105 



Mr. Buffhamrcad a paper " On a New Marine Chantransia," 

 illustrated by drawings upon the blackboard; also a paper 

 " On the Conjugation of a Marine Diatom," Orthoneis hinotata, 

 Grunow, illustrated by diagrams and drawings. 



Mr. Morland felt sure the members would feel greatly obliged 

 to Mr. Bulfham for his very interesting communication. He 

 could himself add nothing to what had been said, these " horns " 

 being entirely new to him as matters of observation, nor did 

 he know that they had been seen before in the conjugation of 

 diatoms. 



Mr. Karop also expressed the indebtedness of the Club to Mr. 

 Buffham for his communication. He seemed to be at present 

 the only member who took up the study of diatoms with the 

 idea of investigating their life history and processes of reproduc- 

 tion. If only some of the time and skill spent in the examina- 

 tion of the markings could be devoted to the line pursued by 

 Mr. Buff ham very valuable results might be expected. As to 

 these horns, he could not think that they were simply for 

 purposes of protection, because other diatoms had not got them, 

 and he also thought that if these gelatinous filaments were 

 protective they would be more frequently found. The observa- 

 tions appeared to be extremely valuable, and they were greatly 

 indebted to Mr. Buft'ham for the description he had given. 



The Chairman said their thanks were due to Mr. Buff ham for 

 his most interesting paper. It was always a pleasure to hear 

 him speak upon the subject of the sexual processes of the 

 Florida?, on which he was an authority. He had much pleasure, 

 therefore, in moving a cordial vote of thanks for his communi- 

 cation. — Carried nem. dis. 



Mr. Buff ham said he was much obliged to the members for 

 the cordial way in which his paper had been received. If he 

 had conveyed the impression that the horns were something 

 simply belonging to this conjugating form, he should like to 

 correct it, because the vegetative diatom also showed the 

 peculiarity. This observation was not new, as Grunow men- 

 tioned having found them. With regard to their apparently 

 breaking up into smaller forms, he thought there might possibly 

 be sometimes a little colony attached to the valve, and in cases 

 of conjugation he always thought it advisable to see if there 

 were any vegetative as well as sporangial frustules. In as 

 many as 42 cases out of 46 he had found these horns present. 



