32 



Dr. Forsyth Major also exhibited photographs of Pliocene 

 Bovinm from specimens in the Florence Museum, stating that 

 these unpublished figures showed the great variability of the 

 Pliocene Bovinm. He added that he endorsed Falconer's opinion 

 that these Pliocene Bovince were nearly related to the primitive 

 Buffaloes from the Siwaliks. 



Mr. Oldfield Thoivias, F.R.S., FZ.S., read a paper on 

 Mammals from the Provinces of Chih-li and Shan-si, N". China, 

 collected by Mr. M. P. Anderson, being the tenth of the series 

 of papers on the results of the Duke of Bedford's Zoological 

 Exploration of Eastern Asia. 



Yery little material had hitherto existed from this part of 

 Northern China, although a certain number of specimens had 

 been sent to Paris by Pere David, and it was therefore of great 

 importance to have a series representing the species he discovered 

 for comparison with mammals from other regions. 



The present collection consisted of about 100 specimens, 

 belonging to 20 species, of which several are new, the most 

 notable being 



Capreolus bedfordi, sp. n. 



Size rather larger than in C. capreohos, much smaller than in 

 C. pygargus. General colour in winter pelage more or less rufous, 

 quite unlike the grey-brown of C. capreolus. Antlers small and 

 slender. 



Condylo-basal length of a male skull 207 mm. 



Hah. Chao-Cheng-Shan, Shan-si, 8000'. 



Type. Old female. Original number 1615. 



The collection had, as before, been presented to the National 

 Museum by the Society's President, the Duke of Bedford, K.G. 



Dr. F. A. Bather, F.Z.S., communicated a paper by Messrs. 

 James Ritchie, M.A., B.Sc, and D. C. McIntosh, M.A., B.Sc, 

 F.R.S.E., entitled " On a Case of Imperfect Development in 

 Echinus esculentus." 



Professor E. A. Minchin, Y.P.Z.S., and Dr. D. J. Reid, F.Z.S., 

 read a paper on the minute structure of Calcareous Sponge- 

 spicules. The primary object of this investigation was to demon- 

 strate, by means of photo-micrographs, certain structures, the 

 existence of which had been strenuously denied by some of the 

 most competent of previous investigators : namely, the presence, 

 after the spicules had been cautiously decalcified, of a residue in 

 the form of an axial filament which could be stained and rendered 

 evident by certain dyes, in addition to the sheath universally 

 acknowledged to exist. The axial filament was found to be very 

 distinct in the spicules of Clathrinidm, but much less so in those 

 of Leucosoleniidce and Heterocoela. Incidentally the study of the 



