5G 



Mr. Waller, in reply, said that lie liad not observed any cilia, and that the 

 raotion itself was very slow. He thought Mr. Stewart had misunderstood him 

 in thinking that be relied upon external form as a means of identification. The 

 flaccid condition of the osculum to which Mr. Stewart had also referred was not 

 due to any cause such as had been suggested, for whenever he tested it by 

 touching the sponge he found that it immediately assumed the other condition ; 

 and he had taken great care to keep the water perfectly pure at all times during 

 the course of his observations. 



The Secretary read a paper by Mr. Furlonge ' * Ou a Phenomenon of Binocular 

 Vision in the Delineation of Microscopical Objects." 



The Chairman, in moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Furlonge for his communi- 

 cation, expressed his regret at the absence of the President, who would, doubt- 

 less, have been able to give some opinion upon the subject. 



Mr. B. T. Lowne said that having previously paid some attention to the 

 subject he thought he could do something to explain this very strange delusion, 

 for it certainly was a delusion. In drawing an object with the neutral tint re- 

 flector, the image was really seen on the reflector, but it appeared to be just as 

 far behind it as the object itself actually was in front of it ; and it would, of 

 course, be seen whether the light was cut off behind the reflector or not, and it 

 would matter not at all whether with the observing eye they saw tlu ough the 

 reflector or not, the apparent position of the image would be just the same. 

 That a picture could be drawn in the manner described he would admit, be- 

 cause it would be seen, apparently, on the paper with one eye, whilst the other 

 eye would see the paper and the pencil, — the paper and the image thus seeming 

 to occupy the same place. But in that case great care must be taken not to 

 move the axis of either eye, otherwise the pencil and the object would seem to 

 be continually running away from each other. As the reflector was very close to 

 the eye the image would be moved a very little, although quite enough to cause 

 a confusion of outlines. It was, however, most preposterous to suppose that 

 the image went in at one eye and came out at the other ! When an object was 

 drawn through the reflector the observer looked straight through and did not 

 alter the axis of the eye at all, and there was then no difiiculty in keepin/ the 

 pencil upon the image throughout. The ease with which a person could draw 

 with both eyes in the manner described merely depended upon the ease with 

 which he could squint. He should not, certainly, advise anyone to draw objects 

 in this way, because to do so he must squint, and this would be almost sure in 

 the end to damage the eyesight. 



Mr. Unwin said that he had repeatedly drawn an object with the wrong eye 

 when he had been too indolent to arrange the illumination properly. He thought 

 that in doing so he must move the eyes about, but this did not matter so long 

 as the axis of the eyes were kept parallel, or rather, in drawing with both eyes 

 they must always make the image and draAving coincide. He did not know that 

 in doing this he squinted. His experience was that when he used both eyes he 

 did not draw so correctly as he did the other way, and that if he drew the object 

 first with one eye and then, without moving, afterwards drew it with the other, 

 he got two drawings. 



Mr. Charles Stewart said that ou one point he must disagree, and that was as 

 to the eyes being parallel ; their axes must, of course, converge. In drawing, 

 as in observing, it was of advantage to keep the left eye open as well as the 

 right, not necessarily for the purpose of seeing with it, but to relieve it fi'om the 

 strain experienced when keeping it shut. 



