176 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. [ey eo. 
slides from Mr. Hollis for the Society’s cabinet, and of books from 
Miss Barnard and Mr. Nourse for the library. 
Mr. Hennah gave an account of the Dredging Excursion of the 
previous Saturday, and spoke in terms of praise of the “towing net” 
as being almost invaluable in all expeditions, 
Mr. Wonfor read a paper “On the Annual Excursion,” in which 
the chief incidents of the day and the places seen and visited were 
described. 
Mr. J. Robertson read a paper “On Sussex Centenarians, with 
remarks on Thomas Guerin, said to be in his 105th year.” 
July 28th. Microscopical Section. Mr. T. H. Hennah, F.R.MS., 
President, in the chair.—Mr. T. W. Wonfor read a paper “On the 
Eggs of Articulata.” 
While the eggs of all animals differed in their appearance and 
markings, the general characters remained the same, viz. the germ 
vesicle, the yolk substance, and the vesicular envelope; the chemical 
constituents of these substances were albumen, fatty matter, and a 
substance not precipitated by water, the whole being enclosed in 
a shell membrane or chorion, in some cases provided with a lid or 
operculum, to facilitate the escape of the larva. This lid was very 
palpable in some eggs, but neither so evident nor its use so apparent 
in others, seeing the larve ate their way through the shell itself. At 
the apex of the eggs was a point called the micropyle, from which it 
was asserted the larva always emerged, and with which its mouth was 
connected, so that it might receive moisture from without; the ex- 
amination of a large number of eggs of different species had con- 
vinced him that so far from the mouth of the larva being situated at 
the micropyle or that the creature escaped by it, being the fact, it was 
quite the exception in a vast majority of cases. The colour of eggs 
seemed to depend upon the colour of the yolk globules, and changed 
as the embryo advanced, eventually becoming dark brown or black. 
In some eggs the changes could be watched, but in others the chorion, 
consisting of three layers, was so thick as to prevent examination, 
except by very delicate dissections. The females, as a rule, deposited 
the eges; but many examples occurred in which they were retained 
by her and deposited as larve. This was well seen in the crustacee, 
many of which hatched them, either in external ovaries or in a space 
between the body of the parent and the posterior part of the shell; in 
the black beetle (Blatta orientalis), which retained the larve in egg 
boxes until they were ready to emerge; in the blow-fly, in which the 
eggs were hatched within the body and deposited as maggots; and in 
the coccus, which converted her body into a shield for the protection 
of the eggs. Some creatures, by means of special apparatus, placed 
their eggs in the food of the larve; some, like the ichneumons, within 
the bodies of other creatures; and while some made no other provision 
than that of placing the eggs on suitable food, others constructed cells, 
suspended them in cocoons, covered them with varnish, rolled them 
in pellets, or glued them to the hair or feathers of animals. As 
objects for the microscope, apart from their physiological interest, 
they were among the most beautiful things in nature, presenting an 
