I88s-i886.] 458 



flint, had the power of motion, were to be collected everywhere, 

 and although so extremely small, were of the most beautiful 

 forms, and so varied in character as to furnish an endless store 

 of subjects for the ornamental designer. Limelight illustrations 

 were thrown upon the scene, and one diatom, a type of the 

 class, was shown enlarged some 15,000 times, and displayed a 

 most elaborate and beautiful design. To enlarge a penny in 

 the same proportion would form a disc one third of a mile in 

 diameter. 



Mr. Gray then described the amoeba, the lowest form of 

 animal life, and its relation to the Foraminifera, the minute and 

 beautiful shells of which are found along our coast, and of which 

 our limestones are almost entirely composed. Advancing 

 higher, Mr. Gray described the hydra, and the very extensive 

 variety of the same group that live along our coast, and so often 

 taken for seaweed. They were, indeed, plant-like colonies of 

 minute polyps, a colony of hundreds forming a beautiful plant- 

 like organism not more than one inch in, height. Examples of 

 these were thrown on the screen, and a great variety of pre- 

 served specimens were on the table. Minute as these lovely 

 organisms were, Mr. Gray explained that the jellyfish, so very 

 common in our lough, represented only a stage in the develop- 

 ment of the minute hydrozoa. Passing on to the starfish and 

 sea urchins, Mr. Gray explained their relationship, their strange 

 characters, and their occurrence in our locality. Even the sea- 

 worms he discussed, and illustrated on the screen, completing 

 his survey with a description of the polyzoa and shellfish. Mr. 

 Gray concluded his highly-instructive lecture amid applause. 

 During its delivery he was frequently applauded for his happy 

 similes, while his lantern illustrations were perhaps the most 

 satisfactory ever brought before the Club. Some were actual 

 specimens mounted as slides, but most of the illustrations were 

 his own photographs of microscopic organisms enormously en- 

 larged. The photos of diatoms — the lowest and most minute 

 and lovely groups in the vegetable kingdom — were especially 

 remarkable for their sharpness and definition. 



