lt)4 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF DUBLIN. 



races. It was an unquestionable fact that the less civilized race, if it 

 had a fair start, would in the end heat down the more civilized race. 

 The doctrine now most fashionable was, that after a certain time civi- 

 lized races became effete ; and Baron Liebig explained the fact by a 

 theory that the civilized human animal suffered an excessive loss of ni- 

 trogen and phosphorus. He did not vouch for the theory ; but certainly 

 it would appear that after a certain time civilized races did not improve 

 in stature and other ways, to the degree that was expected. He begged to 

 congratulate both Mr. Edgeworth and the Society on the very interesting 

 paper which he had laid before them. He (Dr. Haughton) was an old 

 member of the Natural History Society, and yet he could say that, for 

 originality and power of observation, the paper was one such as they 

 were not often in the habit of hearing. 



Mr. Edgeworth said it would be presumption on his part to make 

 any remark about the shape of cells to Professor Haughton, who was an 

 authority on the subject. He had observed that the conical disposition 

 of the cells varied considerably in different nests. This tendency might 

 possibly be due to the different arrangement of the pillars which sup- 

 ported the different layers. In the nest of the Vespa Britannica the 

 pillars were aggregated in the centre ; but in the nests of the V. rufa 

 and V. vulgaris the pillars were scattered over the floor of the cells. 

 This, he thought, was characteristic of the nests of ground "Wasps. 



The Kev. Dr. Haughton stated that, as far as he had been enabled to 

 observe, the nests of all the British Wasps had the cells arranged in a 

 truncated cone. He had nests of Wasps from Madagascar and India, 

 and in these the cells were arranged differently — viz., there were a se- 

 ries of parallel circular planes forming a cylinder, and upon these the 

 cells stood at right angles. The cells of the Bee also were arranged 

 cylindrically. 



The following paper was then read : — 



On an Abnormal Morphological Development of the Common Snow- 

 berry. By Alexander Maca lister, M. D. 



The specimen which I have the honour to bring before the notice 

 of the Society this evening is one of a rather rare abnormal morpho- 

 logical development of the Snowberry, Symphoricarpus racemosus. It 

 was gathered by Mr. DeLandre, of Waterloo, county of Waterford, from 

 a shrub in his garden, and by him was transmitted to me. When I re- 

 ceived it, I was struck with its appearance ; it exhibited a raceme of 

 berries, in different states of development, the two lower of which were 

 crowned by a circlet of leaves. This plant belongs to the Natural Order 

 Caprifoliacese, and has a superior toothed gamosepalous calyx, the re- 

 mains of which are persistent on the summit of the berry. In this case, 

 their place is taken by well-developed lanceolate foliar organs. When 

 first gathered and sent up, each berry was crowned with five leaves ; 

 but in the transference from a narrow-necked bottle to the jar in which 

 at present they are, three of the leaves were detached from one, and 



