202 REPORTS. 



coiisiderpd by the author to be unique. — Mr. Lawson Tait made some interesting 

 observaliuus on the var.>ii.ig powers of perception of soumis iu diflereut persons, 

 and in regard to the organs of hearing in lower animals leniaiked that, though 

 he had seen many cases of total deafness in cats, he had never found this to he 

 accompanied by muteness. — Among specimens contributed by members of the 

 section the following may be mentioned : — Mr. Blateh described a very rare 

 beetle, Miscodera arctica, from Hednesford, and exhibited both the nuile and 

 female, the species never having been hitherto recorded further south than 

 "Yorkshire; Mr. J. Bagnall various rare plants from Warwickshire habitats; Misa 

 Hadley specimens of Bellis pereiinis, showing phyllody of various parts of the 

 flower ; Mr. Slatter the male, exceedingly rare, of Conochilus volvox. May 21st. — 

 General Meeting. — Mr. J. Bagnall exhibited Gp}d(»jlossum indfjatuin, from 

 Hamstead ; Mr. T. J. Slatter exhibited Aclthja proU/era on the dead larva of a 

 gnat — a microscopic fungus ; also, U/ra ciisjia, (Confervoid Alga,) both from 

 Kedditch. Mr. A. W. Wills read his third an<i concluding paper of the series on 

 " Freshwater Alga?" June 4th. — Gener.\l Meeting. — Mr. J. Bagnall exhibited 

 Carea;/?(/i'rt, from Sutton Park ; Poterium miiricatiim and AJnpecutus (Kjrestis, 

 from near Marston Green; Mr. H. E. Forrest exhibited AlcymieUa fungosa, 

 (Polyzoa,) from Sutton Park ; Mr. J. Morley exhibited ^/c/(c;;((7 /a ali/hui ; Mr. 

 M. Browne exhibited nine species of PapiliouiiUe, including the rare Papilio 

 xalmoxAs, from West Africa, (unknown three years ago ;) Mr. Bolton 

 exhibited Embryo of the Koach, (Cjipvinus iiifilus.J June 11th. — Biological 

 Section. — Mr. W. R. Hughes presented, on behalf of Mr P. H. Gosse, 

 F.R S., the papers reprinted from Philosophical Transactions "on the 

 Structure, Functions, and Homologies of the Manducatory Organs in the 

 class Rotifera," and "(n the Dia>cious Character of the Rotifera." The 

 following sj)ecimcns were exhibited : — By Mr. Montagu Browne, a white 

 variety of counnon Starling, (Sturnus vulgaris,) from Hamstead. By Mr. J. 

 Bagnall, Foli/stichmii angulare, fr.im Kowiugton ; Sanicrila Europcpn, and other 

 plants, from Fillongley, d'c. By Mr. C. E. Crick, Aquilegia vulgnns, Cyno- 

 glosswii vulgare, and other plants, from Llangollen. By Mr. W. Soulhall, 

 Eqiiisetum. arvense, E. Jimosnm, E. pnlustre, and E. TeJuintein, all from one pool 

 at Edgbaston, in which they occupy distinct situations corresponding to the 

 different aspects of its various parts. By Mr. A. W. Wills, the very rare Rotifer, 

 Melicerta piluln, (Cubitt,) more correctly (Ecistes inhdn, first observed by Mr. 

 J. G. Tatun in 1868, and sul<sequeutly named and described by Mr. C. Cubitt in 

 187'2. The peculiarity of the species is its mode of building up its tlieca from ita 

 own excreta, and Mr. Wills exluliited specimens in which, by feeding the animal 

 on alternate days with carmine and indigo ; he ha<l obtained tubes built of alter- 

 nate courses of red and blue bricks. In referring to this Rotifer, Mr. T. Bolton 

 showed drawings of a tube-building Rotifer, probably another species of the 

 same genus,^ recently descril)ed as a new one at a meeting Oi the Royal Micro- 

 scopical Society, but which he thought to be identical with one sketched by a 

 friend some years ago, and provisionally named (E Anacharis. In consequence 

 of an unavoidable engagement Mr. W. R. Hughes, F.L S., was ol)liged to 

 postpone his paper on Hip/iocoinpus hrerirosfris. June IStli. — General 

 Meeting. — Mr. J. Bagnall exhibited Geranmm Cohimbinum, Oiiohrychis salira, 

 Galium iricofue, llelminfhia echioirles, Carcx acuta, and a number of other 

 plants, found between Binton and Slratforil-ui)on- \von. A number of plants 

 were also exhibited by jNIr. J. Buttorlield. Mr. W. R Hughes, F.L.S., read, on 

 behalf of Dr. Spencer Cobbold, F U.S., a continuation of his valuable cnmunuii- 

 cations on " The Parasites of Man," which will appear in the " Midland 

 Naturalist " for August. The paper was illustrated by numerous remarkable 

 microscopic preparations. 



BURTON-UPON-TRENT NATURAL HISTORY AND ARCH^O- 

 LOGICAL SOCIETY. — The first excursion made by the members this year took 

 I)lace on May '2'2nd, and was to Bardon Hill, under the leadership of !Mr. W. 

 Molyneux, F.G.S. The granite quarries were first visited and the processes of 

 quarrying, &c., inspected. A good general notion of the geology of the district 

 was obtained. The party next made for the top of Bardon Hill, and enjoyed 

 the glorious landscapes visible therefrom. After collecting numbers of 

 geologi(;al and other specimens, the monastery of St. Bernurd waa visited. After 

 tea al the Forest Rock Uutel, the party returned by train to Burton. 



