56 PROCEEDINGS MANCHESTER IN'STITUTE 



organizations may be traced back through less complex to simple 

 ones and finally to the protophytes, ambiguous forms so closely 

 related to corresponding forms in the animal kingdom that it is 

 often difficult and sometimes impossible to decide to which king- 

 dom certain forms should be referred. 

 Adjourned to March 21st. 



Tuesday evening, March 21st. Regular meeting, the Presi- 

 dent in the chair. The amendment to the by-laws abolishing the 

 office of Corresponding Secretary, due notice of which had been 

 given at the last meeting, was proposed and adopted by a unani- 

 mous vote. The Executive Committee reported that they had 

 elected Mr. F. W. Batchelder to fill the vacancy made by the 

 resignation of Miss Isabelle R. Daniels. 



At the conclusion of business Mr. Batchelder continued his 

 demonstration of the unity of the vegetable kingdom. Following 

 a review of the last talk an explanation was made of the term " al- 

 ternation of generations," illustrations being drawn from the life 

 history 'of the bryophytes and pteridophytes, where the process is 

 more evident than in the thallophytes and spermaphytes. Then 

 followed an explanation of the terms sporophyte and gametophyte 

 and an endeavor to show that in the highest and lowest sub- 

 kingdoms the alternation of generations, though obscure, is nev- 

 ertheless a factor in the life history of the plant. The talk con- 

 cluded with a statement of some of the homologies of the sub- 

 kingdoms, the cell being the unit of growth and the spore the 

 unit of reproduction in all, while the seed in the spermaphytes is 

 but a highly specialized spore. 



Adjourned to March 28th. 



Tuesday^evening, March 28th. Regular meeting, the Presi- 

 dent in the chair. There being no business before the meeting 

 the talk of the last session was continued. The particular sub- 

 jects considered were the parasitism and saprophytism of fungi 

 and of Biixbanmia among mosses ; the tendency to degradation 

 shown by parasites and saprophytes, e'. g., Indian pipe and the 

 broom-rapes among flowering plants ; the vascular structure of 

 the sporophyte of Anthoceros as foreshadowing the structure of 



