xxxii Proceedings. 



ancient forms of burial, he gave a detailed account (which will be 

 published in our ' Transactions,' Art. 112) of the measurements, 

 structure, and contents, comprising bronze, glass pottery, iron- 

 stone, flint, &c., of this barrow, which he considered to date from 

 the early iron period. He also described another place of inter- 

 ment in the neighbourhood of this barrow which was opened on 

 the same occasion, and in which were found three skeletons, and 

 fragments of Samian pottery. The skeletons were evidently 

 those of persons of considerable stature, and of one the thigh- 

 bone had been fractured and reunited at a period long before 

 death. The remains were considered to be of the Anglo-Saxon 

 period. Mr. Collyer made some supplementary remarks on the 

 same subject, and exhibited the bones and other objects obtained 

 in the excavations. 



The meeting on September 19th was devoted to exhibition of 

 specimens, and short communications thereon. Mr. Murton 

 Holmes exhibited specimens of the freshwater polyzoon, Alcyo- 

 nella fungosa, from the Brent reservoir, Middlesex, and described 

 its structure and propagation ; also parasites from the mole. 

 Mr. Goodman exhibited nests of the common and tree wasps, so 

 plentiful during the hot dry summer of 1893, and gave an 

 account of the life-history of the wasp, and of the mode of for- 

 mation of the nest. He attributed their recent abundance to the 

 dry weather of March being favourable to the founding of colonies 

 by the queens who survived the winter. He also exhibited a 

 photograph of an ancient fresco painting in Warlingham Church. 

 Mr. Lovett exhibited a series of stands for simple microscopes 

 designed by working-men "out of their own heads." He also 

 made some remarks on the evolution of artistic designs from 

 simple natural objects, showing in illustration a series of snuflf- 

 bottles from South Africa ; the most primitive of these being a 

 simple gourd, of which the shape was afterwards copied in other 

 materials as wood, gut, ivory and pottery. Another illustration 

 was afforded by a series of cigarette-holders from Holland, origi- 

 nally made of the leg-bone of a hare, but the shape of which was 

 subsequently copied in meerschaum. 



On October 17th, Mr. Goodman read a communication from 

 Mr. Budgen on "The Life-history of the Water Insect, Lrenis 

 najas," illustrated by photographs (Trans., Art. 113). The Pre- 

 sident read a paper containing some notes of a recent visit to 

 Belgium, exhibiting in illustration photographs, fossils and dried 

 plants (Trans., Art. 114). 



The Twenty-fourth Annual Soiree took place at the Publio 

 Hall on November 22nd, and was well attended, though the 

 numbei: of persons present, 567, was slightly below that of last 



