Notes, Reviews and Comments. 103 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 



The fifteenth meeting of the Royal Society of Canada was 

 held in Ottawa on May i8th, 19th, 20tli and 21st of this year, 

 and although somewhat tard}', this brief review of work done, 

 more especially with reference to Natural History and the sciences 

 in general, may not be deemed out of place. 



The sessions were held in the Provincial Normal School 

 building on Lisgar street. The evening public meetings were 

 very well attended, but the meetings ot the various sections 

 which are also public were not as well attended perhaps as 

 on former occasions. The presiding officer of the year was Dr. 

 A. R. C. Selwyn, late director of the Geological Survey of 

 Canada, who took as the subject ot his inaugural address at the 

 evening session of Tuesday, the 19th, " The Origin and Evolu- 

 tion of Archaean Rocks, with remarks and opinions on other 

 Geological subjects ; being the results of personal work in both 

 hemispheres from 1845 to 1895." We hope to receive an 

 abstract of this paper for the Naturalist at a future date. 



Amongst contributors of articles are several members of the 

 Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club. The following is a list 

 of some of the papers read by title or in extenso, or presented 

 in abstract by the authors or substitutes during the meetings of 

 the sections : 



" A TJieory of the. MorpJwlof^^y of Stellar St7-Hctii?-es.'" By E. C. 

 Jeffrc)', B A., communicated, presented and read by Prof 

 Ramsay Wright. 



In this pap:r the author sought to adduce Ontogenetic and 

 Ph3'lo:;-eneti.: ci Jence to show that the cylindrical fibro-vascular 

 complex of the Phanerogamia and certain of the Vascular 

 Cr}-ptogamia, is derived by formation, first, of a channel and then 

 of a tu le, from the circumfle.vion of the oval pithless stele, pre- 

 sented by certain of the lower Pteridophyta. 



The tubulation of the stele when complete is generally 

 accompanied by the isolation of a medulla from the external 

 fundamental tissue, and the more or less marked atrophy of the 

 internal bast. 



