SECTION MINUTES. 45 



September g, 1909. — General discussion and presentation 

 of botanical and other specimens. Sanford Omensetter pre- 

 sented a specimen of Speiranthes gracilis, found near the 

 Black Horse, Middletown township, this county. The prin- 

 cipal topic of the evening was astronomy, the discussion cov- 

 ering comets, planetary motion, measurement of time, etc. 



September 16, 1909 — Albert S. Barker exhibited through 

 the microscope the individual images formed by the facets of 

 the compound eye of the Sphex insect, and illustrated the 

 optical principles involved by blackboard diagrams. He also 

 exhibited specimens of marine diatoms ; also the fibres from 

 the rear of the eye of the Sphex insect. C. M. Broomall 

 exhibited a fungus which had been treated with Millon's 

 reagent, showing the preservative and hardening action thereof 

 and the increased red color in the parts of the fungus where 

 the natural odor was the most pronounced. He also men- 

 tioned the presence of a small beetle inhabiting the fungus. 

 Miscellaneous discussion. 



September 23, 1909. — Miscellaneous scientific meeting. 

 Among other things Charles Potts spoke of a method of pro- 

 gression which he had observed in the common grub worm 

 when laid upon a plane surface, the creature throwing itself 

 on its back with its feet in the air and moving along by a 

 kind of wriggling motion. Sanford Omensetter exhibited a 

 cicada and described the mechanism concerned in operating 

 the sound drum. Albert S. Barker gave an account of the 

 life history of the "white rust," as found on lilac bushes. 

 General discussion. 



September 30, 1909. — C. M. Broomall reported some 

 observations of a group of sun spots at this time visible. Also 

 with diagrams and the gyroscope illustrated the interrelation 

 of the axis of figure, resultant axis and the instantaneous 

 axis, as concerned in the phenomenon of "variation of lati- 



