14 



fast one is not necessary, one givinjj about l-6th 

 to 1-lOth second will be found quite fast enough. 

 In these cases a well-lighted spot must he selected, 

 and as larcje a stop as possible used in the lens so 

 as to avoid under exposure, which is quite fatal to 

 this kind of work. The best plan will he found to 

 be — having first selected our ohj-ct, to s^t up and 

 focuss the camera, insert the dark slide, set the 

 shutter, and wait until our subject is in the beat 

 position ; when we are ready to make the exposure. 

 With nests of young birds a few chirps will make 

 them sit up and open their bills as if expecting 

 food. Young birds may sometimes be made to sit 

 up alone to be photographed, and then this plan 

 is the only means by which it may be done. 

 Smaller objecls, such as frogs, spiders, snails, 

 butterflies, ftc, can also be approached and photo- 

 graphed, but with bees a different metliod must 

 be employed. Some flowers must be selected 



where we have noticed bees at work, and one or 

 two chosen, and the camera focussed upon them, 

 the other flowers should then be removed, the 

 dark slide and shutter made ready, and the 

 photographer prepared to wait until the arrival 

 of a bee. When he alights, and is in the de;ired 

 position, the exposure c»n be made at once. The 

 development of this kind of work does not differ 

 from that of any other kind of photography, and 

 as the photographer will have already had some 

 experience in the dark room before attempting 

 this branch of photography, his ordinary developer 

 and apparatus will suffice, only that care is needed 

 not to develope the negatives too bar* 1 and dense ; 

 a soft, well-graded negative giving the best 

 results." 



A hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer concluded 

 the proceedings. 



ELEVENTH WINTER MEETING— MARCH nth, 1902. 



''THE PUNCTJONS OF PLANTS." 

 By Mr. J. B. Cornfoot. 



The eleventh meeting was held on March 11, 

 when Mr. Cornfoot, of Heme Bay, kindly came 

 over and gave us an interesting lecture entitled as 

 above. The lecture was fully illustrated by 

 means of many coloured diagrams which had been 

 prepared by the lecturer. The chair was taken by 

 the President, and among those present wure Mirs 

 Kearney, Miss Cole, Miss Sworn, Miss PItillpotts, 

 Messrs T. G. Marsh, C. A. Gardner, J. 1. Smith, 

 C. Buckingham, W. Surrey, F. < '. Snell, the Hon. 

 Secretary (Mr- A Lander), and others. 



In commencing his paper, Mr. Cornfoot stated 

 hia subject would be *' The functions of plants in 

 the economy of Nature." He thought they would 

 all agree that the workings of Nature were very 

 wonderful, but when they began the study of 

 natural history for the first time they were apt to 

 fxperience some difficulty in grasping this fact. 

 This, he thought, was on account of the mind being 

 som-'what biased with sentiment, and it seemed 

 difficult to understand why such things as the 

 germs of disease were so powerful— indeed the 

 sentimental question was often asked," Why were 

 they ever created? " We cultivate sentiment, and 

 sentimentality seems to be an indispensable part of 

 us. and the workings of Nature are difficult for us 

 t) understand, because the human sentiment forms 

 no part of Nature's laws. Nature's laws are very 

 severe, and in a sense Nature herself is unloveable. 

 Our sentiments are but human eoutrivances, with 

 which Nature has no sympathy. She views the 

 microbe of disease with the same satisfaction as 

 the rose ; she has no favourites. In the study of 

 the economy of Nature we find that no living 

 thing is self-supporting, but that each one depends 

 upon others of a different physiological nature. 

 Having spoken of the division of created things 

 into the Animal and the Vegetable Kingdoms, he 

 mentioned that the connection between the lower 



orders of the two kingdoms is so close that when 

 pathologists found a new germ of disease it was 

 difficult for them to say whether it was animal or 

 vegetable ; therefore for the connecting link 

 between the two they must look to the lower 

 orders. This led him to give a history of the 

 Amosbce, following with the yeast plant on to the 

 multicellular plants, such as the Volvocacje of the 

 AlgiK tribe, on to the mosses, ferns, and trees. 

 Dealing with the nutritive and reproductive 

 functions of plants he pointed out the necessity 

 for plants receiving the radiant energy ot the 

 sun's rays to enable them to carry on their 

 chemical work. The green colouring matter 

 known as chlorophyll stores the energy which is 

 absorbed from the sun's rays, and in the living 

 plant it places it at the disposal of the protoplasm 

 for the construction of the organic molecule out of 

 carbon dioxide and water. The chlorophyll is 

 incorporated with units of protoplasm, and these 

 unit::^ have the special physiological work of 

 attacking the carbon dioxide and separating the 

 carbon atom from the oxvgen atom. The pure 

 oxygen is liberated. A leaf is virtualiy a miniature 

 chemical laboratory. There is one class of plants 

 — tlie Fungi— which do not possess chlorophyll, 

 and are therefore unable to absorb this life energy 

 from the sun's rays, and are quite unable to 

 manufacture their own carbonaceous food. They 

 might be regarded as the pirates of the vegetable 

 kingdom, as they obtain tbeirtood and life energy 

 either from other living bodies or their decaying 

 remains. The remaining part of the paper dealt 

 with the development of the Vegetable Kingdom, 

 traced through the reproductive organs and the 

 fertilization of plants by insects, and concluded by 

 referring to the bacteria, stating that if our blood 

 and tissuHs are in a sound and healthy condition 

 they will digest these germs. When only a small 



