304 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



mens were from the collection of Messrs. Veitch and Sons, 

 Chelsea, aud were obtained by the late Mr. J. Gnold Veitch, in 

 Japan, and were given to Dr. McNab by Messrs. Veith as Abies 

 jirma. An examination of the leaves showed that they possessed 

 cliaracters intermediate between Ahies jirma and Abies bifida aa 

 described by Dr. McNab in his paper in the ' Proceedings of the 

 Royal Irish Academy.' The leaves have much thickened hy- 

 poderma but possess the thickened idioblasts so characteristic of 

 A. bifida, but instead of having two resin canals close to the 

 lower epidermis, four resin canals were developed, two in the 

 position in the parenchyma in which they are met with in A.firma, 

 and two nearly in the position they occupy in A. bifida, but 

 instead of being in contact with the lower epidermis they are 

 separated from it by a few chlorophyll-beariog cells. 



Plants raised from the seeds obtained from cones similar to 

 those examined do not possess the four resin canals, but have two 

 in the position in which they are found normally in A. bifida, 

 although a slight irregularity in position has been recorded by 

 Dr. McNab. 



The leaves of the Japanese specimens of Messrs. Veitch are 

 therefore remarkably abnormal, and a possible solution of the 

 difficulty seems to be that the cones brought by Mr. Goold Veitch 

 were those of a hybrid between A. bifida and firma, the charac- 

 ters of these two forms being blended ; that the ovules had been 

 fertilized by the pollen of A. bifida, hence the seedlings raised 

 from the Japanese cones have returned almost completely to 

 A. bifida. If this suggestion be found tenable it will clear up a 

 difficulty of long standing about these two Japanese species. 



Cosmarium-form coming close to Cosm. Hammeri, Beinsch, and 

 C homalodermum, Nordstedt, exhibited, its identification as yet in 

 abeyance. — Mr. Crowe showed one of those rare and interesting 

 Cosmarium-forms very difficult to determine, and yet such as one 

 can see at a glance is not identical with that typical and pro- 

 bably pretty common form with which it shows the nearest 

 relationship. The form now shown was likely to be either Cos- 

 mariurn Hammeri, Eeinsch, or C. homalodermum, Nordstedt, or it 

 might possibly not be identical with either, a point difficult to 

 determine, but it was very evidently distinct from any suppo- 

 sitional form of, for instance, the common sjiecies C. ■pyramidatum. 

 Mr. Archer also had taken the present form in one or two places, 

 but it is undoubtedly very rare in Ireland ; the present examples 

 were taken near Woodenbridge, Co. Wicklow. This form is about 

 one third longer than broad, lateral margins of semi-cells concave, 

 upper margins convexo-truncate, in side view rounded, a minute 

 tooth-like protuberance visible just at the suture, in end view 

 elliptic. 



Brightwellia Johnsoni, exhibited. — Rev. E. O'Meara exhibited 

 a specimen of Brightwellia Johnsoni from Cambridge Estate 

 deposit, Barbadoes. — By a coincidence Mr. Robinson, too, had 

 brought, for exhibition a specimen of the same line species. 



