X t'roct'eiliniis. 



limbs ; this particular specimen having lost nearly all it ever 

 possessed. The electric eel was also the centre of much 

 attention. A number of small fish were thrown into the tank, 

 and appeared to at once feel the terrible effects of the electric 

 shock, for they performed the most violent gyrations immediately, 

 and those which escaped the maw of the eel seemed utterly 

 paralyzed and unable to move afterwards. 



During the year eleven papers have been read at the ordinary 

 meetings of the Club, besides one lecture in the large Public 

 Hall, to which latter members and friends were invited. The 

 following is a list of the subjects of these papers, viz. : — 



Fehruanj 10th. — The " Eeport of the Meteorological Sub- 

 Committee on the Rainfall of the Croydon district for the year 

 1891 " was presented by Mr. F. C. Bayard. The tabulated 

 matter, which shows great care in its arrangement, appears in 

 our last Report (Trans., Art. 101). A paper was read by Mr. 

 C. Lees Curtis on " Nelson's new Projection Microscope." The 

 micioscope projection apparatus is made on the model suggested 

 by Mr. E. M. Nelson, and consists of an oxy hydrogen lantern 

 with a 4i-iuch double condenser, a water trough condenser 

 having a plano-convex lens at one end, and a concave at the 

 other, and so constructed that all heat rays are stopped. The 

 light passes through the condensers and trough, emerging from 

 the concave in parallel rays. To the end of the water trough is 

 attached the microscope, consisting of substage with shding 

 focusing arrangement, having a hinged opening through which 

 the different substage apparatus can be placed in position, the 

 top of this opening is shut with a spring, a large stage with a 

 clip to hold the object and different sized diaphragms, and a 

 sliding body with micrometer screw fine adjustment complete 

 the apparatus. The instrument shown was provided with an 

 oxyhjdrogen mixer jet having rackwork vertical adjustment, and 

 quadrant plate lateral movement; these adjustments allow the 

 light to be easily and accurately centred to the optic axis. 

 L)jfl'erent substage condensers are required to suit each objective 

 used, and arrangements are made for "dark ground" and 

 polariscope effects ; these latter, however, entail considerable loss 

 of light. 



March 9f/(.— " The Early History of the Microscope," by Mr. 

 T. D. Aldous, F.E.M.S. In this paper, which appears in our 

 ' Transactions ' (Trans., Art. 102), Mr. Aldous dealt very fully 

 with the early history and development of the instrument ; de- 

 scribing those by Hooke, 1665 ; Divini, 1672 ; Bonnani, 1698 ; 

 Marshall, 1702 ; Gundelms, 1702 ; Culpeper, 1740 ; Cuff, 1744; 

 Adams, 1771, and others. And considering the perfection to 

 which the instrument had now attained, it was certainly mar- 



