"joumal,^an.1'i?7o!'] PKOCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 59 



Microsco]pical and Natural Historij Section. 



October llth, 1869. Jolin Watson, Esq., President of the Section, 

 in the chair. 



The President delivered a long and interesting address, of which, 

 however, the following is the only passage relating to microscopy : — 



" Some of our botanical members occasionally meet together for 

 exciu'sions in pursuit of their favourite study, and it might be of 

 advantage if the microscojiical members would do the same. There 

 are many districts which would yield reward in working, and I may 

 mention that I have been very fortunate during the j)ast summer in 

 obtaining a large number of infusoria, many of them scarce and some 

 new to me : these were found in the succession of ponds lying in the 

 fields between Castle Mill and Mobberly, nearly every pool possessing 

 its own genera and species, differing from the others. The finest 

 kinds were in the ponds containing water-lilies, and particularly in 

 two where Utricularia vulgaris was abundant. On the stems of this 

 latter plant I found that finest of all the infusoria, Stephanoceros Eich- 

 hornii, in great beauty — a species I had never previously met with in 

 this district ; there were also Floscularia ornata and cornuta, and in 

 addition to abimdance of the more common kinds I obtained Mega- 

 lotrocha aJho-flavicans, Scandium longicaudum, Noteus qnadricornis, 

 Brachionus polyacanthus, Limnias ceratophi/lli, &c., whilst among the 

 decayed sedge-leaves there were abundance of OsciHatorice." 



I)v. Henry Simpson exhibited specimens of Statice spathulata, 

 gathered by himself this autumn on Hilbree Island, Cheshire. 



Mr. Tait sent a portion of the beach from near Alexandi'ia, Egypt, 

 consisting almost entirely of shells. He stated that for miles along 

 the coast the shore was of a similar character. 



Mr. Josej)h Sidebotham read a long paper on " Varieties in Lepi- 

 doptera." 



November 8th, 1869. Joseph Baxendell, F.E.A.S., Vice-President 

 of the Section, in the chair. — Mr. W. J. Eideout presented the Section 

 with one of the " Diotamaceen Typenplatte," prepared by J. D. Moller, 

 of Holstein, and containing 408 separate types of Diatoms, beautifully 

 arranged within an area of an eighth of an inch. The other papers 

 were of no microscopical interest. 



Birmingham Natueal History and Mickoscopical Society. 



November 9. — The President (Mr. W. P. Marshall) read a paper, 

 supplementary to a former one, " On the Transformations of the 

 Gnat." He traced the several stages of the development of this 

 insect from the egg, through the larva and pupa states, to the perfect 

 animal, and the mode in which these transformations are effected, 

 dwelling especially upon the interesting changes which take ^ lace 

 in the manner of respiration, and the special arrangements by which 

 the great alterations in the requii-ements of the animal in its different 

 states are provided for. He then proceeded to describe in detail 

 certain recent observations ho has made upon this subject, which appear 



