LITSTfEAlSr SOCIETY OF LOlfDON", 



in a Letter to, and communicated by, Tolin Cameron, P.L.S., of 

 Bangalore. 



4. " CofFee-Disease in South America." By Dr. M. C. Cooke, 

 A.L.S. 



February 17th, 1881. 



Frank Crisp, Esq., LL.B., in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. 



Mr. "W. Wickham exliibited and made the following remarks 

 on two Collections of Plants from the Arctic Regions : — Of the 

 57 species of Phanerogams collected by Capt. A. H. Markham 

 whilst in the " Isbjorn " in Novaya Zemlyain 1879, 37 of the most 

 interesting of these were placed before the Fellows of the Society 

 for inspection. The absence of any species of G-entian is re- 

 markable, as it is so characteristic of the European highlands, 

 and, moreover, as Arctic Russia (to which Novaya Zemlya is in 

 close proximity, and from which it most probably derived its 

 plants) contains 6 species of Greutian. Another interesting fea- 

 ture of the collection is the presence of three species of Legumi- 

 nosae found in abundance and of vigorous growth. The order 

 is unrepresented in Spitzbergen and Arctic G-reenland. Of 

 Polemonium cceridetim and its " very arctic " variety or subspe- 

 cies P. humile, it is asked, whence came the variety ? Did 

 causes forming it operate only in part, or were there two sources 

 whence Novaya Zemlya was stocked ? 



The second collection of typically Polar plants exhibited were 

 those from the coast of Franz- Josef Laud, obtained by Mr. Leigh 

 Smith in his successful voyage tliither in 1880. Some 61 spe- 

 cies of flowering-plants were collected ; but from the account 

 given of the country visited, it is very probable a more ample 

 Flora yet awaits investigation. 



Mr. A. Hammond exhibited, under the microscope, "v\"ith a 

 drawing, a portion of the wall of the so-called glandular sac of the 

 larva of the Puss-Moth {Gerura vinula), from which that insect 

 is said to eject an acid liquid when alarmed or irritated. He 

 stated that although there could be no doubt that the organ was 

 the source of the excretion in question, there nevertheless was 

 some difficulty in regarding it as a true glandular structure, from 

 the large quantity of chitinous matter constituting the wall of 

 the sac itself. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. " Observations on some British Fishes." By Dr. Francis 

 Day, F.L.S. 



2. " On Eight-hand and Left-hand Contortion of the Corolla." 

 By Charles Baron Clarke, F.L.S. 



3. "On Leirodermatium affine and a Form of Aphrocallistes 

 from Deep Water." By Prof. P. M. Duncan, F.E S., F.L.S. 



