of 
Rev. E. O’Meara showed a slide of diatoms collected lat. 3 south, 
and long. 15 west, upon which he would more enlarge hereafter ; 
he likewise showed an unidentified Synedra from a well at 
Ballinasloe, which he thought likely to turn out new, of which, 
however, more on a future occasion. 
Mr. Archer drew attention to some examples of a production not 
in itself very attractive as a microscopic object, but on account of its 
incapability of being identified as to what it was or to what belonged, 
might possess some interest until those points should be decided, 
when, perchance, indeed it might turn out to be something suffi- 
ciently commonplace. He had noticed it first at Kylemore, 
Connemara, but had seen it since in several other places. Occa- 
sionally, at first glance under a moderate power, it might be taken 
for some elongate form of diatom, but that it certainly was not.. The 
closest examination that could be bestowed upon it seemed to show 
that this was composed of a hyaline, somewhat tough, smooth and 
colourless membranous substance, which is folded longitudinally in 
a scroll-like manner. If formed of a membrane really so folded, it 
would appear as if it must be of a more or less circular outline, or of 
some such shape, and possessing a gradually diminishing width, the 
edge, which ultimately sticks out when folded, being curved or 
rounded. And that this is most likely so would appear from the 
fact that at each end of the object could be seen a zigzag line as if 
formed by the edge of the supposed longitudinally folded membrane, 
whilst, moreover, along the edges of the scroll several series of lines 
could be seen, each terminating where begins a zigzag line, these 
longitudinal lateral lines seemingly indicating the bounds of the folds. 
Further, mostly there appears a lateral wing-like projection, pre- 
sumably the last uncoiled outer rounded edge of-the membrane, these 
wing-like projections gradually diminishing in width till terminating 
at the beginning of the first or innermost zigzag lines. ’ All the 
specimens presented these characteristics ; in some might be seen 
this wing-like portion broader than in others, indicating a partial 
unfolding or less completed folding, or two wing-like projectious, as 
if the sheet of membrane were doubled up the middle, then coiled, 
and both flaps left outwards. No contents or living portion could 
be noticed. If we take an elliptical piece of semi-transparent paper 
and fold it longitudinally, causing each fold as it is made to be 
very slightly wider than the preceding, finally leaving the last 
rounded portion of the paper projecting, and then hold the seroll 
thus made between the eyes and the light, the seeming structure 
and appearance of this (under a low power) somewhat Nitzschia-like 
object will to a great extent be realised. To this attempt to convey 
an idea of the thing or portion of thing now in question must be 
superadded that the examples are sometimes, though rarely, met 
with cohering or united in twos by the ends, and Mr. Archer men- 
tioned that he had seen some instances in which four examples were 
so united in a parallelogram, enclosing a quadrangular space between 
them ; or two or three scrolls are sometimes somewhat irregularly 
appended together, thus, indeed, losing their quasi-diatomaceous 
VOL. XI.—NEW SER. = 
