70 REPORT — 1853. 



On Photographic Plates and Illustrations of Microscopic Objects in Natural 

 History. By Dr. Lankester. 

 The object of the author was to draw attention to Photography as a means of pro- 

 curing accurate copies of objects of natural liistory, more especially of those only seen 

 by the microscope. The disadvantage of drawings in natural history was, that they 

 more often represented the views of the author than correct delineations of the object. 

 This was so much the case with drawings of microscopic objects, that the representa- 

 tions of different observers of the same thing could hardly be recognized as similar. 



Dr. Lankester exhibited a series of drawings of the British Freshwater Polyps, 

 executed by Prof Allman, which he stated were intended to illustrate a work on this 

 subject to be published by the Ray Society. Among these Avere several new species, 

 and he especially called attention to one of these, which seemed to be an exception to 

 the general law tliat the polypidom of the polyp-bearing animals is fixed. In this 

 case the polyp stalk possessed the power of moving, as well as each individual member 

 of the mass. 



Dr. Lankester read the ' Report of the Committee for the Registration of the 

 Periodic Phasnomena in Plants and Animals.' Registration papers filled up had been 

 received from M. Moggridge, Swansea ; Miss Llewellyn, Llangewellach, Glamor- 

 ganshire ; G. H. M. Sladen, Ninfield ; W. C. Nourse, Clapham ; W. C. Domville, 

 Santry, Co. Dublin, Ireland. These papers would be published probably in the next 

 volume of the Transactions of the Association. In connexion with the registration 

 of the phoenomena of life, as affected by changes in the weather, &c., Dr. Lankester 

 called attention to an effort that was now making to register the occurrence of disease 

 in conjunction with the state of the weather. 



Note on the Habits of Fish in relation to certain Forms of Medtisce. 

 By C. W. Peach. 

 The author had observed at Peterhead that the young of the whiting and pollack 

 frequently sought safety from their pursuers in the umbrellas of the various species of 

 Medusae. He especially mentioned the Cyanea aurita, and also a species called 

 C. mscripta by Templeton. He thought this clearly proved that the Medusae did not 

 destroy fish for food, as had been sometimes supposed. 



Notes on a living Specimen of Priapulus caudatus, dredged off the Coast of 

 Scarborough. By John Phillips, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



The specimen, of which drawings were exhibited to the Section, was sent alive to 

 the author by Mr. John Leckenby of Scarborough, in the month of February 1853. 

 It was kept in life three weeks, by renewing of the sea water, with sea-weed and sand. 

 The animal was never observed to make any special efforts to take food, though on 

 the affusion of fresh sea-water, faecal matter was ejected from the anal opening near 

 the base of the plume. In the sunshine it became active, drawing in and exserting 

 the anterior proboscis, quickly and even suddenly ; opening and again contracting the 

 large caudal plume ; bending, extending, and shortening the body without any settled 

 order of changes. The diameter was variable in every part, but near the base of the 

 plume it was sometimes thrice as large as at other times. When in a state of great- 

 est activity — a few days after it arrived in York, — agitation of the vessel occasioned 

 some disturbed contraction of the plume ; the penicilli of this appendage would con- 

 tract separately on being touched ; after repeated contacts, the whole would be shut 

 up so as to resemble a narrow papillated rachis. The surface of the whole body is 

 annulaled ; the rings (about forty) being prominent on the body, but only marked by 

 lines (above sixty) on the proboscis. These rings and lines are ornamented by 

 numerous small prominences, papillary and blunt on the body, mucronated, a little 

 recurved and horny on the proboscis, where they are ranged in twenty-four beauti- 

 fully exact lines, continued to the centre of the variable disc which terminates the 

 proboscis. When the proboscis is drawn inward, the disc becomes folded, so as to- 



