TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 89 



the author had draAvu to the same scale of 220 diameters. The followiug facts 

 alhided to in the paper may he mentioned as of some importance : — The generic 

 differences in the spinnerets relate to the form of the maniniiilre or of the papillfe ; 

 the specific differences, to the number and arrangement of the papillfe. Difierent 

 papillaj have distinct functions, which are referable to the habit of the spider. The 

 features of the inferior mammulse are the most constant, and supply the ordinary 

 thread and the means for its attachment. The mammulte of the Cinijlonidce would 

 he more correctly described as seven and not eight in number, and the spines forming 

 the calamistrmn of this family, as described by I\Ir. Blackwall, are not confined to 

 two rows merely, but extend over one side of the leg. The superior mammuhe of 

 Pholcus pI>ala>iffioick's have no papillae on them. A spider's Ime is not generally 

 formed of aggregated threads proceeding from numerous papilla3 ; and should more 

 than one thread be present, they may be separated. The papillae undergo gi-eat 

 changes at every moidt, but especially at the last one, when the male loses some 

 of the more remarkable features, and the female acquires fresh ones, these results 

 being perfectly consistent with the sexual requirements. 



On the Testimony of Local Phenomena io tlie Permanence of Type. 

 By B. Beddoe, M.D. 



Oil the Natural History and Cultivation of the Oyster. 

 By Feank BrcKLAND. 



The author began by stating that a new phase was now presenting itself in the 

 study of natural history, viz. its application to practice ; it costs just as much time and 

 labour to examine useless things, as things which woidd be commercially beneficial 

 to mankind, such as the salmon, the oj'ster, the herring, the sole, the turhot, &c. 

 That it is, moreover, profitable to cultivate the waters he showed by instancing the 

 Ta3', the rent of which was said to be £15,000 per aunimi, and of the Spaj^, which 

 produced £12,000 worth of saliuon annually. Calculations he had made showed that 

 the trawling-gTound in the North Sea was worth tenpence the square acre, and that 

 the Bay of Gahvay was worth more per acre than the land surrounding it. Having 

 heard that there had been a general failure of spat this year on the English coasts, 

 he had travelled over a large extent of seaboard to see if he could ascertain the cause ; 

 but the whole thing was enveloped in mystery. He then went, in company with 

 his friend, T. Ash worth, Esq., to the He de Re, near La Rochelle, where the breeding 

 of oysters has been carried on so successfully for the last five years. He paid a high 

 compliment to the sagacity and perseverance of Dr. Kemmerer, resident physician 

 in the island, the statistics of which in wine, salt, and oysters he (Mr. Buckland) 

 had tahidated ; and to M. Boeuf, a stonemason, who was the first to hit off the me- 

 thod of cultivating oysters ai-tificiallj'. He then traced the oyster's history from its 

 birth upwards, describing the mode in which the mother ejects the young in clouds 

 like fine dust, and the perUs and troubles to which the young and delicate creatures 

 are subjected during the few days they had to swim about and amuse themselves 

 hefore they became permanently settled for life ; for, when once fixed to an object, 

 they were never able again to change quarters afterwards. It has been said that 

 it was impossible to cultivate oysters ; but to prove that it was done in the He de 

 R^, he had brought over witnesses in the shape of tiles, stones, broken bits of pot- 

 tery, and even glass, to which oysters had attached themselves, like grapes, in large 

 bunches. All these were explained, and reasons given why the oysters chose one 

 place and not another, — why they died here, and lived there, — and elucidated prin- 

 ciples which he earnestly requested the audience to remember, as there could not 

 be too many observers in this most important branch of natural industry, which he 

 trusted would be shortly applied to British shores. With regard to tlie failure of 

 spat this year, which was so general that it extended even partially to the He de 

 Re, he stated that hitherto the attention of scientific men had not been directed to 

 the point. An event, moreover, which the Ladies would appreciate, had taken place 

 in Ceylon, viz. the sudden death, fi'om imknown causes, of whole baidis of the 

 pearl-bearing oysters, the consequence of which would be Ihat the price of pearls 

 would be enormously increased. He concluded by stating that, in consultation 



