PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Dublin Mioeoscopical Club. 

 21st June, 1877. 



Spurious Isinglass. — Professor "W. E. McNab showed specimens 

 of spurious isinglass sent him by Dr. B. Wills Richardson with 

 the following note : — " This isinglass was imported into London, 

 and I believe was used for mixing with the genuine article. 

 Samples of it were sent to Mr. Harry Draper, who, recognising 

 their vegetable nature, asked me to make sections. Two of the 

 specimens having been swollen by submersion in water for some 

 hours, were then placed in the freezing microtome and the 

 sections made ; when stained they were mounted in glycerine- 

 gum. Each piece has a nucleated cortex, as will be best seen by 

 an examination of the cross-sections." This spurious isinglass 

 consists of altered starch, a few granules being easily separated 

 from the mass, which, all but the peculiar cortex, colours blue 

 by application of iodine. No trace of animal matter exists in 

 the substance. The cortex probably consists of dextrine and 

 gives no reaction with iodine. Dr. McNab failed to find any 

 structures in the cortex to which the name nuclei was applicable. 



Chlorochytrium Cuhnii (Perceval Wright) parasitic on other 

 algce besides Diatoms. — Professor E. Perceval Wright showed 

 fresh examples of his new Chlorochytrium, now parasitic on a 

 green alga, seemingly seated externally upon, yet incorporated 

 with, the host. Hence the parasite had a good deal of the 

 aspect of a " fruit " or " spore " of some kind, and quite possibly 

 it may actually ere now have been so interpreted. 



Living Plants of a Species of Sijpopterygium, shown — Dr. 

 Moore showed a living plant of the curious genus of mosses, 

 Hypopterygium, which has the leaves three-ranked, the third 

 rank being dissimilar to the other two, and closely resembling 

 the amphigastria (stipules) of some Hepaticse. He stated that 

 plants of this genus might readily be taken for a Jungermannia 

 when found without fruit. The plant exhibited resembled a 

 miniature tree fern, with an upright stem above an inch high, 

 with the branches and leaves radiating in a dendroid form. He 

 supposed the species to be Hypopterygium filiculceforme, Bridel, 

 and stated that several of them were received alive from New 

 Zealand, growing on the stem of a plant of Todea superha, and 



