Mr. Gosse on the Manducatory Organs of the Rutifera. 357 



readers, since they liave enabled him so speedily to bring out a new 

 and improved edition. 



The observations which we made in our ])revious notice will apply 

 equally to the present edition, for the greater portion of the work is 

 essentially the same, the additions consisting princii)ally of some 

 excellent directions for collecting and preserving Coleoptera and 

 Lepidoptera by Mr. WoUaston and the Editor, and an address by 

 the latter "to the young entomologists at Eton, Harrow, Winchester, 

 Rugby, and at all other schools." In this Mr. Stainton is at great 

 pains to point out to the young idea that the study of entomology is 

 by no means the contemptible occupation that so many consider it, 

 but that, on the contrary, it is not only pleasing and instructive in 

 itself, but may also be of the greatest service in training the mind to 

 habits of observation, and may even act as an incentive to the acqui- 

 sition of much useful knowledge which would otherwise be regarded 

 as desperate drudgery. We can agree most cordially with most of 

 Mr. Stainton' s propositions, although we fear, with himself, that he 

 has preached " too long a sermon" to his younger readers, and we 

 trust that his enthusiasm may meet its reward in raising up a new 

 generation of entomologists. We are glad to see that a few pages 

 have been devoted to notices of important new works on entomology, 

 and hope that in future years this section of the work will receive 

 more of the editor's attention. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 

 March 1, 1855. — Charles Wheatstone, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. 



" On the Structure, Functions, and Homology of the Manducatory 

 Organs iu the Class Rotit'era." By Philip Henry Gosse, A.L.S. 



In this paper the author institutes an examination of the mandu- 

 catory organs in tlie class Rotit'era, in order to show that the various 

 forms which they assume can all be reduced to a common tj'pe. 

 He further i)roposes to inquire what are the real homologues of 

 these organs in the other classes of animals, and what light we can 

 gather, from their structure, on the question of the zoological rank 

 of the Rotifera. 



After an investigation of the bibliography of the class from Eliren- 

 berg to the present time, in which the vagueness and inexactitude 

 of our knowledge of these organs is shown, the author takes up, 

 one by one, the various phases which they assume throughout the 

 whole class ; commencing with Brachionus, in which they appear in 

 the highest state of development. Their form in this genus is there- 

 fore taken as the standard of comparison. 



The hemispherical bulb, which is so conspicuous in B. amphiceros, 

 lying across the breast, and containing organs which work vigorously 

 against eacli other, has long been recognized as an organ of mandu 

 cation : it has been called the gizzard ; but the author proposes to 



