TR ee ee ed Leese. hr? ee 
. . - 
ee Se, 
Se . 
25 
the only class of plants dependent upon matters already organised 
are fungi; that they require a large, ready, and constant supply of 
carbonic acid and ammonia. To these I would add rye grass and 
other of the carnivorous tribe of plants, such as nettles, and others 
which follow in the wake of civilisation and haunt the steps of man. 
The absorption of carbonic acid takes place through the pro- 
senchyma of the root, not by the hair-like processes which I havo 
previously described ; it, finding its way into the tissues of the plant, 
is then decomposed by the action of light, the carbon being assimi- 
lated into wood fibre, and the oxygen given out. This is in 
antagonism to the generally received idea regarding plant respi- 
ration, which is that the carbonic acid is absorbed by the stomata 
which exist in the plant. In support of this view, I may mention 
fungi and cascuta do not obtain carbonic acid from the atmosphere, 
but from the nidus upon which they feed. Again, we have another 
analogy between fungi and carnivorous plants. Fungi grow in the 
dark, and, curiously enough, the effect of the light is not so im- 
portant in the growth of Italian rye-grass and other carnivorous 
plants; they grow faster in the night. Carbonic acid is supplied at 
their roots when fed by Sewage, and it is found that the sewage 
which passes on to the fields at midnight, and is collected before 
sunrise at the outfall, is as effectually purified as that which passes 
on at mid-day and is collected at sunset, 
A short discussion followed, and the proceedings terminated in 
a hearty vote of thanks to Dr. Carpenter. 
Mr. J. H. Ley exhibited plants of Dione Muscipula, and My. 
W. H. Rowland a pair of Hybrid Pheasants, male and female. 
The following members put their microscopes at the service of the 
lecturer:—J. Gregory, J. 8. J ohnson, E. Lovett, K. McKean, A. D. 
Taylor and the President. 
September 15th, 1875.-~-Alfred Carpenter, Esq., M.D., in the chair. 
The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. 
J. 8. Wright, and Mr. William Dickinson, M.A., were ballotted for 
and duly elected members, 
The business haying been concluded, the meeting resolved itself 
into a conversazione, at which the following articles were exhibited 
under microscopes :— 
Petal of Geranium (stained) 
N. Bogle-French, jun. 
Section of Mole’s Jaw 
res Fox’s,, she iat re Philip Crowley. 
»» Foraminifera 
ie Whalebone wy Lee aa Edward Lovett. 
Rose Aphides ae at as ee George Manners, 
Fibres of Muscle (Anodon Cygneus) ... K. MeKean. 
Pond Life ... an x a oe E. B, Sturge. 
