101 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Gulliver gave a lecture " Ou British Reptiles and Batrachians, 

 with a comparison of tlie red corpuscles of their blood with those of 

 certain exotic species." Though the characters afforded by the 

 blood-disks have not yet found their place in systematic zoology, 

 they are so important that they must soon be regularly recognised. 

 He showed specimens of these corpuscles from all our indigenous 

 Reptiles and Batrachians, and from the foreign Siren, Proteus, 

 Ampliiuma, Menopoma, ISIenobranclius, Cryptoiranchus, Siredon, 

 and Lepidosiren. Tlie blood-disks of the Proteus were long re- 

 garded as the largest known, but a late discovery had shown that 

 they are still larger in Amphiuma. And, so far as regards the 

 blood-disks of Lepidosiren, they must be placed, as the lecturer 

 had long since discovered, among the several Batrachian charac- 

 ters of this singular creature ; no true fish has such large red blood- 

 corpuscles. The comparative examinations were all made in the 

 presence of the meeting, and it was pleasing to see how easily 

 Col. Horsley and his guests were led to realise the main points, 

 and to perceive the relation of the size of the blood-disks with 

 the respiratory function, especially when the comparative small- 

 ness of the blood-disks of mammals was shown. 



July 20th. — Several examinations were made regarding the 

 ordinal characters afforded by Raphides in English exogenous 

 plants, and all found to be quite true, after protracted inquiry 

 among numerous specimens of Onagracete, Balsaminacese, and 

 Galiacece, and of numerous plants of allied but exi'aphidian 

 orders. It was easy to distinguish by the raphidian diagnosis, 

 even in the minutest portion, all species of these three orders 

 from species of any other order of the same alliance as that to 

 which the raphidian plant belonged. 



August Srd. — Mr. George Gulliver, of Pembroke College, 

 Oxford, gave demonstrations of the Sphseraphides of the order 

 Caryophyllacese, especially in fresh specimens oi Dianthus armeria, 

 which is not uncommon about Canterbury. The raphidian 

 character of all the British species of Lemna was shown in 

 contrast with the exraphidian Wolffia, all iu fresh specimens 

 from the neighbourhood of Canterbury. 



Augvst nth. — The examination of plant-crystals was-continued 

 with the same results. A Paper " On the Comparative Anatomy 

 of the British Scaly Reptiles," was read by Mr. G. Gulliver, late 

 scholar at the King's School. 



August 2>\st. — The beautiful Lepides of the epidermis of Callitri- 

 che were examined. They are not unlike in outline to the flat rose- 

 ornament of mediaeval architecture, and are very characteristic, 

 though not yet recognised by systematists. The curious trumpet- 

 shaped Micropyles iu the egg of Locusta viridissima were dis- 

 played. 



September \4^th. — 1. Sow easily to see the MarJcings of Pleuro- 

 sigma ; by Colonel Horsley. — It is well known that these mark- 

 ings are so difficult of resolution that much accessory apparatus 

 and very nice management of the light are considered necessary 



