Proceedings. xxi 



than heretofore, a feature which is of great importance to the 

 interest of the meetings and to the information which may be 

 gained at them. 



The opportunity afforded to exhibitors of objects of interest to 

 describe them, which is a new departure, has been strikingly 

 successful, and has added greatly to the interest of our 

 gatherings. As your President I have often to regret on these 

 occasions my want of that knowledge of many departments 

 of Natural History, the possession of which is of such advantage 

 to the chairman of meetings like ours, in enabling him to give 

 an intelligent direction to the discussions. 



Conversational meetings have been held on the alternate 

 fortnight between our ordinary meetings. The attendance has 

 greatly varied, and on the whole has been somewhat dis- 

 appointing. The want of a more convenient and comfortable 

 room to hold them in militates greatly against them ; even 

 success kills them by overcrowding, and is not unnaturally 

 followed on the next occasion by a discouraging paucity of 

 attendance. 



The subjects treated of have been of much practical interest 

 and importance, both to the microscopical student and the 

 naturaUst, and the Club is much indebted to those gentlemen 

 who have freely placed at the disposal of their fellow-members 

 the knowledge and experience and the technical skill which 

 they have acquired by long practice and labour. 



I am indebted to our Honorary Secretary for the following 

 notes of these meetings which, as my address is running beyond 

 the Umits I had proposed to myself, I must put in a very con- 

 densed form. 



Feb. 25th. — Mr. McKean explained his method of preparing 

 shells for the cabinet, and of dissecting the animals for the 

 purpose of extracting the lingual ribbon or odontophores, which 

 form very interesting objects for the microscope. 



March 25th. — "Preparation and Mounting of Fossils and 

 Foraminifera for the Microscope." Mr. Low Sarjeant kindly 

 took the place of the Eev. George Bailey, who was prevented 

 from attending. He explained his methods as follows : — " When 

 from the Chalk : Take some soft friable chalk fi-om the hollows 

 of freshly excavated flints ; suspend it in a fine cambric bag in 

 water, and agitate till it ceases to render the water milky. 

 Thoroughly dry the residue ; place it in a test-tube with a little 

 turpentine, and boil carefully for a few minutes to expel all the 

 air from the chambers of the organisms ; then mount in 

 balsam or damma. When wishing to obtain them from sandy 

 deposits, thoroughly dry the material, then throw it into water, 

 stir rapidly and skim oflf the surface. The foraminifers, being 

 dry and their chambers full of air, will naturally float on the 

 surface. 



