353 



■who saw him conduct some of them, he did not think that they 

 could be trusted, or were of any value. Mr. Ekin had also alluded 

 to Sir "William Thomson's theory of the origin of life, and, with all 

 respect to Sir William, very few would for a moment listen to it. 

 It was very ingenious, and very clever, but there was certainly one 

 strong objection to it, if no other. Supposing all he had sketched 

 out in his imagination, was it possible that any life whatever could 

 have gone through the extent of space that it must have passed 

 through, and the temperature of that space, without being destroyed. 

 The mere question of climate alone would be quite sufficient to 

 negative any such idea. Mr. Blomeheld concluded with some 

 observations on the action of metals upon animals, and on blight. 



Dv. Hunter remarked on the apparent approach which the 

 chemical synthesis of urea and the vegetable alkaloids made to a 

 true non-parental generation of organised substances. These 

 alkaloids were, however, no more than stored secretions, and, not 

 like the starch on the fibre, parts of the growing structure. 

 Chemical synthesis should be imderstood to be very far from a 

 vital generation, and, if indeed it could be extended to all 

 crystalline matters, the excitation of growth in an artificial 

 protoplasm was as far off as ever. 



The next paper, " The Viper : its Character and Species," was 

 read by the Secretary, in the absence of Dr. Bird (Vide p. 299). 



The President read a letter he had received on the subject from 

 Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, who wrote : — 



Vipers have frequently two pairs of fangs ; they are renewed when broken, 

 and sometimes a second pair is produced when the originals are still there, 

 and the difference between the two European vipers is that one has sym- 

 metrical small shields on the head which are not present in the other ; only 

 one species of viper that I am aware of has been found in this country, which 

 varies greatly in colour, from grey to bay and to black, the northern specimens 

 being generally of the latter colour. 



Mr. Blomcfield also made some remarks on Dr. Bird's paper. He 

 stated that the viper seemed much more abundant in the western 

 counties than in the eastern ; in Cambridgeshire it was so rare that 

 he had never heard of but one well-authenticated instance of its 

 being found there. Its geographical distribution in this country 

 was rather remarkable, abounding in Scotland and some of the 



