55 



Mr. Michael doubted whether the electrical conditions had much to do 

 with the matter, except that during the summer months large quantities of 

 rain rarely fell unless in connection with thunderstorms. He thought that 

 if the ground could be equally flooded without any thunder the worms would 

 no doubt come out in the same manner, their object, probably, being that they 

 might get washed out and carried down into the streams or watercourses ; it 

 was, in all probability, a process by which they were transferred from a 

 terrestrial to an aquatic host. Their occnrrence was so rare that their life, 

 history was not very perfectly understood. As regarded their being found 

 upon trees and shrubs, it should be remembered that they were able to move 

 in a very thin film of water, such as existed upon plants after a heavy 

 shower of rain. 



Mr. Hardy asked in what manner they were found attached to plants or 

 shrubs ? 



Mr. Stokes enquired if there was any evidence to show that they were 

 really aquatic worms ? 



Mr. Karop said the contention was that being sexually immature they 

 were in course of transference from one host to another, in which their 

 final development might take place. 



Mr. T. C. White said he had once, when dissecting an insect, been 

 surprised at seeing a worm of considerable length issue from its body. 



Mr. Michael thought that this was probably one of the fi'arian worms. 



Mr. Karop, referring to Huxley's " Anatomy of the Invertebrata," p. 

 644, read the following note: — "The insect parasites, Gorriius and Jlermis, 

 are sexless so long as they are parasitic, but when they have attained their 

 full growth they leave the bodies of their hosts, acquire sexual orgar.s, 

 copulate, and lay eggs; from these the embryos proceed which bore their way 

 into the bodies of insects." 



Mr. Lewis, in reply, said that they attached themselves to plants by 

 coiling the tail round the stem of a leaf ; the body then hung down and 

 waved to and fro, much the same as a tree snake attached itself to a 

 branch. He had no evidence of their being aquatic, but as they dried up 

 and became hard and shrivelled when deprived of moisture he had put them 

 into water as a likely means of keeping them alive for observation. Those 

 exhibited in the room had lived under these conditions for more than three 

 weeks, but having meanwhile laid nearly all their eggs he expected that they 

 would now soon die. 



The thanks of the meeting were voted to Mr. Lewis for his communica- 

 tion. 



Mr. F. Kitton's paper" On some New Diatoms found in Japanese Oysters " 

 was taken as read, it being of a somewhat technical character. It will ba 

 found printed in extenso on a previous page. 



Mr. J. D. Hardy exhibited and described a useful contrivance for collect- 

 ing and examining aquatic specimens whilst out on excursions — it consisted 

 of two plates of glass with a narrow strip of thick indiarubber cemented 

 between them on three sides, the fourth side being left open, and thus 

 forming a very convenient flat bottle for the side coat pocket. The space 



