PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 135 



had to be studied and analyzed and examined very carefully. Unless, 

 therefore, any one could show upon the upper side what he had shown 

 mechanically on the under side, he considered that the appearances 

 obtained by simple vision were deceptive. 



Mr. Stewart said he imderstood that some time since a microtome 

 was made, so delicate in its adjustment as to be able to cut sections of 

 a valve of a diatom. Could not this be made available for making 

 sections of the scale which would show the configuration of it as 

 conclusively as if done in the mechanical way ? 



Mr. Crisp said that the existence of such a microtome (cutting 

 150 consecutive sections of the brain of a cockroach) had been 

 reported, and he had endeavoured to obtain it, but hitherto in vain. 

 So far as he knew also, no results obtained from any actual sections 

 had been published, other than those which appeared in the ' Archiv 

 f. Mikr. Anat.' in 1870. The further and more recent series pro- 

 mised by Dr. L. Flogel * had not been heard of. 



Mr. Stephenson said that notwithstanding Mr. Beck's remarks, 

 he could not but feel clear as to its being the upper side of the scale 

 on which these grooves were, for the pedicel or " quill " of the 

 " feather," which is necessarily on the under side of the scale, was 

 bent down from the plane of the scale, and the markings were clearly 

 on the opposite side to that. 



Dr. Jolm Anthony's note was read by Mr. Stewart, suggesting 

 the statoblasts of Lophopiis crystallinus as a test for high powers (see 

 p. 129). The difficult part was stated to be the structure of the mem- 

 brane. The portions of the statoblasts referred to were drawn on 

 the board and further explained by Mr. Stewart. 



Mr. Guimaraens called attention to what appeared to be a male 

 specimen of the Echinorhjnchus of Lota vulgaris with ova in the 

 interior, described as " dedans par hasard." 



Mr. A. D. Michael read a paper, "Further Notes on British 

 Oribatidse" (see p. 1), which Professor Huxley and others state to be 

 wholly viviparous. He found, however, that they are chiefly ovi- 

 parous, as stated by Nicolet and others, and that the young are 

 brought to maturity in, at least, four different modes : — 1 st. The egg is 

 deposited in a slightly advanced stage, as in insects. 2nd. Deposited 

 with the larva almost fully formed. 3rd. The female is occasionally 

 viviparous (in these modes only one egg is usually ripe at a time). 

 4th. Several eggs are matured at once, but not deposited. The mother 

 dies, the contents of her body, except the eggs, dry up, and her 

 chitinous exterior skeleton forms a proteeiion throughout the winter 

 to the eggs. The occurrence of a deutovum stage in the egg is 

 recorded, i. e. the egg has a hard shell which splits into two halves 

 as the contents increase in volume, the lining membrane showing 

 between, and gradually becoming the true exterior envelope of the 

 * See this Journal, i. (1881) p. 509. 



