8o The Irish Naturalist. [ March, 



for a few days, the delivery-tube not dipping into the water. The object 

 of this is to almost — but not quite— saturate the water with CO3 and so 

 convert the calcium carbonate of the object into the soluble bicarbonate. 

 It is essential that the CO3 pressure shall not exceed the atmospheric 

 pressure, otherwise when the pressure is released in order to remove the 

 decalcified objects, effervescence would ensue, and the tissues might be 

 injured thereby. 



Prof. T. Johnson exhibited specimens oi Halicystis ovalis, a non-cellular 

 green-stalked alga, in some respects similar to the green alga Botrydhitn 

 gramtlatiim. The species was dredged in July last in Belfast Ivough, has 

 since been obtained at low water in Dalkey Sound, and in Dungarvan 

 Bay at Helvick Point. The species is recorded in the Irish Naturalist for 

 September. The first locality is partly dut to Miss Hensman, the other 

 two to Miss Knowles. 



Mr. M'Ardi<E exhibited Cephalozia hihwnica, Spruce MSS. which he 

 found at O'SuUivan's Cascade, Killarney, in 1893, when collecting for the 

 Flora and Fauna Committee of the Royal Irish Academy. The plant 

 resembles Cephalozia connivens,V>\<z\^..,2in^ is remarkable for the large hya- 

 line cells of its leaves which have thick walls of delicate texture ; 

 decurrent, bifid at the apex to one-third or more of their length, seg- 

 ments erect or connivent, acuminate, of from two to four single cells. 

 Out of three packets of specimens which were exhibited no fruit was 

 found excepting young amentae wliich enclose the antheridia. He also 

 showed a drawing of the plant b Mr. Pearson, who published with it a 

 description of the plant in the Irish Naturalist in December, 1894. 



Dr. C. Herbert Hurst exhibited a series of sagittal sections of the 

 anterior portion of a common earthworm, Ltimbricus herculeus, Sav., 

 demonstrating that the cavities of the calciferous glands in the wall of 

 the oesophagus, are longitudinal spaces, continuous from one gland to 

 the other of the same side and opening, in front, into the oesophageal 

 pouch, and having no other opening. The direct openings of these glands 

 into the oesophagus which had been described, were, he said, purely 

 imaginary and non-existent. 



Dr. McWeeney showed pure cultures c^ A chorion Schonleinii, the fungus 

 which produces the disease of skin and hair known as Favus. The seed 

 material was obtained through the courtesy of Dr. Coleman from a 

 patient in the W'hitworth Hospital. It developed well on both ordinary 

 and gl3'ceriue agar at blood heat, and microscopic slides made from the 

 cultures displayed the peculiarities of the growth very well. The 

 botanical position of this fungus was still obscure owing to the ascigerous 

 condition not having been hitherto observed. The exhibitor had in 

 view some experiments with the object of clearing up this point. 



Dr. McWeeney also showed hairs affected with Tiichomycosis nodosa 

 (Patteson), otherwise known as lepothrix, the only bacterial disease of 

 hair hitherto known. The shaft of the affected hairs was enclosed in a 

 sort of hard nodular sheath of a dull yellow hue, others swelling up 

 into discrete masses, or nodosities which consisted of masses of short 



