46 



PROCEEDIJs'GS OF THE 



fact, no peptic enzyme in plants. But there is this peculiarity 

 about the trvpsin of plants, that it has to work in an acid medium. 

 The President suggested that the proteolytic enzyme of Nepentlies 

 should be termed nepentliin, as that of the Papaw is termed ixqxiin^ 

 and that of the Pineapple bromelin. 



December 5th, 1901. 



Dr. W. Gr. RiDEWOOD, F.L.S., exhibited nine specimens of 

 abnormal sacra in the Edible Frog {Rana escnlenta) and one in the 

 Common Prog {Rana tempomrin). He referred to the fact that 

 in 1897 (Anat. Anz. xiii. pp. 364-367) he had reviewed the litera- 

 ture bearing upon the subject of compound sacra in Anura, both 

 normal and teratological, and stated that if all cases of abnormal 

 sacra met with were to be briefly recorded, with diagrammatic 

 illustrations, it might be possible at some future time to collate 

 the various modifications, and to gain some insight into the 

 principles underlying such irregularities. The specimens of Rana 

 esculenta which he exhibited were all obtained from a batch of 



24 large frogs sent from Germany. They were probably obtained 

 from the same source at the same time, and might possibly have 

 developed from the same spawn. The sacra of seven of these 

 were similar in character. The eighth and ninth vertebrae were 

 rigidly fused together, the coalescence affecting both centra and 

 neural arches. No zygapophyses were present between these two 

 vertebrae, but the foramina for the eighth pair of nerves were of 

 the normal size. In all other respects the vertebral columns were 

 normal. The eighth specimen resembled the first seven in the 

 fusion of the eighth and ninth vertebrae, but differed from them 

 in that the diapophyses of the eighth vertebra were stout, and 

 carried the ilia, whereas those of the ninth vertebra were slender 

 and very much backwardly directed. The ninth specimen pre- 



