64 THE NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST. 
In 1878, Mr. Brittain had another opportunity of examining JZ, /acrymans, 
which was brought to him by a friend residing at Cheetham Hill, from the cellar 
of his house. The specimen was exhibited to the members—it was of a circular 
form, about eight inches in diameter, and the entire surface was covered with 
innumerable pores and dusted over with spores of a bright orange color. 
At the close of the paper a discussion took place, in which Messrs. McLean, 
Doherty, Yates, Miles, Blackburn, Jacob, Boyd, Mestayer, Dr. Smith, Dr. 
Aitken, and the President spoke upon the subject; by which means some 
interesting personal experiences of dry-vot were given, and it was elicited that 
the growth of the fungus might be prevented by due ventilation and dryness, and 
also by soaking the timber in creosote. 
A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Brittain for his interesting paper, and 
during the the Conversazione which followed, the following objects were 
exhibited :— 
Sporesiof the dry-rot Mmeusis, oc cceunes dares an erhseleaaeant Mr. Lofthouse. 
Do. do. i, ich disee. Rketeeacren eee Mr. Chaffers. 
Bissections. from: theserab) SAiit wack ones ced case ea eee Mr. Alston. 
Wood sections (double-stained)..........eceeccssesseescenes Mr. Richardson, 
Multiplex images in Eye of (Beetles. ..:..:cctecssasesse oc even Mr. Boyd. 
Tsxodes of. the Tortoise ja. cscs sethwvacs ace one apeeev Ren teeceabe eee #2 PADo: 
.MANCHESTER NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.—The ordinary 
weekly Meeting of the Lower Mosley-street Society was held on Monday even- 
ing, January 24th, the chair being occupied by Mr. Thomas Rogers. Most of 
the evening was occupied in examining, by means of Microscopes, various 
objects belonging to the vegetable kingdom, such as hairs, glands, and scales, 
the exhibitors being Messrs. Graham, Chaffers, Furnivel, Kennedy, and Hyde. 
Some of the objects exhibited were extremely beautiful, and were greatly 
admired, such as the stellate or star-shaped hairs of Alyssum spinosum and 
Alyssum Wiersbeckiz, and the scales of Rhododendron callaphyllum and Rhodo- 
dendron Maddenii, Several of the leaf sections shown displayed both hairs and 
glands, the latter being very conspicuous in Boldoa fragans, Lavender, and the 
Sweet-gale or Bog-myrtle. Mr. Robert Graham exhibited sections of the 
castor-oil seed, to show the aleurone grains, and also doubly stained sections of 
a fern stem in which were seen to advantage the fibrovascular bundles. Stained 
sections of the leaf-stalk of the water lily, in which were numerous stellate 
crystals, were shown by Mr. Furnivel, as were also the spore-cases of Zodea 
Africana. ‘The Secretary (Mr. H. Hyde) placed upon the table a skein of silk, 
and also two nests of the trap-door spider (JZygale fodiens) which had been 
sent by Mr. Albert Macdonald, of Queensland, a former Secretary of the 
Society, and who left eighteen years ago. The silk had been raised by Mr. 
Macdonald, and spun by his children. 
MANCHESTER SCIENTIFIC STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION. —The 
opening of the present session of the Manchester Scientific Students’ Association 
was celebrated on Wednesday night, January 26th, in one of the rooms of the 
old Town Hall, King-street, by holding a Microscopical Conversazione. A 
number of Microscopes belonging to various members were deposited on a table 
in the centre of the room, and in the course of the evening by their aid various 
objects of interest were shown. Amongst these were the following :—A section _ 
of the human eye, the scales of the sole fish, a number of the sections of coal 
from the Oldham measures, and the circulation in plants. _The gentlemen who 
exhibited were Messrs. T. Armstrong, Noton, Johnson, Burnett, Killenbeck, 
Watts, and Dent. Prior to the instruments being made use of, the chair was 
taken by Mr. T. Armstrong, and the Hon. Secretary (Mr. George C. Yates) 
announced that Mr. Thomas Broughton, of Barton-upon-Irwell, had been duly 
elected a Member of the Society. 
