Ill 



tion of Globigerina do not go further back than the Jurassic, and 

 those of Orbuhna, not earlier than the Lias. In view of the 

 present discovery, it is remarkable that no trace of either genus 

 has been found in the comparatively rich foraminiferal fauna of 

 the Carboniferous Limestone. Assuming the determination of the 

 author to be correct, it places Orbulina universa in a unique 

 position as the oldest surviving species among living things ; and 

 if the claims of Eozoon be disallowed, the Protolenus horizon of 

 St. John has the earliest record for the occurrence of Foraminifera 

 in any part of the world.* 



If I may be allowed a moment's digression from the immediate 

 subject of my address, I would draw attention to the fact that it 

 seems probable that more success will attend the search for 

 the Radiolarian representatives of the Rhizopoda in the older 

 stratified rocks than remains the Foraminifera. L. Cayeux has 

 recently announced the discovery of Radiolaria in the Pre-Cam- 

 brian rocks of Brittany. Whilst there are some aspects of this 

 supposed discovery that have led other specialists to regard 

 Cayeux's determinations with some scepticism, it will quicken the 

 interest in these old and so-called azoic rocks that will no doubt 

 shortly place the matter beyond question. During the last three 

 years simultaneous discoveries of Radiolaria have been made in 

 many countries and from most formations, ranging from the 

 Cambrian to the present day. These results have been in many 

 cases, particularly those pertaining to the older rocks, obtained 

 from the examination of the much neglected cherty bands and 

 nodules which frequently accompany calcareous beds of all ages. 



BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



From the days of Conrad Gesner in the middle of the sixteenth 

 century the delicate and varied forms of the Foraminifera have 

 commanded an increasing attention from scientific workers, yet 

 it is only within the last few years that any definite knowledge 

 has been obtained of the life history of this interesting Order. 

 The opacity of the investment has made the investigation of the 

 soft parts of the animal, in most cases, practically impossible and, 

 even where the shell exhibited some translucency, as soon as the 

 animal was removed from its normal conditions for observation it 

 withdrew its body to the central portions of the shell, whilst the 

 vital functions either ceased or were for the time being suspended. 

 Two improved methods of enquiry have led up to the present 

 advance in our knowledge of the biology of the Foraminifera. 

 The first of these is an improved method of sectioning the shell 

 introduced by Mons C. Schlumberger, of Paris, by means of 



* Unless we accept the statement of L. Cayeux that he has obtained 

 Foraminifera, as well as Radiolaria, from the Pre-Cambrians of Brittany. 



