CORRESPOXDING SOCIETIES. 493 



get hold of these well-shrimps. At length I got a supply, some from 

 various parts of the country through my own pupils, and some from a 

 working man close by. I happened to give a lecture which this man 

 attended, and next day he brought me a supply from the bottom of his 

 well. They are little creatures, transparent, with several legs, and from 

 half to a quarter of an inch in length, according to the species. They are 

 rarely found, and yet people in many parts of England say they are 

 very common. It is difficult to persuade people that they are worth 

 collecting. On the Continent they have several species, and in England 

 we may have more of these interesting fresh-water crustaceans than are 

 yet known. Unless the Delegates will help me it is next to impossible 

 to make a report as a Committee. These little creatures are most com- 

 monly found when the well is tolerably empty. They live at the bottom, 

 and have feeble swimming powers. Well-owners generally keep their 

 presence dark, because they are afraid the sanitary inspector will come 

 and declare the water impure. As a matter of fact, these creatures are 

 a testimony to the purity of the water, so that I hope you will not think 

 a record of them any injury to the reputation of the well. Specimens in 

 methylated or other spirit or in formalin, addressed to Ephraim Lodge, 

 The Common, Tunbridge Wells, will be very acceptable. In every case 

 the place of capture should be specified. 



Section K, Botany. 



Professor Weiss, speaking on behalf of the Botanical Section, said : 

 This Committee is being greatly aided by local Societies. The Committee 

 wishes to draw attention to two other pieces of work in which they 

 might assist. The first is that the Committee has appointed Mr. Alfred 

 Friar to prepare a monograph on the species of the British Potamogeton. 

 Then, Miss Sargant has asked me to mention that she is investigating the 

 British Orchids, as to which she would like to have some suggestions and 

 assistance. 



Miss Sargant (Holmesdale Natural History Club) : The points are in 

 relation to plants with underground growth. In the case of the orchids, 

 people regard them for their flowers, which are open for only three or 

 four weeks ; naturalists tell us that the leaves die about the same time, 

 but I fancy they may last longer. Further, are the plants reproduced to 

 any extent by seed ? I shall be glad if natural history Societies can give 

 me any assistance on the following specific points : — 



1. Particulars as to the length of time in the year during which the 

 leaves of any native orchid are above ground. [The leaves are commonly 

 so inconspicuous that they escape notice out of the flowering season.] 



2. Information as to the reproduction of such species by means of seed 

 under natural conditions. 



{a) What species produce seed freely or at all 1 



(b) In the case of each species examined, are seedlings found in the 

 neighbourhood of the parent plants, and do they seem to survive the first 



.winter 1 



(c) In the case of young plants — that is, those which have not flowered 

 — can those which have grown from seed be easily distinguished from 

 vegetative shoots, when such occur ? 



(d) In general, what proportion of the young plants in each species 

 are seedlings 1 



