Microscopical Society. 291 



ceived arose from their observation having been on dry and not fresh 

 specimens. The upper side of the tongue is rugous, and the point, 

 especially of the upper part, almost horny. Hence, he esteemed its 

 functions threefold: 1st, From that portion of the tongue which is 

 nearest, the point being supplied with an adhesive secretion, a por- 

 tion of its food, as in the Bee-eater, readily adhered to it ; 2nd, in a 

 degree prehensile, it somewhat discharges the functions of a hand ; 

 and 3rd, with the sharp hard point of the upper filament, it possesses 

 the power of impaling and retaining its victims. With regard to the 

 os hyoides, its cornea are, as in the Woodpecker, much elongated, 

 and curved round behind the head ; to this powerful muscles are at- 

 tached, and hence the rapidity and vigour of the motions of the 

 member. 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



April 22nd— r-Mr. Owen, the President, in the chair. 



Seven members were elected. Dr. Lindley communicated a short 

 account of his observations on the antheridia of Polytrichum, in the 

 cells of which are contained microscopic animalcules of the genus 

 Vibrio. This discovery, made by Unger, in reference to the anthe- 

 ridia of Sphagnum, and afterwards observed by Meyen, has been 

 confirmed by the observations of Dr. Lindley, who gives the follow- 

 ing description. 



The antheridia contain a cellular mucous substratum of great 

 transparency, and in each of the cells lies one coiled up Vibrio, which 

 turns round and round within the cell with such rapidity, that it 

 resembles a cyst in very active motion, the dark head of the Vibrio 

 forming an eccentrical point round which the rotatory motion takes 

 place. As soon however as the Vibrio gets into the water, its tail 

 becomes straightened, and then the true nature of the moving body 

 becomes apparent. The paper was accompanied by living specimens 

 of the object. 



Mr. Bowerbank read a paper descriptive of four new forms of 

 vegetable tissue, occurring in silicified wood from Antigua, &c. 



The three first of these are from Dicotyledonous woods, and pre- 

 sent some interesting varieties of reticulated vascular tissue. In 

 one example the thread of the net- work is filled with numerous ir- 

 regular vesicular cavities, not exceeding the 15 l 00 ^ of an inch in 

 diameter ; and in a second the interstices appear to contain the 

 remains of discoid organs like those seen in the vessels of Ephedra, 

 to which genus the author thinks the fossil may probably be re- 

 ferred. The fourth form is from a silicified palm, and consists of 



x2 



