15 
by means of his own head, generally cut off much of the 
illumination, so that to overcome this and to see into 
the back of the eye, a special instrument was necessary, 
The retina was the part of the eye where nervous im- 
pulses were generated, but exactly how this came about 
was not yet known. Its complicated structure was 
accurately known, but the meaning and use of the 
various layers were not yet understood. In the layer of 
rods and cones certain definite effects of light could be 
noted, and these had been described, but they did not serve 
to explain how the nervous impulses were generated, 
Lastly, the central portion of the retina known as the 
“yellow spot” was referred to as the region of most dis- 
tinct vision, and the reason of this was explained to be 
that it was so much more richly supplied with nerve 
fibres than any other part of the retina. 
Outdoor Meetings. 
On Friday, 21st June, 1901, a ramble in Ken 
Wood took place by Lord Mansfield’s kind permission. 
The party, which numbered about forty, was conducted 
by Mr. James E. Whiting and by the Hon. Secretary. 
On Friday, 19th July, a meeting took place in the 
Zoological Society’s Gardens, Regent’s Park. Owing to 
the unavoidable absence of Mr. Bartlett, the superin- 
tendent, the party was conducted by Mr. Thomson, the 
assistant superintendent, and by the Hon. Secretary. 
On Saturday, 14th September, a ramble in the 
neighbourhood of Northwood was conducted by Mr, 
James E, Whiting. The route taken was by way of 
