11 



Buch an excellent attendance of members at this meeting— with such a depressing 

 morning nothing but a love of natural science could bring so many men into the 

 field. Ihey had, however, been more fortunate than could have been expected ; 

 the rain had kept off sufficiently to enable them to accomplish the day's 

 programme, and he only hoped they had all enjoyed themselves as much as he 

 had done. 



Though a long time had elapsed since the club laet they had not been 

 idle. On paying a visit to the Mistletoe oak of Tedstone Delamere, it was found 

 to be closely threatened by ivy growing up the tree and was overcrowded with 

 other trees. He wrote to Mr. Bickerton Evans, of Whitbourne Hall, the 

 proprietor of the tree, and received from him a very kind letter, stating that 

 the ivy should be immediately cut from it and the tree properly cared for. 

 Mr. Hoskyns then read Mr. Evans' letter, and certain matters of business were 

 then alluded to, after which 



Dr. Bull exhibited to the club an interesting series of shells, which had 

 been very kindly sent to him by Mr. Lee, of Caerleon, and which seem to bear 

 closely on the great question of the day, the transmutation of species. They 

 were shells of Vohata multiformis, from the fresh water formation of Steinheim, 

 in the Mayence basin ; we should call it the Middle Tertiary, or Miocene, but 

 Professor Quenstedt, of Tubingen, speaks of it as " the second mammalian 

 formation." In his learned woik, "Handbuch der Petrifaktenkunde," p. 982, 

 he describes the formation and its shells, and avails himself of the careful 

 investigations on the subject, which a certain Dr. Hilgendorf has made. These 

 shells of Volvata multiformis present every variety in shape from the flat 

 " planorbiform " to the spiral "trochiform." Amongst them three leading 

 varieties are chiefly recognised as well as the several intermediate ones. A 

 copy of the wood-cut in Professor Quenstedt's work (plate 86) was handed 

 round, showing the series in regular gradation. The most "trochiform" 

 variety is the latest in time, and the most developed. Amongst these, says the 

 Professor, there is scarcely a flat planorbiform specimen to be found. Some 

 fresh water American shells have forms very similar to these. 



• The President then called upon Mr. Flavell Edmunds to read his pro- 

 mised paper 



