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ject, for he wanted them to know that the rewards from this research were 

 numerous, not only because this branch of microscopy furnished them with 

 objects which were both numerous and very beautiful, but because there 

 was also a high probability that really valuable work might be done. He 

 might add that since the date of his paper he had been pursuing the sub- 

 ject further, and it had been his good fortune to come across a good 

 many species which had not hitherto been recorded in Britain, and also 

 some which had not been recorded at all. Usually it was found that these 

 plants bore three kinds of fruit, the first being non-sexual (tetraspores), the 

 second male (antheridia), and the third female (cystocarp). Usually only 

 one of these kinds was found on the same plant, but sometimes it was other- 

 wise. Now, on looking at it, the question was one of very great interest as 

 to what could be the cause of a plant bearing sexual fruit in this way, and 

 he thought it would be worth any one's while to pursue this inquiry. He 

 had noticed that sometimes the worn ends of plants producing non-sexual 

 fruit had grown out again and produced sexual fruit, and it occurred to him 

 that perhaps it was the first products of the plants that were tetraspores, and 

 that the process was something analogous to the process of nipping off the 

 terminal shoots by gardeners to increase the productiveness of the other 

 shoots. Here was, he thought, a line of inquiry which might very well be 

 followed out with great prospect of reward. They need not confine them- 

 selves to a consideration of the red species, for the others would afford 

 ample opportunities for study. The classification of these seaweeds had of 

 late years undergone considerable revision since the publication of the 

 valuable work in their library — Harvey's " Phycologia Britannica." 

 Formerly these plants were classed according to their affinities so far as 

 the means then at disposal enabled them to be determined, so that the 

 common seaweed Laminar ia, according to the old method, was placed in 

 the highest class because it was seen to have a stem, and a root, and a leaf, 

 but now, notwithstanding its apparent perfection of form, it was placed in 

 the lowest class because it was found to produce only zoospores. Other 

 instances of the same kind were cited as showing that there was in this 

 direction a large field open to useful research, and that if any one would 

 take up the subject there was abundant work for him to do. 



The Chairman said that Mr. Buffham had pointed out some matters 

 which he could say were well worth their attention. First, as to the 

 beauty of the objects in this class, he entirely agreed with the remark as to 

 that of the Floridice, not only in themselves as matters of colour and form, 

 but if they would cut some thin sections of the stems they would find that 

 they rivalled the famous sections of Echinus spines, about which so much 

 used to be said. Then as to monstrosities, it was very much the habit of 

 people to look at a thing and then to pass it by as " only a monstrosity," 

 forgetting that these variations taught more of the morphology of a plant 

 than could be learnt in any other way. Next, as to the alterations which 

 were being made in the positions of species from one class to another. 

 This had been the case in every branch, the reason being that whereas the 

 old authors classified objects by their external affinities, the application of 



