S . PEOCEEDESTGS OF THE 



Mr. Clement E-eid exhibited some cones of Scotch Pir, and 

 also some carbonized pine-wood, from a peat moss at Parkstone, 

 Dorset. He said the Pine bad become extinct in the South of 

 England after Neolithic times, and had been re-introduced only 

 recently. Its extinction was commonly supposed to be due to 

 forest fires. He found that every piece of pine-wood embedded 

 in the peat moss was similarly charred, while portions embedded 

 in sand w^ere but little altered, and he suggested that the 

 appearance of burning might possibly be due to the action of 

 the growing peat, and have nothing to do with fire. A discussion 

 followed, in which reasons were given for adhering to the older 

 theory. 



Mr. "William Carrutliers exhibited a diagrammatic table, 

 showing an accurate counting of the annual rings of growth in 

 three gigantic specimens of Wellingtonia {Sequoia gigantea), 

 from which he calculated the age of the trees. A section of one 

 in the Natural History Museum, 15 feet in diameter, which was a 

 living tree when cut down, he estimated to be 1330 years old. 

 As illustrative of the size to which these trees grow, he mentioned 

 that he had measured two in America, one of which was 92 feet 

 and the other 77 feet in circumference. A discussion followed, 

 in which Mr. George Murray pointed out that a number of 

 experiments had been made to test the rate of growth of various 

 trees under diiferent conditions of weather and temperature, but 

 that the results varied to such an extent as to aflford no basis for 

 sound conclusions. 



Mr. A. B. Eendle exhibited the fruit oi Meloeanna hambusoides 

 from the Mauritius, where it bad been introduced, and gave some 

 d,ccount of its structure and mode of growth. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. " On certain Authentic Oyperacece of Linnaeus." By Chas. 

 Baron Clarke, P.L.S. 



2. " On the Development of the Mucilage Canals of the 

 Marattiaceae." By Greorge Brebner. (Communicated by 

 Dukinfield H. Scott, P.L.S.) 



April 5th, 1891.. 



Prof. Chaeles Stewaet, President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. 



Mr. William C. Grrasby, Dr. George Darby Haviland, Mr. 

 Joseph Smith, and the Kev. John Prome Wilkinson were elected 

 Pellows. 



