12 



to assist all fresli recruits to our ranks is proverbial, I attri- 

 bute chiefly our unimpaired vitality. 



In looking back at the work achieved during the past year, 

 beyond the pale of our Club, I feel how incompetent I am to 

 bring before you a tithe of the results, and I must be con- 

 tent to record a few of the most noteworthy. 



On the great question of the day — The Origin of Life — I 

 can ofier you no evidence based on personal investigation, but 

 I may premise, that I am not a believer in Abiogenesis, and 

 the position has certainly not been strengthened during the 

 past year, but rather the contrary, for so far as I can judge, 

 the experiments tend to prove, that if existing germs be de- 

 stroyed, and the entry of new ones absolutely excluded, we 

 fail to meet with even the irrepressible Bacteria. The first 

 has been secured by more carefully bringing all parts of the 

 interior surface of the vessels in contact with the hot liquid, 

 the latter by the use of stoppers which act as filtering media, 

 thus plugs of cotton wool were adopted by Dr. Eoberts in his 

 experiments at Manchester, and porous earthenware by 

 Huizinga, which was luted into the necks of the vessels by 

 means of asphalt : both have proved efiective for the purpose 

 intended. 



To pass to another subject, I may point out that the facts 

 established by Mr. Darwin, on the part played by insects in 

 the fertilization of plants have been widely extended ; nay, 

 we may almost question whether any flowers have been con- 

 structed for their own independent self-impregnation, while 

 many are obviously formed so as to prevent it, but ofier 

 wonderful contrivances for the process being efiected by 

 insects. The instances of Dimorphism and Trimorphism in 

 flowers so ably investigated by this great naturalist are so 

 curious that I cannot forbear referring to them. He showed 

 that in numerous Primulas, some flowers have a stigma pro- 

 jecting at the throat of the coroUa-tube, and no anthers 



