184 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
may be worth keeping in mind. In the one the (quondam) 
Stereonema threads are elongate, round, and tapering; in the 
other the stems (so to call them) are short, compressed, broad, 
and expanded towards the summits ; both, however, are of a brown 
or yellowish colour, and both bear at their summits monad-like 
bodies bearing flagella, in the one, however, eventually combined 
into groups or families—Uvella-like—in the other seemingly 
solitary and with one or two more drawn out flagella. Pending 
knowledge, however, of these two productions, more especially of 
the latter, no more can be said than that there exists this certain 
amount of analogy, an analogy which may, indeed, by no means 
indicate a true affinity. 
Dr. J. Barker likewise exhibited the organism Anthophysa 
Miilleri under his microscope. The gathering had been made in 
an overflow of the river Tolka, the submerged plants presenting a 
reddish-brown colour from the quantity of this growth. In Dr. 
Barker’s opinion there are two different organisms nearly allied — 
one the ordinary reddish-brown, nearly opaque, branching stems, 
which bear on their summits groups of Uvella-form buds; each of 
these buds has one or two flagelliform cilia; each group is very 
slightly attached by a considerably long, soft, gelatinous, and 
granulated termination of the stem. These groups become free, 
and are found very abundantly rolling about. These have been 
described by Cohn. Dr. Barker had observed also another kind, 
more rarely met with. It has a transparent, straight, or slightly 
curved stem; this stem is frequently seen in gatherings of the 
ordinary Anthophysa. He had noticed, also, a very active single 
bud, like one of the Anthophysa groups, but about three times 
larger; this organism seemed to possess more than one or two 
cilia, and to be very active; on more than one occasion he had 
seen this organism attached singly to the clear stem, just like the 
Anthophysa groups, and struggle, as it were, to get free; it was 
likewise attached to its stem by an interval of granular mucus, as 
in Anthophysa. Dr. Barker expressed his view that, as a general 
rule, many organisms found moving about in gatherings are the 
free buds of attached plants, just as certain diatoms are first 
attached by stems and afterwards become free. 
Dr. Moore showed spiral vessels from the leaf of Nepenthes 
Rafflesiana, forming very pretty objects under the polariscope. 
Dr. J. Barker showed Staurastrwm scabrum, new to Ireland; 
also S. Griffithsianum (at least, the form which Mr. Archer was 
so disposed to name, and not S. spongiosum, as mentioned by him 
at a previous meeting). 
January 18th, 1866. 
Dr. Moore exhibited the prothallia of some Ferns, showing the 
antheridia and spermatozoids. 
