244 



more from the shore and simply flung into the sea with about 80 yards of 

 rope between each pot, and three or four buoys with a long rope to them at 

 each end of the string. The buoys disappeared in the water, but the men 

 got the position by a rough and ready method of sight-lines from objects on 

 shore, and at the turn of the tide the pots were found again without much 

 difficulty ; and if the collector went out in a crab-boat for the purpose of ob- 

 taining Commatulce, it would perhaps happen that seven out of eight pots 

 which were hauled up would be without a specimen upon them, whilst 

 others might be covered with them, and thus at the proper time of year the 

 larva? would be found in abundance. It needed a good sailor, however, to 

 go out to collect them in the boats in this way, as he had done. But by- 

 and-bye there would come a time when these pots had to be brought ashore 

 to be mended, and then occurred one of the best opportunities for the col- 

 lector, although the specimens thus obtained were not always found in the 

 best condition. He got the men to let him know when a lot of deep-sea pots 

 were going to be brought home, and one of the results of his examination of 

 them was the slide which he had brought down that evening. The President 

 then proceeded to show, by means of drawings on the black board, the 

 general strncture and progressive development of this organism, pointing 

 out that it began its life as a free swimming larva, ciliated, and in many 

 respects resembling the Annelids ; that the mouth developed from the front 

 end and the stalk from the hinder portion, which was formed of five basal 

 plates, the front being similarly furnished with five oral plates, and a circle 

 of radial plates being then developed between the other two, all these 

 plates, even at this early stage, had the typical Echinoderm structure. 

 Brachial plates started from the radial plates and the tentacles or claspers 

 curved down from the central dorsal plate. After becoming fully developed, 

 the head broke away from the stalk, and became the beautiful free swim- 

 ming Commatula, which was however more usually found hanging firmly 

 on to the pots by means of its claspers. It might quite properly be 

 thought of as a star fish upside down. At one time it was usual to regard 

 the Pentacrinus form as the perfect creature. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke said that he had brought to the meeting for distribution 

 some of the small winged seeds of Paulownia imperialis ; the packet con- 

 tained sufficient for all the members present who liked to take them at the 

 close of the meeting. 



He also read short communications " On a new species of British 

 Vaucheria" and "On Palmodacttjlon Subramosum? a photo-micrograph of 

 the latter (X 60) being handed round for inspection. 



The President invited remarks upon these subjects, observing that it was 

 clear from what they had heard that, although things might have been 

 looked for as carefully as the Algse had been searched, there was still 

 opportunity for a first-class collector to make new discoveries amongst 

 them. 



A short communication from Mr. T. Spenser Smithson, " On an unusual 

 form of tube made by Melicerta ringens," was then read by the Secretary. 



The President thought that there was some uncertainty in this case as to 



