Minutes of Proceedings. xxv 



quarters through the anterior narial aperture. He exhibited also, in 

 connection with the skull, types of different bows and arrows formerly 

 used by bushmen. 



Ordinary Monthly Meeting. 

 May 25, 1904. 

 Dr. J. D. F. Gilchrist, President, in the Chair. 



Dr. Eric France, Dr. E. Warren, and Professor Brown were 

 elected ordinary members. 



Mr. H. E. Arderne was nominated by Messrs. W. G. Fair- 

 bridge and L. Peringuey ; Dr. W. Beste, by Messrs. C. Stewart 

 and L. Peringuey ; Mr. W. B. Gordon, by Dr. Gilchrist and L. 

 Peringuey; and Mr. 0. T. Hennessy, by Messrs. W. L. Sclater 

 and L. Peringuey. 



A letter was read from the Eoyal Asiatic Society, Bombay, inviting 

 the Society to send delegates to celebrate the Centenary of the Bombay 

 Literary Society, now affiliated to the Eoyal Asiatic Society, to 

 commence in January, 1905. 



Dr. E. Broom's paper, " The Origin of Mammalian Carpus and 

 Tarsus," was read. 



Dr. E. Marloth spoke on " Mimicry among Plants." 



Mimicry among animals was of general occurrence, and South 

 Africa possessed remarkable forms of this kind. He instanced some 

 of these, and said that one could not but admire the perfect similarity 

 of these insects with the plants among which they lived. There was 

 a great difference with regard to mimicry among plants. Many of 

 these described as mimicries among plants appeared to him to be 

 due to teleological speculation and the imagination of the writers. 

 One of the commonest was known as the white dead nettle, which 

 was supposed to mimic in its foliage the stinging nettle. In all 

 probability the popular names of the two plants had something to do 

 with the view that the dead nettle should find some protection in 

 this similarity of foliage. He thought the similarity was a mere 

 coincidence. There was, on the other hand, a number of instances 

 in which the similarity of parts of plants to others was so striking 

 that one could hardly doubt that they had been acquired by natural 

 selection. An example of this kind was afforded by some Stapelias, 

 a group of succulent plants which had its headquarters in South 

 Africa, 



