23 



ihoutjht by s'>mc ti be a fabulous creature, l)at the nalurabst found il to lie an 

 interesting reptile, called "Draco Volaiis, " a dread reptile to the insects it 

 devours, as they w nild d nibtlcis testify had they reasoning powers. 

 Ai'Rii. 21.^ — Soiree, We.sleyan Schools, Peckham. 



Ai'RiL 26. — Excursion to Kidbrooke, led by the President, and those who 

 attended were well rewarded by numerous finds. 

 May I. — 49th Gossip, as usual. 

 May 2. — Soiree, Blackheath Choral Society, 

 May 6th. — Soiree, Nautilus Swimming Club. 



May 15. —125th Ordinary Meeting. Mr. W. J. Spratling, B.Sc, F.G.S., 

 delivered a lecture entitled "Corals." In introducing the subject he remarked 

 that bath in children's books and in the works of many of the poets the coral 

 '• insect " was frequently spoken of. That was a mistake that he hoped none 

 of his audience would ever be found making. Insects were far more complex 

 organisms and occupied a far higher position in creation than the coral animal. 

 This creature belonged to the great family of the coelenterata, the members of 

 which, while possessing merely a trace of a nervous system, had no head. The 

 crelenterata were divided into two classes — the hydrozoa and the actinozoa. 

 The le:turer thea (with the help of the black-biard) proceeded to give an 

 elab irate description, shewing the advance in structure in the two classes, and 

 the formation of septa— primary, secondary, tertiary, &c. ; also the difference 

 in the nu nber of the septa in fossil, and in modern corals. Passing on to the 

 z )antharia, he remarked that they were divided into three classes — sclerobasica, 

 sclerodermata, and malacodermata. The sclerobasica were true socialists since 

 they were groups of pilyps, who lived on a common base of which they wete 

 really a part. Some might sleep while others ate for the community at large, 

 an arrangement which if it could be adopted by the human race might prove 

 beneficial to the inhabitants of the East-end, though probably it would not be 

 relished equally by all classes. The sclerodermata lived in the coral, and were 

 part of it, being in that particular different from the former species. After 

 describing various species of real and so-called corals, which were illustrated 

 by diagrams and sketches on the board, the lecturer concluded his re- 

 marks with a comparison of two rival theories, which sought to explain the 

 formation of coral reefs. For a long ti ne it has been known that corals did 

 not live at great depths, and they, therefore, could not begin deep down and 

 build up a perpendicular wall. No one however, could understand the matter 

 until after Darwin's celebrated voyage in the Beagle. Asa result of the obser- 

 vations he then made he put forward the theory which had stood its ground 

 almost to now. Darwin came to the conclusion that the coral reefs 

 were gradually built up on the slopes of such of the submarine mountains 

 as were near the surface but were sinking. Thus in time the fringing reef be- 

 came a barrier reef and then an atoll. Darwin's theory did not, however, 

 satisfactorily explain everything, and it was being slowly displaced by a more 

 modern theory, supported by Huxley and others. This theory held that the 

 shells and remains of the little creatures with which the tropical seas teemed 

 fell to the bottom and gradually formed a sediment there, which in time made 

 portions of the ocean sufficiently shallow for the coral animals to commence to 

 build. Neither theory could be said to be definitely rejected or accepted, and 

 the question remained a most interesting one. 



May 28. — Presbyterian Bazaar, Brockley, at which several members attended 

 and exhibited. 



May 31. ^Excursion to Grove Park with good attendance and numerous 

 finds. 



