176 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



Clare Island. — Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor T. 

 Johnson (Chairman), Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger (Secretary), Pro- 

 fessor Grenville Cole, Dr. Scharff, and Mr. A. G. Tanslky, 

 appointed to arrange a Botanical, Zoological, and Geological Survey 

 of Clare Island. 



The Committee desire again to thank the British Association for a grant 

 in aid of the expenses of field work. This grant has been spent in 

 defraying travelling expenses and incidentals connected with the survey. 

 On account of the nature of the expenditure, vouchers are not available. 

 The Committee hope to finish their work on Clare Island by the 

 end of the present year, and ask for a further and final grant of SOL to 

 assist them in accomplishing this. 



The Structure of Fossil Plants — Report of the Committee, consisting of 

 Dr. D. H. Scott (Chairman), Professor F. W. Oliver (Secretary), 

 Mr. E. A. Newell Arber, and Professors A. C. Seward and 

 F. E. Weiss. 



The grant of 15Z. has all been spent. A series of sections of a new 

 coal-measure Trigonocarpus has been purchased for Professor F. W. 

 Oliver, who is describing this Palaeozoic seed. 



For Professor Weiss a number of sections of coal-balls and of the 

 coal itself has been obtained, to enable him to investigate the distribu- 

 tion of plant-remains within the coal-seam, with a view to finding a clue 

 to a possible succession of different stages or types of vegetation. 



Other sections acquired are of Stigmaria and allied forms, on which 

 Professor Weiss has long been working. 



The Experimental Study of Heredity .—Report of the Committee, con- 

 sisting of Mr. Francis Darwin (Chairman), Mr. A. G. Tansley 

 (Secretary), and Professors Bateson and Keeble. 



The grant of 451. has been used to defray the expenses of experiments 

 carried on by E. E. Saunders, B. P. Gregory, and M. G. Thoday. 



During the present year the experiments on the inheritance of 

 double flowers have been continued. In the case of stocks the results 

 have now shown that this character is inherited in accordance with 

 definite though somewhat complicated laws. It is hoped that the full 

 account will appear in the autumn. 



Similar experiments have also been carried out on several other 

 genera, chiefly biennials (carnation, hollyhock, meconopsis, wallflower, 

 and others). These have now been carried to the third generation, 

 and when this season's results have been obtained it is proposed 

 to give some account of the inheritance in these cases also. 



Investigations are also being continued on the inheritance of a 

 mutation in the foxglove. 



