146 AN HOUR At 



dragon, Borage, or Comfrey, may all be instanced as good 

 examples of this structure, readily accessible and not generally 

 known. A short paper on the subject was contributed by the 

 writer to the Microscopical Society of London, and will be found 

 in their "Transactions." There is much yet to be learned respecting 

 them, if any member of " Ours " will take it up in earnest. The 

 principal points to be noted will be found under the head of 

 "Spiral Structure," "Secondary Deposits," and "Pitted Structure," 

 in the " Micrographic Dictionary." 



Cotton Seed. — Portions, and even entire seeds, may not 

 unfrequently be found amongst the common Sheet Cotton- Wool ; 

 and with these should be examined, for the sake of comparison, seeds 

 of all the Mallow order which can be obtained : — five species 

 grow wild in this country. Then there is the Althcea^ with the 

 various species of Malope, Hibiscus^ etc., the names of which can 

 easily be obtained from any seed-catalogue, and good specimens 

 purchased. 



Recent Polycystina. — I wish there were indeed a " Royal 

 Road to Learning," as those members who think that all which a 

 slide can teach may be learnt at a glance, or in a few minutes at 

 best, seem to suppose. To grasp all the knowledge which a good 

 slide of these organisms is capable of imparting would take a 

 couple of days' steady work. Major S. R. J. Owen's observations 

 " On the Surface Fauna of Mid-Ocean " (Proceedings of Linnean 

 Society's Journal, Vol. VIIL, 1865, p. 202; and Vol. IX., 1867, 

 p. 147) should be specially consulted by any who would go into 

 the subject. They appear to render it certain that the Polycystina 

 live oji the siC7-face of the ocean, appearing mostly at night; that in 

 some tracts they are exceedingly abundant, in others scanty or 

 none at all. Facts of a most interesting kind, relating to self- 

 division, conjugation, and other points in their life-history, so far 

 as known, will be found detailed. 



Teeth from the Sucker of Cuttle-Fish. — I can find none but 

 most imperfect accounts of these peculiar rings of Sucker-Teeth, 

 and am unable to refer to any figure whatever of them : — more 

 information respecting them would, therefore, form a very accept- 

 able contribution to our knowledge. Where spoken of they are 

 described as " horny," but I do not know how to reconcile this 

 statement with the condition these teeth present on a slide I am 

 looking at, where nearly all are broken. And what is still more 

 remarkable, the fractures are transverse ! From mere reasoning 

 on the matter, it seems to me we should expect the fibres would be 

 best fitted to resist strain if they ran longitudinally, and not across 

 the direction in which a straining force would act. I think, too, 



