156 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



The following recommendations of the Council were submitted to the 

 Fellows: — "That the Carpological Collection be disposed of, as being of 

 no practical value to the Society, or of any intrinsic value, a few specimens 

 belonging to the Wallichian Herbarium excepted. That representatives of 

 the National Collections, British Museum, and Kew be invited to select 

 such specimens as may be desirod by those institutions, and the residue 

 be offered to the Oxford Botanic Gardens, where a Museum is in course 

 of formation. That the small earthenware vase in the Carpological 

 Colle:tion be offered to the Ethnological Department, British Museum." 

 On the ballot being taken, however, these recommendations were not 

 approved by the Fellows present. 



Mr. Alfred 0. Walker read a paper on the Crustacea of Singapore, 

 the collection in question having been made by Surgeon-Major Archer 

 during 1879 — 83. The species were chiefly dredged in 15 — '2U fatlioms, 

 or got on shallow sand-banks. A full list is given of all the forms 

 identified, and several new species are described. Among the new forms are 

 Doclea tetraptera, Xanthe scabeirimus, Maii Miersli, and Caphyra Archerl. 



A paper by Dr. George King on the Indian Figs was read, in which it 

 was shown that insects play a considerable part in the fertilisation of certain 

 forms. Dealing with the structural peculiarities of the flowers in the genus 

 Ficus, he specifies (1) male, (9) pseudohermaphrodite, (3) neuter, and (4) 

 female fertile flowers. Besides these occur a set of flowers originally named 

 by him " Insect-attacked females," but for which he has since adopted 

 Count Solms-Larnbach's term " Gall-flowers " (Bot. Zeit. 1885), this botanist 

 having anticipated him in publication, though his own researches were of 

 earlier date. As to the question of these gall-flowers, Dr. King states that 

 the pupa of an insect oan usually be seen througli the coats of the ovary. 

 The pupa when perfected escapes into the cavity of the receptacle by cutting 

 its way through, and fully winged developed insects are often to be found 

 in considerable numbers in the cavity of the fig. The pupa of the insect 

 must become encysted in the ovary of the gall-flower at a very early period, 

 for about the time at which the imago is escaping from the ovary the pollen 

 of the antlers of the male flower is only beginning to shed. Thus Dr. King 

 holds that through the interposition of insects the malformed female flowers 

 doubtless become functionally important in the life-history of the fig-trees. 



— J. MUKIK. 



Zoological Society of London. 



February 15, 1887.- Prof. W. H. Flower, LL.D., F.R.S., President, 

 in the chair. 



The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to 

 the Society's Menagerie during the month of January, and called special 



