Miscellaneom. 209 



origin of these remarkable circles, laid before the meeting of the Bri- 

 tish Association, held at Southampton in September 1846, by Pro- 

 fessor Way of the Agricultural College at Cirencester, was identical 

 with that published by Wollaston in the * Philosophical Transactions ' 

 for 1807. Dr. Wilson also pointed out that analyses of various fungi 

 had been made by Professor Schlossberger of Tubingen and Dr. 

 Doepping, and thought that these gentlemen's names deserved to be 

 mentioned, as confirmers of WoUaston's views and predecessors of 

 Professor Way, in establishing the probability of the chemical theory 

 of Fairy Rings. To Professor Way, on the other hand, belonged 

 the twofold merit of being the first to analyse Agarics actually taken 

 from Fairy Rings, and the first to supply a detailed qualitative and 

 quantitative analysis of the ashes of these fungi. 



Dr. Balfour made remarks on the views of botanists relative to 

 centrifugal development, and endeavoured to show that a combina- 

 tion of the botanical and chemical theories was necessary to account 

 for the phaenomenon. 



Dr. Fleming thought that none of the theories were sufficient to 

 account for the so-called fairy Rings in all cases ; and alluded to the 

 occurrence of fungi, especially Agaricus oreades, in a circular ar- 

 rangement without any alteration in the grass. 



Sir Wm. Jardine agreed with Dr. Fleming ; and stated that the 

 growth of fungi in lawns was often not in a circular manner, but of 

 various forms, and without altering the appearance of the grass. He 

 then briefly noticed the points which still required determination, 

 and urged upon botanists the importance of attending to them. 



2. Supplement to " A Synopsis of British Rubi," No. 2, by 

 Charles C. Babington, M.A. See * Annals,' p. 83 of the present 

 volume. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Description of a new genus and species of Entozoa. 

 By Joseph Leidy, M.D. 



In the course of an investigation of the anatomical structure of the 

 terrestrial Gasteropoda of the United States, I discovered a micro- 

 scopic Entozoon inhabiting the fluid contained in the vessie copula- 

 trice or spermatheca of Helix albolabris, since which I have found it 

 to exist in two other species, Helix tridentata and Helix alternata, 

 and I have no doubt of its existence in others, not yet having had 

 an opportunity of examining further. As there appears to be no 

 known genus in which this animal can be placed, I have been neces- 

 sitated to form the following : — 



Cryptobia. Animal minute ; form exceedingly proteoid ; internal 

 organization cellular or granular. 



C. helicis. Colourless ; form ordinarily elongate, ellipsoid, fusi- 

 form or ovate ; caudated, caudae opposite, one longer than the other. 

 Internal granular structure consisting of two large cells and nume- 

 rous minute granules. Total length from the 125th to the 100th of 



Ann. ^ Mag. N, Hist. Fo/. xix. 15 



