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imbibiug some portion of the fervour and enthusiasm of the 

 naturalist, at the same time that they derive benefit from the new 

 sources of pleasure and interest opened up to them. 



The last meeting of the Club for the season, took place at 

 Cirencester, on Wednesday, 14th of September. The President 

 was absent through ill-health, and is indebted to Professor Buck- 

 man for the report which follows : 



The Club met at the " Fleece Inn," Cirencester, but in conse- 

 quence of the threatening aspect of the weather, few members 

 were present. After breakfast, Messrs. Stronge and Bowly took 

 the party assembled, in their carriages, to the old Church of 

 St. Mary, Ashbrook, where the Norman tympanum of the north 

 door, and a west window with peculiar flamboyant tracery, at- 

 tracted great attention. Maiseyhampton Church was next visited, 

 where the decorated east window, the sedilia and fine architec- 

 tural morceaux of the early English period, much interested the 

 ecclesiologists. In the Churchyard, under the south wall, were 

 pointed out some specimens of the Elder-tree (Sambucus nigrd), 

 much sought after by the country-folks, for virtues supposed to 

 exist in them, as set forth in Mr. Jones's paper upon " Certain 

 superstitions prevalent in the vale of Gloucester/' which was read 

 to the Cotteswold Club at their meeting at Tewkesbury, in 1854. 

 Poulton Church was next examined, the east window of which 

 deserves attention. It is an early English 3-light window, plain 

 outside, but with an elegant cinque -foiled hood, internally sup- 

 ported by semi-columns resting upon corbel-heads. A fine 

 Section of the " Great Oolite " and "Forest Marble " was here 

 examined, and explained by Professor Buckman. 



After dinner Professor Buckman exhibited some fossil reptilian 

 eggs found in the Great Oolite near Cirencester; and in the 

 absence of papers gave a lecture upon the growth of Carduus 

 arvensis, or Field Thistle, setting at rest the disputed point as to 

 whether Thistles grow by seed, by exhibiting a pot in which 

 eight seeds had come up out of ten sown. This furnishes us 

 with some interesting facts in illustration of the history of thistle 

 growth. It is known that these plants spread themselves below 

 the surface by means of Rhizomata (underground stems), after 

 the fashion of Couch-grass ; and the knowledge of this fact has 

 given rise to the widely disseminated impression that Thistles do 

 not grow from seed. But this experiment of Professor Buckman 

 shews that the seeds readily germinate ; and such seeds being 

 of the pappiform kind, and each flower producing about 150, 

 while each plant on an average produces 20 flowers, it will readily 

 be seen at what a frightful rate of increase this plant possesses 

 the faculty of propagating itself 150x20=3000 for a single 

 plant, which if grown on a waste place may readily distribute 

 seeds over ail entire farm. 

 It will not be out of place here to notice the valuable results 



