102 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Dr. Millar, J. E. Mummery, F. H. Ward, F. H. Weuham, C. F. 



White. 



The Chairmau requested the meeting to appoint two gentlemen as 

 auditors of the Society's accounts ; when Mr. W. A. Bevington was 

 proposed by Mr. Curties, and seconded by Mr. Shadbolt ; Mr. B. D. 

 Jackson was proposed by Mr. Guimaraens, and seconded by Mr. 

 Mclntire. 



The Chairman then submitted these nominations to the meeting, 

 and the two gentlemen named were duly elected. 



The Secretary said that it would be remembered that some time 

 ago they received a present from Mr. Hanks, of California, consisting 

 for the most part of specimens of the mineral and other products of 

 that country. Since that time Mr. Loy had kindly mounted for the 

 Society a number of those specimens, and had done so in a very 

 beautiful manner, as might be seen by looking at the slides on the 

 table. Amongst the slides might be mentioned those of gold, silver, 

 various crystals, portions of fossil pine wood, a Podura, curious as 

 being found upon the snow of the Sierra Nevada, and also a very 

 beautiful pulychroic substance, sesqiiioxide of chromium. 



The thanks of the meeting were unanimously voted to Mr. Loy 

 for having mounted the specimens in the manner described. 



Mr. Tylor said, should any of the Fellows of the Society feel 

 inclined to return the compliment, by sending out some objects to the 

 Microscopical Society of San Francisco (of which Mr. Hanks was 

 president) he should be very happy to take charge of them for the 

 purpose. 



Mr. Charles Stewart called attention to some slides of Aulacodiscus 

 Kittoni, which had been pi*esented to the Society by Mr. Curties, 

 having been obtained from materiel collected during the late Congo 

 expedition by Mr. Martin, of H.M.S. ' Spiteful.' On looking at them 

 he found that many of the disk -like boxes were united in columns of 

 two or three in number, and he should like to know if this was a 

 merely accidental cohesion, like that wliich was seen in the case of 

 the red corpuscles of the blood, or like thin disks of cork floating 

 freely on water, or whether it was the result of division of the 

 diatoms in the process of forming two boxes out of one, after the 

 manner of Biddulphia. Mr. Stewart then drew the ai)pearances he had 

 described upon the black-board, and observed that it would be 

 extremely interesting to know how this interlocking came about. 



In the absence of any formal pajier, Mr. Charles Stewart gave a 

 highly interesting description of the life history of the siDonges, 

 showing their general structure, mode of growth and reproduction. 

 He illustrated his remarks by numerous drawings upon the black- 

 board, and concluded by explaining the probable method in which 

 the glass rope of the Hyalouema was formed, and also by reference to 

 the power of boring into hard substances possessed by some of the 

 smaller members of the sponge tribe. 



The Vice-President expressed the great pleasure with which he — 

 and doubtless all 2)]'esent also — had listened to Mr. Stewart's remarks ; 



