Ixxiv Proceedings. 



The portion projccfcing beyond the skin is the shaft or scape, that 

 below, the root. Two elementary parts are visible in the shaft : 

 the medulla or pith, consisting of a number of large cells of 

 various shapes, generally containing air ; and an outer fibrous- 

 looking portion, more or loss coloured from pigment-cells — the 

 cortical portion. It is upon this that the colour, firmness, and 

 elasticity of the hair depend. 



By prolonged soaking in caustic potash hair becomes separated 

 into nucleated cells. 



The hair of the ornithorhynchus or duck-mole, is of peculiar 

 construction. The lower portion of the shaft is very long and 

 narrow, with a flattened expansion at the apex containing air and 

 pigment-cells. The author considered this structure somewhat 

 analagous to the expansion of the shaft in the feathers of the 

 wax- wing, &c. 



The hairs of animals belonging to the different natural orders 

 were then described, attention being directed to the great deve- 

 lopment of the medulla in the deer family, and to the composite 

 nature of the hairs of some of the Ungulates. A porcupine's 

 quill was shown to be nothing more than a greatly developed 

 hair, and this is the character of other spines. The scales of the 

 scaly ant eater were described as being formed on triangular pro- 

 jections of the skin. 



Nails and hoofs were shown to be similar in their nature. 



True horns are of two kinds : those with and those without a 

 bony core. The horns of oxen, sheep, goats and antelopes are 

 examples of the former, and the horn of the rhinoceros comes 

 under the latter category. This latter consists of a solid mass 

 of hardened epidermic cells, growing from a cluster of free 

 papilL'B, and only differs from a mass of agglutinated hairs in not 

 growing from follicles. 



Whalebone ia essentially of similar structure. 



The tongues of the various members of the cat family are 

 covered with numerous recurved horny teeth, developed upon the 

 conical papilla) with which the tongue is furnished. These teeth 

 are useful to the animals for rasping off the flesh from the bones 

 of their prey. 



A few remarks were then made on the adaptation of markings 

 on feathers and fur of animals to their environment. 



The paper was illustrated with diagrams drawn from nature. 



The Eighteenth Annual Soiree was held in the Large and 

 Small Public Halls, on the 16th of November, between 7.30 and 

 10 p.m. I have already referred to the prejudicial effect the 

 weather had upon the attend;mce, which was only 590 members 

 and visitors as compared with 820 last year, being a falling off 

 of 230, The number of microscopes displayed was 83, being 



