382 TRANSACTIONS OF SOCIETIES. 



Wednesday, May 15th; Prof. J. D. F. Gilchrist, xM.A.. D.Sc. Ph.D., 

 F.L.S.. C.M.Z.S., President, in the chair.—" South African Perisporia- 

 cea. 111. Notes on four species of Meliola hitherto unrecorded from South 

 Africa": Dr. Ethel M. Doidge The fungi considered were all from 

 Natal and the eastern part of the Cape Province, and had heen identified 

 from recent collections. — " Reproduction of fishes in Table Bay" : Prof. 

 J. D. F. Gilchrist The eggs and young of 21 species of fishes were 

 procured in about 60 tow-nettings made at more or less regular intervals 

 throughout the year. Fourteen of these were referred to known species. 

 Tlie eggs procured and larvae hatched from them were described. The 

 eggs of the sardine (Scirdina sagax) and of the anchovy (EngrauUs 

 aipensis) indicate that ihese fish arc present in abundance, though as yet not 

 utilised for economic purposes. — " Xotc on the electogram of the Medulla 

 oblongata " : Prof. W. A. Jolly. 



Wednesday. June 19th: Prof. J. D. F. Gilchrist, M.A.. D.Sc Ph.D., 

 1\L.S., C.M.Z.S., President, in the chair. — "A note on the possibility of 

 long-range weather forecasts'' : Dr. J- R. Sutton. The author showed that 

 the June temperatures, and especialy the minima, at Kimberley, are 

 modified by the character of the May rainfall. — " South African Pcrisporia- 

 cecc : //'. \ ew species from the Coast Districts " : Dr. Ethel M. Doidge. 

 Nine new species of fungi belonging to the Perisporiacea; were 

 described ; of these six belonged to the genus Meliola, two to 

 the genus Zukalia. and one to tlie genus PhccodimerieUa: these 

 were all collected in dift'erent localities near the coast in 

 the Cape Province, Natal, Zululand, and Portuguese East Africa. — 

 "Preliminary note on Anatase": J. S. van der Lingen and A. R. E. 

 "Walker. The authors gave a preliminary account of their investigations 

 on the radiation pattern of Anatase. 



Wednesday, July 17th: A. J. Anderson, M.A., M.B., D.P.H.. M.R.C.S., 

 Vice-President, in the chair. — " On the electrostatic deflection in a Cathode 

 ray tube " : Prof A. Ogg. In the ordinary Thomson Cathode ray tube 

 for determining the value of e^m for Cathode rays, we have to allow for 

 the irregularity of the electrostatic field near the edges of the charged 

 plates. It is interesting to find the electrostatic deflection when tlie rays 

 are projected parallel to the plates, but at some distance from them. The 

 author gave methods for making the calculation. — "Note on a disease 

 w the Snoek (Thyrsites atun)": Prof. J. D. F. Gilchrist. The snoek, one 

 of the most important Cape fishes from an economic point of view, is well 

 known to be found frequently in a soft condition. This is attributed by 

 fishermen to the fact that it has not been properly killed on capture, the 

 consequence being that it struggles about in the bottom of the boat, and, 

 in doing so, bruises the flesh to such an extent as to produce the condition 

 mentioned. This condition may occur a few hours after tlie fish has been 

 caught, and may quickly become so marked that the whole of the muscles, 

 especially of the back, appear quite soft and liquid. The process is 

 believed to be totally distinct from decay by putrefaction or by softening 

 i.f the flesii by exposure to the heat of the sun, wliich also frequently 

 occurs. As it was suspected that this condition might be brought about 

 by the presence and rapid multiplication of some Protozoal parasite in 

 the muscles, the diseased tissue was examined microscopically, and after 

 staining with methylene blue and other reagents, the presence of very 

 numerous spore-like bodies was detected. These were all arranged in 

 groups of fours, and occasionally, on fixation by heat, long filaments were 

 shot out from them, showing that they were Protozoa belonging to the 

 group of Cnidosporidia, which are known to produce diseased conditions 

 in the muscular and other tissue of fish. The groups of four bodies with 

 filaments suggests the family of the Chloromyxidse, with their four polar 

 capsules, but there is reason for believing that they represent spores, not 

 polar capsules, and if so they probably belong to a new form of the Micro- 

 sporidia.— " Mycological Notes, I." : Dr. Ethel M. Doidge. 



