LI>'>'EAy SOCIETY OF LOXDOX. S 



Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited a flowering specimen of a new 

 species of CascariUa (C. Thomsoni), and the bark of the tree 

 from ^ew Grenada ; also two new foreign seaweeds, GeJichium 

 JBeckeri from South Africa, and Leptocladia Bingliamia from 

 California, and three new British Marine Algje, viz. EntophysaUs 

 granulosa and Symploca atlayilica from Swauage, collected by 

 himself, and Vaucheria coronata from Arbroath, collected by 

 Mr. J. Jack. 



Mr. Thomas Christy exhibited and made observations on some 

 remarkably long tendrils oi Landolphia Xirkii, which served as 

 an illustration to a paper subsequently read by Mr. Henslow. 



Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited and made some remarks upon 

 the plant debris ejected in the form of 'pellets' or ' castings ' 

 bv Rooks, and stated that a number of these pellets which had 

 been examined were composed of the cuticles of the succulent 

 roots of the Couch grass {Triticum repens), commonly called 

 ' scutcli,' ' squitch," and ' twitch ' grass, a most troublesome weed 

 to tbe farmer. He also exhibited a rare Australian Duck, 

 Stictonetta ncevosa, Gould, which had been obtained at Gippsland 

 Lakes, Victoria, and of which very few examples were to be 

 found in collections. It was to be presented to the British 

 Museum. 



The following paper was read: — 



*' On the Origin of the Structural PecuL"arities of Climbing 

 Stems by Self-adaptation in response to External Mechanical 

 Forces." By the Eev. G. Henslow, F.L.S. 



February 1st, lS9i. 



Prof. Chables Stewaet, President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the last ISteetiug were read and confirmed. 



The President exhibited a remarkable specimen of a South- 

 African Butterfly, Teracolus halyattes, from Xatal, in which the 

 wings on one side were those of a male, and on the other those 

 of a female, and made some remarks upon hermaphrodites in 

 the Lepidoptera. 



On behalf of Mr. "William Borrer, of Cowfold, Sussex, there was 

 exhibited a skull of the Pine Marten, JIarfes st/Jvesfris, iN^ilsson, 

 from a specimen killed near Crawley (Zool. 1891, p. -loS), an 

 examination of which confirmed the view of the late E. E. Alston 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1S79, p. -469), that, so far as could be ascertained, 

 this is the only species of Marten found in the British Islands. 



On behalf of Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier there was exhibited a 

 drawing of a Snow-Leopard, taken for the first time from life, 

 viz., from the animal now living in the Zoological Society's 

 Gai'dens, Eegeut's Park. 



