Proceedings. xiii 



reptiles, he said that in the trias the reptilia became long-legged, 

 and their eyes were modified, as in the case of the Dinosaurians, 

 reptiles so large that some of them probably weighed as much as 

 thirty tons. Again, in the Ignanodon the armour-like covering 

 probably gave way to a hairy skin. The bones of the Dinosau- 

 rians were tubular, and in this respect approached the bird 

 structure. One of the great difficulties of tracing the develop- 

 ment was the scarcity of the fossil remains of birds, but in the 

 Archasopteryx of Solenhofen we have a true fossil bird, about the 

 size of a magpie, but having a long vertebral tail. Then we have 

 the birds of the Kansas chalk. A strong mark of resemblance 

 exists in the eye, which in birds is set in a circle of locking 

 bones ; this is found also in Iguanodon. Again, the condyle, or 

 process at the base of the skull, is single in reptiles and birds, 

 whilst it is double in all mammals. The structure of the verte- 

 bral bones, though varying somewhat, show again a close 

 relative correspondence between reptilia and birds, as also does 

 the consolidation of the pelvic bones. In Hesperornis the pelvis 

 assumes the bird form. The lecturer then described the Dinor- 

 nis, and other gigantic struthian birds, and said that though 

 there were no living wingless birds in Madagascar, the bones of 

 Efioj-nis macchmis were found there. The lecture concluded 

 with a description of the structure of our recent birds, showing 

 the greater or less development of certain parts in conformity to 

 the conditions under which each species existed. At the con- 

 clusion of this admirable paper observations were made by the 

 President and Mr. Mennell, who drew attention to the discovery 

 by Mr. Klaassen, a member of the Club, of the bones of a gigantic 

 bird in the strata of Park Hill. 



Dec. I'Lth. — In the unavoidable absence through rather sudden 

 illness of Mr. J. Charters White, who was to have read a paper, 

 Mr. H. Tuke Mennell kindly took the evening, and gave a most 

 interesting and graphic account of a visit to Norway. After re- 

 ferring to the geology, botany, ornithology, &c., of the country, 

 Mr. Mennell described and discussed the origin of the remarkable 

 fjords, which everywhere break up the coastline, and Dr. Hinde, 

 at the conclusion of the paper, made some additional remarks on 

 the same subject. These notes on Norway will appear in our 

 * Transactions ' (Trans., Art. 108). The President then made a 

 report on his microscopic examination of dust collected on the 

 glass of cases exhibited at the Soiree. It consisted chiefly of 

 such materials as might be expected to occur in large crowded 

 assemblies under such circumstances. There were traced fibres 

 of wood, cotton, silk, wool, jute, particles of iron, silica and 

 leather, small barbs from feathers, human hair, and hair of 

 chinchilla, besides one or two uncertain atoms of material. Mr. 

 Philip Crowley also exhibited and described a nest and an egg of 



