400 Proceedings. 



Third Meeting, ith August, 1873. 

 The Hon. Colonel Haultain in the chair. 



N'ew members. — H. Brett, J. Breen, B.A., Capt. Steel, J. "Watt; H. 

 Allwright, C.E., E. Waddington, M.D., G. Holdship, W. H. Kissling, E. 

 Day, M.D., R Millett, O.E., W. H. Clarke, H. Richmond, T. Kissling, 

 J. Fairbnrn. 



The Secretary read the list of donations to the Library and Museum. 



The Secretary exhibited a specimen of damask table cloth woven from 

 iiative-dressed Phormium, and read an extract of a letter from the Agent- 

 General in England relative thereto. 



Mr. D. Hay exhibited cones of Pinits radlata and P. insignis grown in 

 the vicinity of Auckland, and made a few observations on the trees which 

 produced them. 



Mr. Kirk offered a few remarks on Captain Hutton's paper on the 

 Geological Structure of the Thames Gold Fields, read at the last meeting. 



Kemarks were made by various members on the Analysis of Thames Water 

 Supply, read at previous meeting. 



1. " On the New Zealand Forms of Cheilanthes" by T. Kirk, F.L.S. 

 {Transactions, p. 247.) 



The paper was illustrated by specimens from the Herbarium of the 

 Auckland Institute. 



2. " Remarks on Dr. Bastian's recent work on the Beginnings of Life," by 



T. Heale. 



(abstract.) 



After giving an historical notice of the subject, the paper epitomized, at 

 some length, the views maintained by Dr, Bastian as to the identity of vital 

 force and ordinary physical force, and the impossibility of maintaining any 

 sharp line of distinction between organic and inorganic matter ; described the 

 nature of colloids, and the behaviour of crystallizable substances in viscid 

 fluids, as investigated by Mr. Rainey and Mr. Lewes, which showed how very 

 similar some of the products of imdoubted crystallizing forces may be to some 

 of these formations from organic matter which are considered to be living 

 organisms. The writer observed that it would be presumption to set up 

 independent opinions here on such a subject ; that we must wait till the 

 " masters have spoken " ; but, as a provisional hypothesis, the view forcibly 

 struck him that since there must be a point in the chain of creatures above 

 which life is only produced by germs or ova, this distinction must establish so 

 sharp a line of division that it may be open to doubt whether the lower one should 

 be considered as living at all. He noticed a great apparent want of continuity 



