44 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [ Vou. IIT. 
talk yellow”) means to talk High German, which the Plattdeutsch 
peasant pleases to term “nonsense.” In another part of the Low 
German linguistic territory an imperfectly known or uncertain colour is 
called blitzblau und dunnergrau (“lightning blue and thunder grey”) 
though it may be neither blue nor gray. 
Prof. A. B. Macallum, B.A., M.B., Ph.D., read a paper on “ The Struc- 
ture of Cell Protoplasm.” It treated of the question of the structure of 
living protoplasm as known from studies on the dead cell, and from 
observations on the living elements. The various views were com- 
mented upon, and it was pointed out that all of these were the result 
of observations in limited fields of cystological research; that while, 
for example, the reticular structure is present in some cellular ele- 
ments, the vesicular forms in others, and the fibrillar in others again, 
neither of these types of structure may be present in the living cell, and 
that, therefore, students must look to some other view which will cover, 
more fully than those at present at their disposal, all the phenomena of 
cell structure already observed and at the same time explain the rela- 
tions of the nucleus to the cell and to life. A view was advanced that 
the cell protoplasm is an intermediary organ between the living element 
proper—the nucleus—and the outer world, and that the protoplasm is 
largely, if not wholly, derived from the nucleus elements, and therefore, 
as life advances, in accordance with Prof. Minot’s view, the nuclear 
substance diminishes while the cell protoplasm is increased so much that 
the physical conditions imposed by so relatively large an intermediary 
organ bring the life of the element to an end. This view was applied to 
the elucidation of some of the phenomena connected with secretion, 
excretion, movement, etc. Its connection also with the present views as 
to what life is was also discussed. 
FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL MEETING. 
The Forty-Third Annual Meeting was held on 7th May, 1892, the 
President in the chair. 
Donations since last meeting, 80, including 77 back numbers of The 
Canadian Journal, presented by the executors of S. B. Harman; Ex- 
changes, 51. 
A letter was read from the P. O. Dept., Ottawa, stating that the Post- 
master General had received authority from the Executive Council to 
relieve the Institute of the expense of prepaying postage on their reports 
issued from time to time, and to either frank them or place the necessary 
stamps upon them. The Secretary was instructed to return thanks to the 
Post Master General. 
