March 31, 1870] 
NATURE 
569 
carry out his experiments on the ‘‘ Innervation of the Heart.” 
Professor Hennessy read a note on ‘‘ Two Streams flowing from 
the same source in opposite directions.’’ The president nomi- 
nated Henry Hennessy, F.R.S., William Stokes, M.D., Sir 
William R. Wilde, M.D., and Samuel Ferguson, LL.D., vice- 
presidents for the current year. The annual report was read 
and adopted, and then the Academy adjourned, 
GLAsGow 
Natural History Society, February 22.—Mr. David Robert- 
son, F.G.S., vice-president, in the chair. Mr. Thomas Chap- 
man exhibited specimens of Venilia Ma-ularia which he had 
captured in June last in the Pass of Leny, Perthshire, and the 
Rey. James E. Somerville stated that he had taken the species 
in some numbers in Argyleshire, both at Loch Awe and Oban. 
The secretary exhibited a small collection of star-fishes, which 
had been forwarded from Girvan by Mr. Thomas Anderson, 
corresponding member.—Mr. Duncan McLellan exhibited mon- 
strosities of the common ash and hawthorn from the Queen’s 
Park ; the former showing the twigs flattened like horns of a 
reindeer, the latter having its branches tortuous like a cork- 
screw. Both specimens presented a very unusual appearance. 
—Mr. Alexander Donaldson exhibited an example of maliorma- 
tion in the bill of a rook, regarding which Mr. Gray observed 
that it possessed additional interest from the fact of its showing 
only a partial abrasion at the base of the bill, and that it had 
been arrested probably in consequence of the malformation. 
Drawings of other malformations were exhibited by Mr. Gray. 
Mr. John Gilmour exhibited an unusually dark specimen of the 
hooded crow (Corvus cornix), which had the light space on the 
breast and shoulders very much clouded, giving the bird 
the appearance of a variety of the carrion crow (Corvus 
corone). Dr. Stirton exhibited specimens of <Adelanthus 
Carringtoni—a Jungermannia new to science, which he 
had found on Ben Lawers, and other places. This moss had 
formerly been confounded with Aéicularia compressa, from which, 
however, it differs not only in the colour and areolation of the 
leaves, but also in their mode of attachment to the stem. It ap- 
proaches much more closely Adicularia declusa from Campbell's 
island in the South Pacific ; and as this last has been proved by 
Dr. Carrington to be an Adélanthus, it has been thought proper 
to refer this moss also to the same subgenus. The Rev. 
James E. Somerville than read a paper on Danais chrysippus 
and its food plant, <Asclepias gigantea, with illustrative 
specimens from Upper Egypt. The author of this paper gave a 
very interesting account of this butterfly from personal observa- 
tions made during a three months’ residence in Egypt, and also 
of the plants on which it is known to feed. He likewise 
described the peculiar properties of the Cadotropis procera or 
Asclepias gigantea of Linnzeus—a plant better known as the 
apples of Sodom—a beautiful series of which, in its various stages 
of growth, was exhibited by Mr. Somerville in illustration of his 
remarks, 
BosToNn 
Boston Natural History Society, February 2.—Dr. B. Joy 
Jeffries states that, as at different times during the past three 
years he had had occasion to call the attention of the society 
to the physiology of accommodation in man and other animals, 
including birds, he would ask to be allowed to make a few re- 
marks on a special part of the eye which is interested in, and 
may be employed in, accommodation. He illustrated his remarks 
by a series of pictures and diagrams representing sections of the 
human eye and a number of ditferent animals, made through the 
ciliary muscle and the adjacent parts of the sclerotic, cornea and 
iris. From dissections made by many anatomists, and the special 
studies of several physiologists, it resulted that the space in the 
eye hitherto known as the canal of Fontana, who first described 
it in 1778, is now proved not to be a canal with walls, but rather 
a triangular space between the ciliary muscle, iris, and sclerotic 
or cornea, filled by a sort of mesh-work attaching the iris to the 
last-named membrane. This mesh-work is cut off from the 
aqueous humour. It constitutes the ligamentum pectinatum iridis, 
and is quite distinct from the circular venous sinus in the sclerotic 
just outside of it, which it has apparently sometimes been mis- 
taken for it. Dr. Jeffries discussed the question as to whether it 
took part in the accommodation of the eye, if not in man where 
it seemingly could not, in the lower animals where its size in- 
creases with the decrease of the ciliary muscle. He remarked 
that our present knowledge of it is due to the recent researches 
of Drs, lwanoff and Rollett. 
Section of Microscopy, January 12.—Mr. Stodder referred to a 
communication of Mr. R. C. Greenleaf, on a specimen of 
Aulacodiscus oreganus Bail., prepared by Mr, Samuels, which 
in the process of mounting separated into two plates ; one being 
the outer, and the other the inner plate of one valve. A few 
days since a similar thing happened to Mr. Samuels when 
mounting another specituen of the same species. The diatom 
separated into two pieces, the inner and outer plates of one valve 
as Mr. Samuels supposed. But a careful inspection of the 
specimen which was exhibited to the section, indicated an entirely 
different origin. One disc was a perfect A. oveganus, with all 
the characters of that species, having ten rays, and ‘‘feet.’ The 
other was more hyaline, the umbilicus less distinct, the granules 
and ‘‘feet’’ imperfectly developed, and having eleven rays and 
“feet.” Mr. Stodder’s explanation of the appearances—if Mr. 
Samuels was not mistaken as to the facts—is that the one disc 
is the parent, and the other a valve of a new frustule, which was 
forming in the process of selt-division, the growth of which was 
stopped before it had come to maturity, Ehrenberg and some 
other naturalists have made the number of rays in such forms a 
specific character ; Bailey and others have rejected this principle 
of classification, but here for the first time we have positive 
evidence that a form with eleven rays has been derived directly 
from one of ten rays. Such a change of characters in one 
order of plants being authentically established, it is a reason- 
able inference that all other orders may be liable to similar 
changes, and therefore great caution should be used in allowing 
specific value to unimportant characters. 
January 26.—Section of Enxtomology.—Mr. E. Burgess in the 
chair. Twelve persons were present. Mr. F. G. Sanborn exhi- 
bited a drawing of the larva of Cadlosamia promethea, made by 
the late Mr. C. A. Shurteff, together with the specimen after it 
had spun its cocoon. Dr. H. Hagen read a criticism of 
the views of Dr. Packard concerning the Meuroptera, as given 
in his recently completed ‘‘ Guide,” and explained that in the 
manuscript of his own ‘‘ Synopsis of North American Neurop- 
tera”? he had, in accordance with the views of the most promi- 
nent entomologists for twenty-eight years, distinctly separated 
the Pseudoneuroptera and Neuroptera as two different parts ot 
the work. Dr. Hagen also remarked that Mr, Fritz Miller had 
sent to him some white ants from Itahahy, St. Catharina, Brazil, 
with the following remarks :—‘‘ These nests of white ants are 
more or less regular cylinders, one span high and two or three 
inches thick. By horizontal floors they are divided into twelve 
or fifteen compartments or chambers. The outer surface bulges 
out so that one can make out the number of chambers by the 
enlargements of the cylinder. A pillar goes through all the 
compartments ; close to this, or in it, runs an oblique passage 
from each chamber to the next. Sometimes all these passages 
together form a somewhat regular winding stair through all the 
compartments. For the impregnated female these passages are 
too narrow, and she can therefore not leave her chamber. There 
are, both in the outer wall and in the horizontal divisions, passages 
too small to admit the passing of the winged ants ; but neither 
in the outside wall nor in the chambers is there any opening to 
the outside in nests which have not been injured. In the outside 
wall the passages run from top to bottom. In the divisions, from 
circumference to centre without reaching this latter. In the fiat 
compartinents they are not to be detected from the outside ; in 
the circumference they appear as flattened ridges. In drying, the 
outer side of the passages falls off, and then they are to be seen 
as deep hollows with inflated borders. In undisturbed nests the 
only entrance seems to be on the upper surface some inches under 
ground. ‘The nest is not directly connected with the earth, but 
is surrounded by about a finger’s breadth of free space. The 
nest can, therefore, as soon as the upper end is freed from earth, 
be easily taken out of the ground. I have never found in one 
of these nests more than one impregnated female. Besides the 
winged ants, the eggs, and the larve, there are found two kinds 
of labourers ; of these, one kind is distinguished by a truncated 
nose. Not in the nest, but in the same piece of land, are found, 
in planting corn, single white ants with disproportionately large 
heads and long mandibles.” The winged ants were stated by Dr. 
Hagen to belong to Yermes striatus, or perhaps to 7: similis ; 
the imago is in too bad a condition for accurate determination, 
The soldier with truncated nose was figured by him as Z sévi/rs ; 
the soldier with long mandibles as 7: czmgulatus. No description 
of white ants’ nests like this has ever been given before.—My. 
S. H. Scudder remarked that in a recent examination of the 
external genital armature of our diurnal Zepidopiera, he had 
