were very beautiful illustrations of the 

 superiority of the new method of section cutting over the old. The 

 specimens were beautifully mounted. 



A vote of thanks to Mr. Pennington was unanimously passed. 



Mr. E. M. Nelson announced that he had recently been successful in 

 detecting a flagellum on the cholera bacillus. He also suggested that it 

 would obviate much inconvenience where immersion condensers were used 

 if a standard thickness of glass slips was adopted. At present there were so 

 many thicknesses in use that it was sometimes very troublesome to adjust 

 the focus properly with high powers, as if too thin the drop would not 

 adhere, and if too thick it got squeezed out. He should propose that a 

 thickness of ^jyin. be adopted as the best for a standard, and if every person 

 would buy slides of that gauge only, the thing might easily be done. He 

 also exhibited a new microscope, which he regarded as a marvel of 

 cheapness, the instrument, with two eye-pieces and two objectives, being 

 offered at £3 12s. 



Mr. Michael said he thought he should find a standard gauge for glass 

 slips a great nuisance, especially for such objects as required the use of 



