33° The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. V, No. 6, 



flowers is also valuable. Mr. Scholl exhibited a fine line of 

 sample of the various by-products of cotton seed. 



Mr. Dresbach presented a paper on the "Form and Structure 

 of the Red Blood Corptiscle." Weidenreich of Strassburg con- 

 tends that the mammalian erythrocytes are not biconcave but 

 bell-shaped. His conclusions are based: (1) upon the fact that 

 when the corpuscles are fixed with osmic acid, immediately upon 

 escaping from the blood vessels, the great majoritv have the bell 

 form; (2) the corpuscles have this form in isotonic solutions as 

 a .65% NaCl solution for mammalian corpuscles; (3) Weiden- 

 reich claims to have seen the bell-shaped cells in the circulating 

 blood of the ral)bit. He concludes that the biconcave form is 

 due to the extreme sensitiveness of the corpuscle and is pro- 

 duced by slight increase of the density above the normal. As to 

 the structure of the corpuscles, Weidenreich thinks that they 

 consist of a distinct cell wall which encloses the haemoglobin 

 and other constituents. The behavior of the cells in such fluids 

 as water, salt solutions, tannic acid solutions, etc., points to the 

 presence of a cell wall. No stroma or framework exists. Mr. 

 Dresbach also reported that an extended study of the case of 

 elliptical human red corpuscles, which he described last year has 

 confirmed his opinion that the extraordinary shape was normal 

 in the subject and not due to any known disease. It was prob- 

 ably of embryonic origin or possibly congenital. 



Mr. Metcalf reported the probable occurence of the Swamp 

 Sparrow in Ashland County in the latter part of December. He 

 also reported the Kildeer, Canvas Back Duck and Horned Grebe 

 observed at the same time as unusually late. 



The club adjourned to meet the first Monday in March. 



F. M. Surface, Sec. 



Date of Publication of April Number, April 24, 1905. 



