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ago put a small quantity of green scum from a pond into one of these cells, and 

 it was now filled with a beautiful growth of living diatoms and desmids. 



Mr. Golding thought that the matter which had been brought be'orethem was 

 of great interest, since it would enable a person to preserve gatherings as long 

 as possible, and to examine the same objects during an extended period of time, 

 and by this means to make impoi-tant observations upon the changes which took 

 place during growth and development. It might be of interest to the members 

 of the Club to know that it had been recently observed at Liverpool that some 

 rotifers, found in a tank used for cooling the water from a steam engine, had 

 attained an extraordinary degree of development, and were at least twice the 

 size of similar species found in cold water elsewhere. 



Mr. Eeeves said that if Dr. Foulerton would undertake to do the naming and 

 explaining, the Excursion Committee would be most happy to keep him em- 

 ployed by supplying material. 



Dr. Foulerton expressed his willingness to do all in his power, and suggested 

 that members should employ their time during the fortnight between the meet- 

 ings in ascertaining what they had got, and in separating the objects, and should 

 then bring them to the meetings for further examination. 



Mr. Beeves thought the first difficulty always was to know what they had 

 collected. 



Dr. Foulerton imagined that it would be very easy to ascertain this by a 

 simple lens, and having done it, the next thing was to separate the objects— it 

 woald at all events be interesting to do this, and if there was a large supply ob- 

 tained it might be distributed to others. 



Mr. Reeves said that this of course would rest with the individuals who went 

 out ; some brought home a carpet bag full, and they always had plenty to dis- 

 tribute ; but the trouble was to know really what was collected. If Dr. Fouler- 

 ton could name someone in each branch of study to whom specimens could be 

 submitted for identification, and who would give instructions in their special 

 departments, then, he thought, some good might be done. 



The Secretary suggested that the idea held by Dr. Foulerton was that at an 

 excursion probably some members might find Limnias, others might find Meli- 

 certa, and so forth, and that these should be separated from each other and then 

 brought to the meetings for comparison and identification. 



Mr. Eeeves said there was hardly an excursion at which Limnias and Meli- 

 certa were not found — he did not see any difficulty with such well-known forms — 

 but when large quantities of other species were taken, it was a matter of very 

 great difficulty to discriminate between them. 



Mr. Curties inclined to a belief that the question was to a great extent one of 

 distribution. He had often wondered how it was that the excursions produced 

 so little fruit ; and it Avould seem that gentlemen who were able to go out on 

 Saturday afternoons gathered large quantities of materials, but because Mr. 

 Reeves failed to discriminate, the Club failed to hear and know what was done. 

 If those who went would obUge others who could not go with bottles containing 

 a portion of their gatherings, he had no doubt but that the results of the ex- 

 cursions would be found more satisfactory. 



Mr. Reeves expressed his opinion that very few persons would be found to go 

 out if others would collect for them. 



Mr. Curties said this of course was only the natural order of things. 



The Chairman thought that what they really wanted was some worker in each 

 department competent to distinguish what had been collected during the excur- 



