Linnean Society. 5025 



them bring home prey to their retreats.' Mr. Meade thus disposes of the facts, on 

 which I felt inclined to lay great stress, the non-glutiuosity of the web and the 

 absence of the remains of insects in the sac. Mr. Brown, the discoverer, on the other 

 hand, inclines to believe that worms are the normal food of these spiders, and sup- 

 ports his view by pointing out the depth to which some of the individuals burrow, 

 which is far greater than required for safety ; and also by the structure of the mouth, 

 widely different from that of ordinary spiders, and expressly adapted for the masti- 

 cation of flies: he thinks also that a worm once captured would not necessarily be 

 killed by the spider, but might be devoured piecemeal while still living, an operation 

 that seemed actually in progress in the isolated instance which he had an opportunity 

 of observing : he has re-examined the sac, in reference to Mr. Meade's explanation of 

 a nocturnal breach in the texture mended every morning, but he finds no evidence of 

 such breaches. In reference to the difficulty urged by Mr. Meade, which a worm 

 would find in passing through the wall of the sac, it seems more probable that the spi- 

 der would obtain the worm at the lower extremity of the sac, where her excavations 

 appear to be continually going on. The question of food must therefore remain sub 

 judice, and other points in the history of this most interesting spider seem to invite 



; further investigation." 



The President, after alluding to previous discussions which had taken place at the 

 Society, on the habits of the water-spider (Argyroneta aquatica), observed that he had 



i repeatedly seen that species feeding on worms, but had observed that the spiders 

 seemed rather to suck the juices of the worm than to masticate its flesh. 



Mr. Westwood agreed in the explanation given by Mr. Meade of the fact ob 

 served by Mr. Brown. 



Election of Fellows. 



Henry Christy, Esq. and Alexander Goodman More, Esq., were elected Fellows of 

 of the Society 



February 19, 1856. — Robert Brown, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair.- 



Analysis of the Galls of Cynips Lignicola. 



Dr. Vinen read a paper on the amount of tannin existing in the galls of the 

 Cynips Lignicola of Hartig : he was induced to undertake the analysis by an account 

 lately published in the ' Gardener's Chronicle,' which stated that a new gall had 

 appeared in such abundance in Devonshire as to threaten the destruction of the oak. 

 He found that the Devonshire galls contained but 17 per cent, of tannin, while the 

 Aleppo gall, the well-known ink gall of commerce, contained 56 per cent.; the dis- 

 crepancy was very great, and possibly in some degree attributable to the fact, that 

 whereas all the Aleppo galls were entire, those from Devonshire were all perforated by 

 the Cynips : it was a well-known fact that a sample of the galls of commerce was 

 depreciated in value by the presence of any that were perforated. Dr. Vinen, 

 however, wished to call the attention of the Society to the extraordinary discrepancy 

 existing between the published analyses of the Aleppo galls, greater even than that 

 XIV. o 



