24 



land worker. He also continued his observations on the power of 

 the queen to sting the hand, and decided the question, as befoic, in 

 the negative. 



Starch-sticks in the Latex of Spurqex. — Colonel Horsley gave 

 extemporaneous demonstrations of these in the milky juice of 

 Euphorbia amygdaloides. These rods of starch are, in our Flora, 

 sharply diagnostic of the genus Euphorbia, as described at a former 

 meeting of the Society, reported in the ' Quart. Journ. of Mic. 

 Science,' for January, 1872. 



Red Flint — Capt. S. Gordon 3IcDukin submitted some observa- 

 tions on red tlint found in chalk, near Canterbury, several feet 

 below the surface, and suggested that in them microscopic ex- 

 aminations might detect fragments of sponges or other bodies 

 which may be supposed to afford the ii'on that gives colour to the 

 mass. 



May 1st, 1873. 



The meeting was fully eccupied in the examinations of specimens 

 provided by Colonel Horsley, Mr. Sibert Saunders, and ilr. Eulla- 

 gar, of fiuviatile and marine zoology, and fresh botanical specimens 

 collected by Mrs. Dean. 



May 15th, 1873. 



Extirpation of Rare Plants. — Mrs. Dean brought several rare 

 plants, and made the usual complaint that they are becoming 

 gradually so scarce as to threaten their total extinction. Where- 

 upon some strong observations were made on the rapacious cupidity 

 of mere collectors, and the vain and absurd notion that a know- 

 ledge of botany consists in collecting specimens and calling them 

 by their scientific names — an error fostered by the too common 

 practice of societies in offering premitims for the largest collections, 

 instead of being guided by the proper tests of the candidates' 

 knowledge, which would nowise cause the destruction of our rare 

 plants. 



Senecio squalidus — This ragwort, though reported in our Floras 

 as peculiar to Oxford and Bideford, is abundant at Canterbury. 

 The pollen-grains were examined by the Hon. Sec, and found to 

 be oval and muricated, l-800th of an inch long and I- 1 143rd broad, 

 and showing three scars when treated with sulphuric acid. 



Crystal Prisms in the Ovary nf Composited. — Of these Mr. 

 Gulliver showed specimens in the ovary-coat of Cyanareae, and 

 described their taxonomic import. They are figured, with other 

 plant-crystals, in ' Science Gossip,' May, 1873. 



Shape of the Nucleus of the Blood-discs of PyrenoRmxtous Ver- 

 tebrates, — He also exhibited preparations from which it appeared 

 that, stating the breadth of the nucleus at 1, its length is from 2 

 to 2^. This is the regular form in most birds, but there axe ex- 

 ceptions, as in the common fowl, which has the nucleus much 

 shorter, often merely suboval, and hence, perhaps, the German 



