112 I'KOCEEDINGS OK THE ACADEMY OK NATURAL SCIENCES. [1881. 



sexuality being rare in truly liliaceous plants. His specimens were 

 from western Nevada, and the characters now noted were exhibited 

 in 1880 ; but as the plant had only been received a short time 

 before, the absence of female organs might be attributed to weak- 

 ness, but observation this season shows it to be a normal condition. 



The jjlant produced four spikes, flowering on the 15th of May. 

 The spikes were 15, 14, 13, and 11 inches high, respectively, and 

 had from twelve to fourteen narrow glaucous leaves each, and all 

 of apparently equal strength. The tallest spike had but one per- 

 fect floAver; another had the lowermost perfect, but with four 

 others aboA^e, all purelj' staminate. The other two had three 

 flowers each, all staminate. These staminate flowers had antlers 

 as large and as polleniferous as the hermaphrodite ones, and the 

 perianth seemed in every respect as perfect, the only difference 

 being in the total absence of all traces of a gynoecium. It was 

 evidently the normal condition of the species, which, by the way, 

 seems to run closely into Fritillaria pariiifiora. 



Mr. Meehan said the facts were intei-esting, as drawing still 

 closer the well-known relationship of Melanthiace'se and Liliacese. 

 A tendency to diclinism had hitherto been supposed to be the 

 special characteristic of the former order, although occasionally, 

 as in Asparagus, there were indications of the same characteristics 

 in Liliaceae also. 



May 31. 

 Ther President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. 

 Twenty-five members present. 



A paper entitled " Observations on the Hippopotamus," by 

 Henry C. Chapman, M. D., was presented for publication. 



Alexander Biddle, M. D., W. Norton Whitney, M. D., and John 

 G. Lea, M. D., were elected members. 



Thomas T. Bouve, of Boston, was elected a correspondent. 



The following were ordered to be published : 



