Minutes of Proceedings. iii 



This species lias a very local distribution, and until quite recently 

 has been represented by incomplete specimens, if at all, in South- 

 African Herbaria. The male plant appears never to have been 

 collected. It presumably exists, since the seeds of the plant 

 exhibited appear to be fertile. 



II. Utricularia sp. This small species was found on Muizenberg 

 Mountain, in the Cape District, at about 400 feet. It is neither 

 U. capensis nor U. livida, the only two species which, according 

 to local records, occur on the Cape Peninsula. It was suggested 

 that it might be U. Ecklonii, or, failing this, probably a new species. 

 The specimens exhibited showed the leaves, stolons, and " bladders. '* 

 in addition to flowers and capsules. 



Dr. Marloth exhibited a species of aloe, found on the high 

 mountains near Frenchhoek. He said that this was a new and 

 undescribed species. The special interest which it possessed for 

 botanists was the locality where it was found. The species of 

 aloe and of the allied genera Haworthia and Gasteria were Eastern 

 forms, and did not belong to the Cape flora of the South-west. 

 Owing to their succulent leaves, they were specially adapted for 

 existence in districts with dry periods, but, although the Western 

 dry summer suited them very well, the winter was too wet for them, 

 and many when planted decayed during the wet and cold weather. 

 He drew attention to the great defect in our knowledge of the 

 occurrences and distribution of these plants in the country, the 

 habitat of most of them being given as South Africa. Any one 

 finding plants of these succulents would greatly assist in increasing 

 the knowledge of the distribution by sending specimens, with or 

 without flowers. 



Professor J. C. Beattie made a short communication of the 

 methods adopted for the determination of radio-activity. He had 

 had two specimens of earth or mud, Caledon Baths spring deposits, 

 submitted to him by Mr. Schwaez, but he had not yet completed 

 his investigations. 



Mr. Ernest H. L. Schwarz gave a communication upon "The 

 Eocks of Tristan d'Acunha, brought back by H.M.S. Odin, Com- 

 mander Pearce, E.N., and their bearing on the question of the 

 Permanence of Ocean Basins." 



Through the courtesy of Commander Pearce, of H.M.S. Odin,. 

 a number of specimens were recently obtained for the South African 

 Museum from the island group of Tristan d'Acunha. The islands 

 are described in the Challenger Eeports, and from the accounts 

 published in them it is evident that while Inaccessible Island and 

 Tristan d'Acunha itself are ordinary volcanic islands, Nightingale 



