March 29, 1894] 



NATURIS 



523 



been made on various trees to test their rate of growth under 

 different conditions of weather and temperature, but that the 

 results varied to such an extent as to afford no basis for sound 

 conclusions. Mr. A. B. Rendle exhibited the fruit of Melo- 

 canna banibiisoides from the Mauritius, where it had been in- 

 troduced, and gave some account of its structure and mode of 

 growth, referring to the figure of it given by Roxburgh in his 

 " Plants of the Coast of Coromandel " (pi. 243), under the name 

 Bamlnisa baccifej-a. — Mr. C. B. Clarke gave the substance of a 

 paper " on certain authentic Cyperaccie of LinniKus," describing 

 the results of his examination ot the type specimens in the Lin- 

 nean Herbarium, with suggestions for some rectifications in the 

 nomenclature. Referring incidentally to the history of this 

 Herbarium, he regretted the additions which had been made to 

 it since the death of Linnseus, and the introduction of plants 

 which Linnseus had never seen. In the discussion which fol- 

 lowed, Mr. Carruthersand Mr. Daydon Jackson explained under 

 what circumstances these additions had been made, and showed 

 that it was antecedent to the collection coming into the posses- 

 sion of the Society, since which time no alteration in its con- 

 dition had taken place. — Mr. George Brebnerread a paper "on 

 the development of the mucilage-canals of the Marattiacecs" in 

 which, with the aid of some excellent lantern slides, he showed 

 that these canals are schizogenous intercellular spaces arising 

 from the separation of cells, and are lined by a persistent epithe- 

 lium, The secretion is thus the product of the activity of 

 living cells, and not the result of cell-degradation. An interest- 

 ing discussion followed, in which Dr. D. H. Scott, Prof. Rey- 

 nolds Green, and others took part, and the meeting adjourned 

 to April 5. 



Zoological Society, March 20.— -Prof. G. B. Howes in 

 the chair. — The Secretary exhibited and made remarks on a 

 photograph of a young male Indian bison {Bos gaums), pro- 

 posed to be sent home as a present to the Society's menagerie 

 by Major G. S. Roden.- — Mr. F. G. Parsons read a paper on 

 the myology of the Hystricomorphine and Sciuromorphine 

 rodents, and stated that it was based on the dissection of the 

 muscles of examples of twenty one species of rodents, belong- 

 ing to many families of the Hystricomorpha and Sciuromorpha, 

 made at the Society's gardens. The results of these dissections 

 'had been compared with the writings of other observers, and 

 arranged, firstly under the heads of the different muscles, and 

 secondly under those of the different families. The arrange- 

 ment of the muscles coincided in a marked manner with 

 the usual classification of the order, and seemed to depend 

 much more upon the affinities of the animals than upon their 

 habits and mode of life. The muscles which seemed most 

 characteristic of the two principal sections were the masseter, 

 the long flexors of the foot, the sterno-scapular, and the 

 digastric. Three genera of the Dipodidce had been examined, 

 and were found to resemble the Hystricomorpha in many 

 respects, while in others they approached the Sciuromorphine 

 type. — A communication was read from Babu Ram Bramha 

 Sanydl, containing remarks on a rare carnivorous mammal 

 of Borneo {Cyiiogale bciDutti), based on a specimen living in the 

 Zoological Gardens of Calcutta. — A communication was read 

 from Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, containing an account of the 

 osteology of certain Cranes, Rails, and their allies, with 

 remarks upon their affinities. — A communication was read from 

 Mr. O. V. Aplin, containing field-notes on the Mammals 

 of Uruguay, made during his recent expedition to that 

 country. 



Chemical Society, March i. — Dr. Armstrong, President, 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : — The aerial 

 oxidation of terpenes and essential oils, by C. T. Kingzett. — 

 The amides of sodium, potassium, and lithium, by A. W. 

 Titherley. Sodamide, NaNFIj, is obtained as a white crystal- 

 line mass by passing ammonia over sodium at 300°-400° ; no 

 sodium nitride, NasN, or disodium amide, NaoNH, could be 

 prepared. Potassamide, KNHn, is similarly prepared, and 

 sublimes at 400". Liihamide, LiNHo, is obtained in the same 

 way, and has similar properties to the sodium and potassium 

 amides. 



Quekett Microscopical Club, March 16. — Mr. A. D. 

 Michael, Vice-President, in the chair. — The secretary said they 

 had received a donation which required something more than a 

 formal acknowledgment. As members were aware, the club's 

 collection was undergoing revision, and Mr. Moiland, who 

 had undertaken the Diatomacese, had presented a series of 



NO. 1274, VOL. 49] 



thirty-seven slides to replace others found to be bad or want- 

 ing. A special vote of thanks to Mr. Morland was carried 

 unanimously. The chairman, on behalf of the subscribers, pre- 

 sented Mr. F. A. Parsons with an address and a valuable gold 

 watch, as a testimonial to his zealous endeavours as secretary of 

 the excursions sub-committee, during the last ten years, to make 

 the gatherings a success. Coupled with these was a special series 

 of pond-life, prepared and presented by Mr. C. F. Rousselet. 

 Prof. Edlinger's photographic and drawing apparatus, made by 

 Leitz, was exhibited by Mr. C. L. Curties.— Messrs. Swift ex- 

 hibited and described their new biological microscope, which 

 had the posterior limb of the tripod doubled and rotating on a 

 pivot, thus giving increased steadiness to the stand, and at the 

 same time enabling it to be packed in a smaller case. It was 

 explained that the pivot was provided with a strong spiral 

 spring, which would prevent it becoming loose, and also take up 

 any wear at the bearing surfaces. — Mr. E. M. Nelson's paper 

 on "the determination of the foci of microscopical objectives ; 

 lantern and camera lenses by arithmetical formuloe," was taken 

 as read. — Mr. II. W. King read a paper on "Amoeba." A 

 discussion ensued, in which !Mr. J. D. Hardy, the chairman, and 

 the author took part. 



Cambridge. 



Philosophical Society, March 12. — Prof. T. McK. Hughes, 

 President, in the chair. — Dr. W. H. R. Rivers showed appa- 

 ratus devised by Prof. Hering to illustrate (i) colour-blindness 

 of peripheral retina ; (2) mirror-contrast ; (3) influence of 

 strength of illumination and of contrast on quality of colour; (4) 

 diagnosis of colour-blindness. — Mr. J. C. Willis exhibited a 

 plant of Deherainea smaragdina in flower. The flowers are in- 

 teresting on account of their green colour, their large size and 

 disagreeable smell. They are extremely protandrous. In the 

 early stage the extrorse anthers completely surround and hide the 

 stigma ; later on the stamens bend away and come to rest on 

 the corolla, and the flower is now female. From its colour 

 scent, &c. it is probably adapted to lar^e flies. — Notes on the 

 Bunbury Collection of Fossil Plants, by Mr. A. C. Seward. 

 Attention was called to the exceedingly interesting and repre- 

 sentative collection of fossil plants recently acquired by the 

 Botanical Department through the generosity of Lady Bunbury. 

 Among the plants exhibited at the meeting weie several type 

 specimens from the coal-measures of the Sydney coal-field. 

 Cape Breton ; also some figured specimens from English rocks 

 of Carboniferous and Jurassic age. One of the Jurassic species, 

 Pecopleris exilis, Phil), was briefly described, and it wa.s pointed 

 out that Sir Charles Bunbury's account of this plant and his 

 figure of the sporangia was entirely supported by a re -examin- 

 ation of the figured specimen. The generic name of Klukia, 

 recently instituted by Raciborski for certain species of Mesozoic 

 Schizaceous ferns, was therefore preferable to the older pro- 

 visional genus PecopteHs, originally adopted for this Jurassic 

 species. — Note on the liver-ferment, by Miss M. C. Tebb. By 

 extraction with glycerin Claude Bernard obtained from liver a 

 ferment which converted glycogen into sugar, but the properties 

 of this sugar were not described. In the present research it was 

 found that pig's liver, rapidly dried, produced dextrose when 

 allowed to act on starch or glycogen. In all cases whether an 

 extract or the dried tissue itself was used, the product of the 

 action on starch or glycogen always gave crystals of phenyl 

 glucosazone with phenyl hydrazin, and the reducing power 

 increased only slightly on boiling with acid ; hence the conclusion 

 was drawn that one product of the action is dextrose. As far as 

 they have gone, experiments with fresh liver have yielded the 

 same result. 



Dublin. 



Royal Irish Academy, February 25. — Dr. J. K. Ingram, 

 President, in the chair. — A paper was read by the Right Rev. 

 Dr. Graves, on the discovery in the south of Ireland of a stone 

 with a most perfect Ogham inscription. — Mr. Henry Dixon 

 read some notes on the peculiar method of the development of 

 the axillary buds of Vanda teres. The buds in developing 

 break through the lower part of the petioles, and appear below 

 the laminre of the subtending leaf opposite to the lamina of 

 the leaf next below it.. This manner of development was also 

 found in Dendrobitim cerides and several species of Vanda. 

 The chains of cells, with siliceous bodies found accompanying 

 the sclerenchymatous fibres of the bundles in many Monoco- 

 tyledons, were detected in the leaves but not in the stem of 

 this orchid. The development of these cells was found to be 



