ON THE FLOEA OF THE BAHAMAS. 363 



Further Exploration.— Oat of the twenty islands "we can only look 

 upon New Providence, which is a small island twenty miles long by- 

 seven miles broad, as at all adequately searched. Besides New Provi- 

 dence, Baron Eggers has collected a few sjjecies in Acklin's Island, Hog 

 Island, Long Island, and Fortune Island. The five largest islands of the 

 group are still nearly or quite unknown botanically. The island of 

 Andros is nearly a hundred miles long by thirty miles broad, and has a 

 mere fringe of population and a centre made up of forest and swamp. 

 Ahaco is nearly as long, but narrower and less promising. Eleuthera is 

 the island in which pine-apples and other fruit are mainly grown for the 

 American market. St. Salvador, the first land touched by Columbus, 

 and the Great Bahama are both islands of considerable size, quite un- 

 known botanically, so that there is abundance of work for future 

 explorers. 



Second RepoH of the Committee, consisting of Professors Schafer 

 (Secretary), Michael Foster, and Lankester, and Dr. W. D. 

 Halliburton, appointed for the purpose of investigating the 

 Physiology of the Lymphatic System. {Drawn tip by Dr. 

 W. D. Halliburton.) 



Last year the committee appointed for the purpose of investigating the 

 physiology of the lymphatic system presented a preliminary report dealing 

 with the chemical physiology of the lymph cells as contained in lymphatic 

 glands. They are able this year to present a report dealing with the 

 same subject from a rather different' standpoint. The work has been 

 carried out by Dr. Halliburton in the Physiological Laboratory, Uni- 

 versity College, London. 



Professor Schafer and Dr. Halliburton have in the same laboratory 

 commenced observations upon the movements of the walls of lymphatic 

 vessels. This research is not, however, sufiiciently advanced to enable 

 the investigators to present a report as yet ; theyhope, however, next 

 year to be able to continue their researches in this direction. 



The following is Dr. Halliburton's report on the chemical physiology 

 of lymph cells. 



It was stated in the report presented last year that the following 

 proteids are contained in the protoplasm of the cells of lymphatic 

 glands : — 



1. A globulin which coagulates at 48° to 50° C. Cell-globulin a. 



2. A globulin which coagulates at 75° C. Cell-gloUdin /3. 



' 3. An albumin which coagulates at 73° C. Cell-albumin a. 



4. An albumin which coagulates at 80° C. Cell-albumin (3. 



5. A peculiar proteid, with physical properties like mucin ; with other 

 characters like a globulin, and which was described provisionally as a 

 mucin-like globulin. 



These proteids are contained in extracts of the lymph cells made with 

 ■various saline fluids, and can be separated by the usual methods of pre- 

 cipitation by neutral salts and fractional heat coagulation. 



A few quantitative experiments have shown that the mucinoid 

 globulin is the most abundant, and composes the greater part of the cell 

 protoplasm ; the cell-globulin y3 is the next most important quantitatively 



