616 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 



Eoderick Murchison detected in the Western Islands what he called 

 " fundamental gneiss," but its age was never determined, and the 

 existence of this Eozoon, if it could be satisfactorily made out, would 

 no doubt go far towards settling the question of age. What he had 

 seen, however, of specimens which had at times been produced, did 

 not carry conviction to his mind. He thought it was not sufficiently 

 remembered that these rocks were not in their natural condition, but 

 that they had been metamorphosed, and it was quite possible that 

 during this process, by the action of water or steam, blow holes might 

 be produced which would cause appearances which strongly simulated 

 organic forms. There were many instances in which biologists had 

 confused the two things, and without throwing any doubt upon the 

 genuineness of the specimen now produced, he thought the case was 

 one for careful consideration. 



Mr, Crisp exhibited a new Portable Microscope by Mr. J. W. 

 Bailey, and Messrs. Swift's newer form of Wale's Working Micro- 

 scope (III. (1880) p. 104.5, and I. (1881) p. 296). 



Mr. Hitchcock called attention to a collection of freshwater 

 sponges by Mr. E. Potts, which he had brought to the meeting. Each 

 slide was prepared in three different ways — opaque, transparent 

 section, and spicules. He said that the collection contained some 

 very interesting examples of different species of Spongillce. If any 

 Fellows of the Society would like to examine these or other specimens 

 now being exhibited in the American Department of the Fisheries 

 Exhibition they would be able to do so on making the request. 



A Letter was read from Mr. A. M'Calla, President of the American 

 Society of Microscopists, in acknowledgment of the election of the 

 Society under the Bye-law relating to Ex-Officio Fellows. 



The President read a note on some Calcareous Stellates from off 

 deep-sea organisms, illustrating his remarks by a drawing on the 

 blackboard. 



" Some months since I foimd some small highly refractive white 

 patches upon Lopliotelia prolifera, a coral from deep water in the 

 North Atlantic ; and lately, whilst investigating some corals from the 

 Caribbean, I again noticed these filmy structures. At first sight the 

 films, which may be a centimetre in length, and of the same breadth, 

 resemble a Geodic sponge ; but on removing the mass carefully with 

 a sharp scalpel from the surface of the coral, and mounting in Canada 

 balsam, a totally different appearance is presented to that of any 

 siliceous sponge. 



An exceedingly delicate homogeneous membrane forms the base 

 of the film, and adheres to the supporting body. On it may be one 

 layer of crowded stelliform bodies very unequal in size, the diameters 



