[39 ] 

 PROCEEDINGS OF IRISH SOCIETIES. 



ROYAI, ZOOI^OGICAI, SOCIETY. 



Three monkej's have lately been purchased for the collections. Two 

 of these — the Mandrill [Cynoccphahis inaimon) and the sooty Mangabey 

 {Ccrcoccbus fiiliginosns) — are from Africa. The other species is the Barri- 

 gudo or " Nigger Monkey" [Lagothrix Jmmboldtii), from South America. 



Miss Wilson Patten has presented an Indian M3'nah {Acridothercs gingi- 

 niantis) to the Society. 



The Aquarium has been placed by the Council under the supervi.sion 

 of Dr. R. F. Scharff, who will be assisted in the alterations to that 

 department by M. Deniset, of Paris, who has given much attention to 

 the culture of fish. A series of tanks will be arranged, showing the 

 development of different species. The Aquarium has been enriched by 

 donations of fish from Mr. Godden, and also by the purchase of a hundred 

 gold-fish. 



Over 4,000 persons visited the gardens in March. 



DUBININ MICROSCOPICAL CI,UB. 



March iSth.— The Club met at Dr. R. F. Scharff 's, vrho exhibited a 

 cross-section through the body of a Gephyrean worm {Priapuhis caiidatiis), 

 to show the structure of the nerve cord. The latter is remarkable for 

 the fact that it lies entirely in the outer body-layer or ectoderm, a con- 

 dition which is extremely rare in an adult higher invertebrate. Ani- 

 mals generally pass through that stage in early life, but the nerve cord 

 migrates further towards the interior of the body later on, and is gene- 

 ralh^ found in connection with the mesoderm in the adult. The section 

 showed the ectodermic cells actually merging into true ganglion cells, 

 thus illustrating an instructive fact in the development of animal tissues. 



Mr. G. H. Carpenter showed sections through the crop and gizzard of 

 the cockroach {Fejjplanefa orientalis). 



Professor G. A. J. Cole showed specimens oi Xanthidia, discovered in 

 the London clay of Sheppey by Mr. E. W. Wetherell, F.G.S., and kindly 

 sent to the meeting by that gentleman. These minute globular bodies, 

 with bifurcating processes, are capable of being stained in microscopic 

 preparations. Hitherto they have been best known from sections of 

 Cretaceous flints. It has been suggested that they were radiolarians ; 

 but they have been generally regarded as zygospores of desmids, a view 

 which was supported in the discussion which followed the examination 

 of these perfect specimens. 



BEI/FAST NATURAI. HISTORY AND PHII^OSOPHICAI, SOCIETY. 



April 5th. — The President, Prof. Fitzgerald, in the Chair. Mr. Allan 

 P. Swan read a paper on " Milk and its Ferments." The reader pointed 

 out that milk as secreted b}- a healthy animal is quite sterile, and that 

 fermentation is entirel}^ due to contact with the air, which is full of 

 the spores of micro-organisms. He theil went on to describe the Cauca- 

 sian fermented milk-drinks of " Koumiss " and " Kiphir," and showed 

 their importance as articles of food to the wandering tribes who used 

 them. The paper was illustrated by lantern slides, and by a microsco- 

 pical demonstration. 



ARMAGH NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 



March 29tli. — The President, Rev. W. F. Johnson, M.A., in the Chair. 

 Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, M.R.I. A., read a paper entitled "A Deep-sea 

 Dredging Expedition." An account was given of the expedition sent 

 out by the Royal Irish Academy in 1888 to explore the deep waters off 

 the S.W. coast of Ireland. The appliances and theory of deep-sea dredging 

 were first gone into, and a narrative of the cruise was then given. The 



