on The Ashes of Plants and the Arrangement of their Solid 

 Constituents. The rev. gentleman drew the attention of the 

 members to the forms taken by the silica and other incom- 

 bustible constituents of the ashes and their relation to the 

 form of the spiral and other vessels of the plant, arguing 

 therefrom that they were essential parts of those organs, 

 skeletons as it were on which the carbonaceous matter was 

 arranged and not mere earthy particles taken up for the sake 

 of the ammonia, &c., in combination with them and dropped 

 ■without arrangement as effete among the fibres. The paper 

 raised some discussion, but the majority of speakers supported 

 the rev. lecturer's view. 



Mr. Harvey also read a short paper on the so-called 

 " Circulation in the Valisneria," which also led to a brisk 

 d'scussion as to the said movement being an evidence of active 

 life or of decay. 



Major Cox then exhibited some wood from a dog kennel 

 bored by insects, and swarming with a species of Tick — the 

 Ixodes Plunibeus — but whether they had bored the wood 

 seemed doubtful, as they are suctorial insects. A number of 

 microscopes were on the table, and a very successful meeting 

 was brought to a close with the exhibition of specimens illus- 

 trative of the papers read. 



An extra meeting for the reading and discussion of 

 papers was held in the same room, on the 29th of April, John 

 Brent, Esq., in the chair, when Mr. Geo. Dowker read an 

 interesting paper on The Sleep of Plants, drawing particular 

 attention to the functions performed by the various organs 

 during the winter repose of the plants ; the accretion and 

 alteration of the amylaceous parts of the rhizomes or roots, 

 and the functions of the altered cells in relation to the spring 

 shoots being especially pointed out. The remarks were illus- 

 trated by diagrams and specimens, and gave rise to an ani- 



