26 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



Linnean Society of London. 



November 16f/i, 1893. — Prof. Stewart, President, in the chair. 



Messrs. R. Asshetou, H. N. Bernard, and W. H. Wilkinson were 

 admitted Fellows. 



Mr. J. H. Veitch exhibited a large and interesting collection of economic 

 and other vegetable products of Japan, recently brought by him from that 

 country, and described the various uses to which different kinds of wood, 

 fibre, grass, &c, were applied for domestic purposes, as also the way in 

 which various sea-weeds were collected and prepared for food. As the 

 vegetable product was in every case labelled with the scientific name of the 

 plant from which it was prepared, the series was a most instructive one, 

 and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the exhibitor. 



Mr. A. G. Renshaw exhibited a remarkably large specimen of the Giant 

 Puffball, Lycopodium giganteum, which he had gathered at Catford Bridge, 

 and which was considered to be above the average dimensions. 



On behalf of the Rev. Prebendary Gordon, M.A., the Secretary exhibited 

 a plant of Veronica salicifolia of New Zealand, found growing iu Langland's 

 Bay, Mumbles, Swansea, the seeds perhaps having been introduced in 

 ballast from some homeward-bound ship. 



A paper was then read by the Rev. G. Henslow, M.A., " On the Origin 

 of Plant-structures by self-adaptation to the environment, exemplified by 

 desert and xerophilous plants." The purport of this paper was to prove by 

 a direct appeal to facts the probably universal application of Mr. Darwin's 

 assertions, viz. (1) that Natural Selection has no relation whatever to the 

 primary cause of any modification of structure (' Animals and Plants,' &c, 

 vol. ii. p. 272); (2) that modifications of structure are due to the direct 

 action of the environment {fide Darwin, Weismann, Spencer, &c); this 

 always results in " definite variations," by which Mr. Darwin signifies 

 (3) that all, or nearly all, the individuals became modified in the same way 

 ('Origin of Species,' 6th ed. p. 106); and consequently (4) that "a new 

 variety would be produced without the aid of natural selection" ('Animals 

 and Plants,' ii. 271 ; 'Origin of Species,' pp.72, 175). Mr. Henslow 

 showed (1) that all the species constituting the peculiar fades of a desert 

 flora are the direct result of their climatic conditions; (2) that these 

 peculiarities are in nearly all cases of the utmost benefit to the plants, such 

 as the hardening of the tissues, the reduction of parenchyma, the minute 

 size of the leaves, the dense clothing of hair, a thick cuticle, the presence of 

 wax, storage of water tissues, &c. ; but (3) these features are just those 

 which systematists utilise as descriptive characters of varieties and species. 

 Mr. Henslow observed that by Darwin's assuming that " indefinite varia- 



