294 Oeological Society. 



The second part of the report deals with the collections from the 

 Western Indian Ocean ; a number of islands lying on the eastern 

 coast of Africa, whose zoological characters were incompletely or 

 altogether unknown, were visited by Dr. Coppinger, and " sufficient 

 materials were accumulated to connect their natural history with 

 that of Seychelles to the northward, and Madagascar to the south- 

 ward." 



Like all the recent publications of the Zoological Department, the 

 present beai's ample evidence of the editorial care of the Keeper : 

 we have noted but two misprints, which are both easily corrected 

 by the context ; the plates are, on the whole, very satisfactory, 

 but those of the Comatulids ought to have been more highly magnified, 

 and some of the Crustacea would have been better if more work 

 had been put into them by the artist. 



We may be pardoned for suggesting to Mr. Miers that the correct 

 form of the technical name of the Sessile-eyed Crustacea is Hedri- 

 and not Edriophthalmata. 



The Trustees have rendered a great semce to science by under- 

 taking the publication of this work ; not only have they given an 

 opportunity to the staff to show their powers of work, but they 

 have, we believe, afi'orded to the Admiralty and to the country a 

 conclusive proof that a large zoological collection need not go here 

 and there to find describers, but that there is a body of men ready 

 at hand to undertake the necessary labour. The fact that some 

 groups are not represented seems to us to be only a proof that the 

 staff might well be increased in numbers. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEAENED SOCIETIES. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



May 28, 1884,— Prof. T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, F.R.S., 

 President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. "On the Fructification of Zdllena {Sj^henopteris) delicatula, 

 Sternb., sp., with remarks on Ursatoptcris {Sphenopteris) tenella, 

 Brongn., sp., and Hymenophyllites {Sphenopteris) quadridactylites, 

 Gutb., sp." By E. Kidston, Esq., F.G.S. 



In this paper the author noticed the fructification of three species 

 of Ferns which have been described as belonging to the genus 

 Sphenopteris, for two of which he proposed the establishment of new 

 genera. Splienoptcris delicattda, Sternb., referred by Stur to Calym- 

 matotheca, is made the type of one of these genera, Zeilleria, in which 

 the involucres are borne at the extremity of the pinnule-segments, 

 which are more or less produced to form a pedicel ; in their earlier 

 condition the involucres are globular, but when mature they split 

 into four valves. In Calymmatotheca the fructification consists of 

 a number of elongated sporangia arranged in a circle around a com- 



