PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 191 



which would never be settled. He asked why Dr. Pritchard did not 

 mention the striation of the rods, as this was to be seen by teazing 

 with bichromate of potash, and stated that he had traced the fibrilla- 

 tion along the outer rods and into the membrana basilaris in osmic 

 acid preparations. The fact that the rods increased in size towards 

 the apex of the cochlea, he believed had been previously mentioned by 

 some German author. He considered that teazed preparations were 

 better for examination than sections, and doubted with Helmholtz 

 whether the rods vibrated as they were stated to do, since they were 

 firmly fixed the one to the other. He asked if cells existed between 

 the rods, and said he considered it easy to demonstrate cilia on the 

 rods, and accounted for Dr. Pritchard's not having seen them by the 

 fact that he used chromic acid in the preparation of his specimens. 

 The nerve cells described by Dr. Pritchard he believed to be simply 

 epithelium. 



Dr. Bruce asked how Dr. Pritchard prepared his specimens. 



Dr. Pritchard, in reply, stated that he had used chloride of gold 

 for staining the nerves, but with no very good result, and he had not 

 succeeded in setting up inflammation. The animals he had made use 

 of were cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea-pigs, man, and a kangaroo, but he 

 had found very little variation in the form of the rods in any of them. 

 He believed he had stated that the rods could be split up into fibres. 

 He had discovered the difference in the length of the rods in 1871, and 

 believed that the rods in a living animal might vibrate, although fixed, 

 and thought it hardly fair to compare them to a mechanical instrument. 

 The cilia mentioned by Mr. Schafer he considered to be the fibrillte 

 of the rods torn off from the membrana tectoria, and the cells which 

 Mr. Schafer regarded as epithelial he still considered to be nerve 

 cells, and Dr. Beale had also expressed his opinion in favour of their 

 being nerve cells. With regard to methods of preparation, Dr. 

 Pritchard referred those interested to the ' Quarterly Journal of 

 Microscopical Science ' for October, 1872. 



A cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Pritchard for his 

 valuable and interesting paper, which was illustrated by many excellent 

 models, diagrams, and specimens. 



The following presents were announced : — An Italian Medical 

 Journal from Signor A. Tigri. Nine Slides from Mr. J. W. Groves. 



The meeting then resolved itself into a conversazione, at which 

 several interesting specimens were exhibited. 



Manchester (Lower Mosley Street) Microscopical Society.* 



Report of Annual Meeting. 



The third annual soiree of the Microscopical section of the Natural 

 History Society, in connection with the Lower Mosley Street schools, 

 was held on Tuesday evening, February 4, 1873. There were about 

 200 present, amongst whom were Professor Williamson, Mr. John 

 Barrow, Mr. Thomas Peace, Mr. Councillor Nield, Mr. Thomas 



* Contributed by Henry Hyde, Hon. Sec. 



