32 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



noticing most of the plants for which the locality has long been 



famed; but nothing was found of sujB&cient importance to merit 



special i-emark, excepting that Claytonia alsinoides continues to 

 spread in its station there. 



PAPEH READ. 



Dr. Stirton read a paper on " Lichens, the Peculiarities of their 

 Structure and Development." He traced their affinities on the 

 one hand to Algae and on the other to Fungi, and showed by a 

 series of specimens that although they constituted on the whole a 

 well-defined section of cryptogamic botany, yet on the extremes 

 they merged insensibly into the other two great divisions, more 

 especially the Fungi, several genei-a in each being up to the present 

 time subjects of dispute among authorities in cryptogamy. As an 

 instance of the enduring nature of some lichens, he mentioned that 

 one had been observed for nearly one hundred years, with little 

 apparent change. They do not thrive in the vicinity of Glasgow, 

 owing to the acids contained in the air. The various parts of 

 their structure were minutely described, thus giving a good intro- 

 duction to the study of this interesting part of the vegetable 

 kingdom. In illustration of the different parts of the paper, many 

 specimens were exhibited from several parts of the world, especially 

 Western Africa. 



8th July, 1873. 



Mr. J. Allan, Yice-President, in the chair. 



It was announced by the Secretary that he had i-eceived from 

 the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club a copy of their " Transactions " 

 for the year 1872. 



EXHIBITION OF SPECIMENS. 



By Mr. P. Cameron. — Goenoneura Dahlhovii, a highly interest- 

 ing addition to the British list of Tenthredinidae, taken at Cadder 

 Wilderness last week, on birch. The genus consists of only one 

 species, which was described for the first time by Professor 

 Thomson, the Swedish entomologis^, three years ago. The genus 

 comes between Fenella and Fenusa, from which it is distinguished 

 by the seven or eight-jointed antennae and by the two marginal 

 and four submarginal cells in aiiterior wings. It is noteworthy 



