99 



MAY 2Mi, Vyii. 



Mr. Step exhibited an abnormal blossom of Cowslip {Priwnla 

 veris) and contributed the following note upon it: — "At the Field 

 Meeting at Ranmore, on May 20th, Dr. Cockayne handed me an 

 abnormal Cowslip flower he had gathered. It consisted of a large 

 inflated calyx with eight lobes (instead of five), 12mm. in diameter 

 with a length of 18mm. It was split at one part and one free edge 

 was coloured with the full yellow of normal corollas. Within were 

 two somewhat shrunken corollas which had no limb. They had been 

 pronouncedly protandrous, for the anthers, which emerged from the 

 mouth of the tube, were empty and brown. The position of the 

 anthers indicated the "thrum-eyed" form of flower, in which nor- 

 mally the capitate stigma reaches only half way up the tube; but in 

 this case the stigmas were protruded beyond the tube 4mm. and 

 5mm. respectively, though they were included well within the calyx 

 and they had not been pollinated. The umbel of flowers was 

 represented solely by this monstrous blossom." 



He also exhibited pairs of the beetles, Xecrophoras vespillo, h., and 

 Silpha thoracica, h., taken at Ockham Common, in and around a 

 dead toad. 



On behalf of Mr. Coppeard, Mr. Step exhibited a remarkable and 

 extreme example of fasciation in the common buttercup {liannnculns 

 acris) from Sidmouth, Devon. The united stems made an irregular 

 riband quite two inches across. The flowers were normal. 



Mr. Withycombe exhibited the asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi, 

 which was now very abundant at Enfield on asparagus foliage. 



Mr. Enefer exhibited some indelible ink which he had made from 

 the petals of 7m germanica. 



Mr. R. Adkin read a paper, " The Lepidopterous Enemies of 

 Man." (See page 26.) 



jt/xVB mi, v.yi-1. 



Mr. Edwards exhibited fossil shark's teeth, Oxyrhina, from the 

 English Red Crag, Walton, Suffolk, and remarked that the mem- 

 bers of this genus were found both in the Cretaceous and Pleiocene 

 periods. 



Mr. E. Step exhibited a female of Vei^pa (jevmanica that came into 

 his study on May 30th. In appearance it was almost entirely black, 

 the clypeus and the anterior pair of legs alone showing any yellow. 



