175 
solute. A much greater degree of constancy is manifested by the Apidae; 
and this, becomes all but absolute in the hive-bee. It is an interesting cir- 
cumstance that this constancy appears to increase in proportion to the part 
performed by the insects in carrying pollen from flower to flower. A much 
larger number of observations is however needed in order to determine with 
certainty any general law; and especially a careful microscopic examination 
of the pollen attached to the proboscis, mandibles, legs, and under side of 
the abdomen and thorax. As respects preference for particular colours, the 
Lepidoptera observed paid 70 visits to red or pink flowers, 5 to blue, 15 to 
yellow, 5 to white; the Diptera 9 to red or pink, 8 to yellow, 20 to white ; 
the Hymenoptera 303 to red or pink, 126 to blue, 11 to yellow, 17 to 
white. — There followed a communication »On the Methodic Habits of In- 
sects when visiting Flowers« by Mr. R. M. Christy. The author records 
in detail the movements of 76insects whilst engaged in visiting 2400 flowers. 
He tabulates the results and concludes that insects do posses a decided 
preference for a number of successive visits to the same species of 
flower although this is not invariably the case. Most of the observations 
were made on Bees which seem to perform the fertilization of at least one 
half of all the flowers fertilized by insects in this country. — Butterflies as 
a rule seem to wander purposelessly in their flight, nevertheless some 
species including the Fritillaries are fairly methodic. The author believes 
that it is not by colour alone that insects are guided from one flower to 
another of the same species and the sense of smell is suggested. Bees 
he avers have but poor sight for long distances but good sight for short 
distances; of 55 Humble Bees watched 26 visited blue flowers; 12 of the 
Bees were methodic in their visits and 5 not so; 13 visited white flowers, 
5 were methodic and 8 not at all; 11 visited yellow flowers of which 5 were 
methodic and 6 not; 28 visited red flowers, 7 were methodic, 9 nearly so 
while 12 were not. Mr. Christy inclines to the opinion (though admitting 
paucity of data) that Bees in a flight from their nest confine their visits ex- 
clusively or principally to only one species of plant. — The Secretary Mr. 
G. J. Romanes read a paper »Observations on Living Echinodermatac. 
He stated that star-fish possess a sense of smell which is not localized in 
any particular organs, such as the ocelli, but is distributed over the whole of 
the ventral surface. The function of the Pedicellariae was shown by some 
further experiments corroborative of those already published by him in the 
Philosophical Transactions, to be that of seizing upon and arresting the mo- 
vements of fronds of sea-weed in order to give the pedicels time to establish 
their adhesions. It was also shown that the righting movements of Echinus 
when inverted on its ab-oral pole (which are performed by means of the pe- 
dicels) are due to central coordination proceeding in part from the penta- 
gonal nerve ring surrounding the mouth and in part from central nerve-matter 
distributed along the course of the radial nerve-trunks. One of the experi- 
ments whereby the fact of such central coordination (depending on a sense of 
gravity) was proved, consisted in rotating an inverted Echinus upon a wheel 
moving in a vertical plane. It was found that whatever phase in the righting 
manoeuyre the Echinus might have attained at the moment when the rota- 
tion commenced was maintained so long as the rotation continued; but the 
Manoeuvre was resumed so soon as the rotation was allowed to cease. The 
paper concluded with an account of the effects of the various nerve poisons 
