254 Bev. G. Bailey on the 



was due, I looked over the chalk-pit close by, and secured two 

 or three specimens of Micraster. These fossil Echini, however, 

 had been too long exposed to changing atmospheric influences to 

 fit them for use as cabinet specimens : for they had not been in 

 my possession many months before the tests fell in fragments in 

 the tray where they were kept, leaving me only so many casts of 

 chalk instead of complete specimens of Echini. Although some- 

 what disappointed at the time, I took one of these masses of 

 chalk that had replaced the living substance formerly occupying 

 the now broken shell, and prepared it for microscopic examination. 

 It soon became evident that, in losing the specimen I had vainly 

 hoped to preserve, I had gained a most interesting addition to 

 my store of cretaceous Microzoa. 



The shell of the Echinus had been occupied by a large number 

 of Foraminifera, and these tenants of the fossil shell were in a 

 splendid state of preservation. Some of these were by no means 

 easy to clean perfectly, especially such as had any roughness of 

 outline or any spiny projections, for they were coated with 

 amorphous silex. 



No less than forty-five species of Foraminifera are observable 

 on the slides available for inspection this evening, and some of 

 them are of special interest. Prof. Jones, in his ' Catalogue of 

 the Fossil Foraminifera in the British Museum,' gives a list 

 of the Foraminifera of the chalk and chalk-marl of England. 

 ■ Amongst the tenants of this Echinus are three species of Lac/ena, 

 two species of Cristellana, one species of Textularia, one species 

 of Bigenerina, and one species of Truncatulina, not included in the 

 above list. 



Unfortunately I am at present unable to identify with 

 certainty all the species to be seen on these slides, yet the 

 generic features are placed beyond reasonable doubt. The list 

 of Foraminifera attached to these notes is as complete as prac- 

 ticable from the very limited source herein indicated. Chalk 

 taken from outside the fossil I am referring to contained other 

 Microzoa which were not found inside the specimen ; for 

 example, sponge-remains were plentiful outside, but not inside, 

 only a few small fragments of spicules and two or three 

 gemmules being found within the shell. Polyzoa were not 

 wanting outside, but scarcely a trace was visible inside. 



Two remarkable organisms are indicated on slides No. 1 and 

 14. They are circular, and at first I took them to be something 

 akin to the so-called wheels of Chimdota ; but I was impressed 

 with the fact that the spaces between the spokes were not open, 

 but solid. I showed a more perfect specimen than either of 

 these preserved to Mr. Carruthers, of the British Museum, and 

 after a careful examination he gave it as his opinion that it was 

 undoubtedly a Diatom, rendered somewhat obscure by the 



