22, 
Watural thistorpy Section. 
Friday, oth January, 1903. Sir Samuel Wilks, 
Bart., F.R.S., in the chair. 
Mr. Walter Wesché, F.R.M.S., showed an 
interesting collection of Diptera, many of which were 
local specimens, being taken in his garden in Belsize 
Park Road. Mr. K. I. Marks, F.R.M.S., exhibited 
a ‘‘palpus’’ under the microscope which Mr. Wesché 
had recently discovered in the Diptera ; this ‘‘ palpus”’ 
was stated by the exhibitor to be a ‘vestigial 
structure.” Sir Samuel Wilks, on behalf of Mrs. 
Allen, showed the eggs of a tortoise (sp. ?) which were 
laid in Mrs. Allen’s garden; and he also exhibited a 
section of a plane tree which presented unequal growth, 
the side of lesser growth being due to want of air, 
sunshine and other accidents concomitant with the tree 
being planted against a wall. A series of Southern and 
Tropical cones was shown by Mr. Hugh Findon, and 
he raised the question of the cause of their diverse 
markings. Dr. J. W. Williams, F.L.S., stated that 
this was due to the special placing in special ways of 
the pigment secreting cells at the edge of the mantle, 
a special placing which would and does vary with the 
species. Dr. J. W. Williams exhibited the Rosy 
Feather Star (Antedon vel Comatula rosacea) and its 
pentacrinoid form, and made some observations on its 
structure and life history. The Crinoidea, he remarked, 
were a decadent class. Palzontologically speaking 
with few exceptions (as Marsupites) they were through- 
out their whole life stalked, whereas the majority of 
species now living were not stalked but free swimming 
in the adult stage, though stalked in the larval or 
pentacrinoid stage. This was a good illustration of 
Heckel’s ‘fundamental biogenetic law” that ‘‘the 
development of the individual is an epitome of the 
