QUEKETT MICROSCOPICAL CLUB. 195 



The President had brought a number of carefully cut portions 

 of the sponge for distribution amongst the members ; the natural 

 -position and arrangement of the spicules could be studied by 

 •cutting sections of the specimen. For examination of the indi- 

 vidual spicules boiling with a 10% solution of hydrochloric or 

 nitric acid and washing are required, the spicules being finally 

 mounted in Canada balsam. 



Vice-President Bryce expressed the thanks of the meeting 

 -to the President for his valuable and interesting address, and 

 -for his kindness in providing the material, which would be 

 •studied by the members with much pleasure. His remarks 

 -were heartily endorsed by all present. 



At the 517th Ordinary Meeting of the Club, held on May 23rd, 

 1916, the President, Arthur Dendy, D.Sc, F.R.S., in the chair, 

 -the minutes of the meeting held on April 25th were read and 

 'Confirmed. 



Messrs. Cyril F. Hill, F.E.M.S., John Eudd Leeson, M.D., 

 Alfred George, Edmund A. Robins, and Alfred McEw^en w^ere 

 balloted for and dulv elected members of the Club. 



Mr. J. E. Barnard delivered a lecture on "X-ray Research 

 into Organic Structure as Exemplified by the Foraminifera." 

 As an introduction to this and as an illustration of the capa- 

 bilities of Mr. Barnard's method, Mr. E. Heron-Allen, F.L.S. etc., 

 President of the Royal Microscopical Society, projected on the 

 screen an interesting series of lantern slides of Foraminifera. 

 He remarked that Mr. Barnard had obtained results which to 

 him seemed most remarkable, and of the deepest significance. 



Until Mr. Barnard had applied X-rays to the production of 

 skiagrams of microscopic objects, the only method a.vailable for 

 studying the internal structure of the opaque foraminiferal 

 tests was by the laborious and often unsuccessful method of 

 rubbing them down into thin sections on a hone, and after 

 mounting them in Canada balsam examining them by trans- 

 mitted light. This, though satisfactory in many cases, was 

 hardly practicable where one specimen only was available, as 

 the risk of accidental destruction, especially in the later stages 

 of this process, was very great. Among the arenaceous forms, 

 •svhere the test is built up of sand grains more or less firmly 



