557 



Canaries ;' presented by Mr, Webb : and a collection of specimens of 

 about 150 species of plants, from the herbarium of the late Dr. Sib- 

 thorp, either figured in the ' Flora Grajca' or described in the ' Pro- 

 dronuis.' 



Mr. Hope exhibited drawings of Australian Lepidoptera and their 

 transformations, made from the living insects, by Harriet and Helena 

 Scott, with descriptions by Mr. A. W. Scott, and which are intended 

 for publication. Extracts from a notice of these drawings, by Mr. 

 Swainson, were read by the Secretary. 



Mr. Hope also exhibited a remarkably large cone of AraucariaBid- 

 wellii, from Moreton Bay ; and gave some interesting information 

 relative to the dimensions attained by that tree, describing it as hardly 

 equal in height to the Norfolk-Island pine {Araucaria excelsa), 

 although in size far exceeding all other known species of the genus. 



Mr. Adam White exhibited specimens of two large Hemiplera from 

 China, lent by Mr. Fortune. The colour of one of these (the Euro- 

 stus validus of Dallas, when dry, was a dull brownish red, but when 

 alive, or preserved in spirits, the most brilliant metallic grass-green : 

 the specimens of this were both dry and in spirits. Mr. White made 

 some observations on colour as a specific character, showing its value 

 when derived from mechanical causes, such as the polarization of light 

 on striated surfaces, or the filling up of cells with fluids in Eurostus, 

 Cassidae, Scutellerae, and other insects. 



Kead, a further continuation of Mr. Woods' ' Notes on a Botanical 

 Tour in France.' 



March 16, 1852. — Robert Brown, Esq., President, in the chair. 



Among the donations was announced a posthumous work on the 

 Palms of British East India, from the papers of the late William Grif- 

 fith, Esq., by Mr. John M'Clelland; presented by the Hon. East 

 India Company. 



Read, the conclusion of Mr. Woods' ' Botanical Notes of a Tour in 

 France ;' also a paper ' On the Habits of Myrmica domestica. Shuck. 

 and on a means of applying the industry of this minute species of Ant 

 to the preparation of skeletons of small animals,' by Mr. George 

 Daniell. 



April 6, 1852. — Robert Brown, Esq., President, in the chair. 



Read, a paper by Mr. Adam White, ' On the Influence of Cold on 

 the Flowering of Plants.' After a reference to Mr. Curtis's observa- 

 tions on the flowering of plants beneath the snow (made at the meeting 



