TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 127 



investigation in 1844, -when it received the botanical ncanie of Hcehneria tena- 

 cissima, and, from tlie beantj and strengtli of its fibre, obtained much attention in 

 manufacturing circles. Since that time everj' encouragement has been given to 

 producers in the East Indies to induce them to cultivate it in sufficient quantity 

 to supply the demand ; the result is that a considerable quantity is annually re- 

 ceived in Europe and manufactured into fabrics of the finest quality, excelling 

 linen of the finest texture in strength, beauty, and finish, and rivalling even silk 

 in lustre. 



The author then described the advantages of Eamie over cotton and other 

 staples now cultivated in the Southern I'nited States. He stated that the fibre, 

 when prepared for the spinner, is beautifully white, soft, and glossy, closeh' resem- 

 bling floss silk in appearance — that it is stronger than the best flax, and readily 

 receives the most difficult dyes without injury to its strength or lustre. 



A detailed account was also given of the mode of propagating and harvesting' 

 the plant. 



On tJie Cones of Piniis pinaster. Bi/ Prof. Diceson. 

 The author called attention to a scries of cones of Finus pinaster, exhibiting 

 transitions from one spiral system to another by what has been called " con- 

 vergence of secondary spirals." Such transitions, he pointed out, were due to the 

 fusion of two consecutive scales in some one of the secondary spirals. This fusion 

 of two scales does not produce any disturbance in the set of secondary spirals in 

 which it occurs, but causes a definite diminution in the number of all the other 

 sets of secondary spirals. The undisturbed set of secondary spirals, as running 

 continuously through the two systems. Prof. Dickson tenns " constants." That 

 the above explanation of the phenomenon of convergence is really correct he holds 

 to be virtually proved : — 1st, by the fact that in a good many cases a distinctly 

 double scale, formed by coalescence of the two, actual!}' occurs at the point of con- 

 vergence ; 2nd, that all gradations of fusion from a distinctly double to apparently 

 single scale occur; and, ord, that in all cases of transition by convergence, whether 

 witli or without a distinctlj' double scale, the resulting spiral is invariably iden- 

 tical with that which, if the system of the lower spiral and the number of the 

 constants be given, would theoretically result from fusion of the consecutive 

 Bcales in one of the constants. 



On Stigmarijip /rom tJie Fossiliferous Strata at Auclieniorlie, 

 By Prof. Dickson. 

 The author exhibited a number of large Sfiffmarice obtained by him from the 

 fossiliferous strata intercalated between beds of various traps (Porphyrite, Green- 

 stone, &c.) at Auchentorlie, near Bowling, on the river Clyde. These appeared. 

 for the most part to occur in mudstone, which doubtless jepresents the soil in 

 which these rhizomes were imbedded. The fossils in question had their structure 

 beautifully preserved by infiltration with calcium carbonate. Besides plant- 

 remains in the mudstones, shales, and impure coal of this locality, there occur in the 

 shales (as has been pointed out by Mr. John Young of Glasgow) the teeth and scales 

 of Lower-Carboniferous fishes referable to the genera Palcvoniscns and Amhhjptcrvs, 



On Phylloxera vasiatiix. By Prof. Thiseltox-Dtee, B.A,, B.Sc. 



The author gave a brief account of the ravages which this insect is producing 

 in the vineyards of Europe, entailing, in man}' cases, their complete destruction. 

 From a recent dispatch to the Foreign Gffice it appeared that the I'hyllo.rern had 

 now reached Portugal — one vineyard producing an average quantity of CO pipes 

 produced only two, owing to its ellects. It was not too much to say that one of 

 the most important cultures in Europe was seriously menaced. The Thylloxcra 

 was of North-American origin. It was a conspicuous instance of the well-known 

 fact that organisms which in their native homes were kept in check by the 

 stress of competition, increased in an altogether disproportionate rate when trana-' 



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