62 CURRENT NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 



3. — Pathological Histology, by Mr. W. Fearnley. 



4. — Popular Microscopic Studies, in which the descriptive 

 letterpress and practical instructions will be written by the editor. 



Each series will be issued at monthly intervals, and will consist 

 of four pages of descriptive letterpress, a lithographic plate, and a 

 slide prepared by Mr. A. C. Cole. Mr. Cole will edit the whole 

 series. 



The Chester Society of Natural Science have favoured us with 

 a copy of Nos. i and 2 of their Proceedings, together with a 

 Short Hand-Book of Natural History for use at the Annual 

 Conversazione and other meetings of the Society. The Proceed- 

 ings contain several papers of interest, and show that much useful 

 work is done in the Society. The Hand-book will be found very 

 suitable to promoters of microscopic soirees, exhibitions, etc., in 

 the scientific arrangement of objects for exhibition. It is pub- 

 lished at sixpence. 



The LiNNiEAN Society. 



At the last meeting of this Society, a paper by Mr. Alfred Tylor 

 was read in part. The whole was entitled " On the Growth of 

 Trees and Protoplasmic Continuity." The portion of the paper 

 which dealt with the growth of trees was that read before the 

 Society. Mr. Tylor's chief object was to show the principles 

 that underlie the individuality of plants, and to prove that plants 

 have a dim sort of intelligence, and are not merely an aggrega- 

 tion of tissues responsive to the direct influence of light. Not 

 only this, but that the tree as a whole knows more than its 

 branches, just as the species knows more than the individual, and 

 the community than the unit. The result of Mr. Tylor's experi- 

 ments, which have extended over many years, has been to show 

 that many plants and trees can adapt themselves to unfamiliar 

 circumstances, such as avoiding obstacles artificially placed in 

 their way, by bending aside before touching, or by altering the 

 leaf arrangement, so that at least as much voluntary power must 

 be accorded to such plants as to certain lowly-organised animals. 

 Finally, Mr. Tylor contends that a connecting system, by means of 

 which combined movements take place, is to be found in the 

 threads of protoplasm which unite the various cells, and that this 

 connecting system is found even in the new wood of trees. He 

 has also observed that the new wood of nearly all trees point 

 upwards, but that year after year it changes its direction, showing 

 much mobility. — The Tirnes^ Dec. 6th, 1884. 



