BRISTOL NATUEALISTS' SOCIETY. 
♦ 
SECTIONAL MEETINGS, 
♦ 
From the Bristol Daily Posx of February 20th, 1866, 
Botanical Section, January 19.--The president, Mr. 
Leipner, occupied the chair. The honorary secretary read 
the accoants for the previous year, showing a balance in 
hand, which were passed, and a sobscription of half-a- 
guinea was voted to the library fund of the parent society. 
The officers of the section were then re-elected to their 
respective departments by acclamation, with thanks for their 
past services. Mr. Leipner Vegged to thank the members 
for their confidence in him, and said, that although he still 
felt the greatest interest in the welfare of the section, yet in 
consequence of his numerous engagements he could not give 
that attention to its interests which he could have wished, 
and therefore he should be glad if the members would name 
some ©ther gentleman to occupy the chair. It, however, 
seemed so much tfee wish of those present that Mr. Leipner 
should continue to officiate, and attend or otherwise at his 
convenience, that he kindly consented to do so. The re- 
mainder of the evening was spent in preparing and mounting 
specimens of dried plants for the herbarium, which is being 
established by the section. Tbev consisted of plants found 
within the district of the Bristol Naturalists' Society, and had 
been either gathered in the course of the field walks of the 
section during the past summer, or were supplied from the 
private collections of the members. Each of those present 
taking a separate department, a large number of specimens, 
which had been pressed and prepared by the secretary, were 
mounted and finished. 
February 15. — Mr. A. Leipner, president, in the chair. 
The attendance of members was not very numerous, and the 
whole of the evening was devoted to the mounttig and pre- 
paration of specimens for the society's herbarium, no papers 
or other business being brought forward. 
Geological Section, Jan. 25.— Mr. W. Sanders, F.R.S., 
president, in the chair. The accounts for 1865 were read 
and passed, showing a balance in hand, out of which it was 
resolved to give a donation to the funds of the Naturalists' 
Society Library. The ballot was then taken for the officers 
of the section, Mr. Sanders being elected president, and Mr. 
F. Ash mead hon. secretary. Mr. W. L. Carpenter made a 
short communication on behalf of his father, Dr. Carpenter, 
on the oldest known fossil, Eozoon Canadense, showing the 
cumulative evidence, from a great variety of separate proba- 
bilities, that its structure was one of animal growth, although 
its organic nature had been lately called in question, and 
also announcing the discovery of the same fossil in the lime- 
stone beds of the great fundamental Gneiss of central 
Europe, which Sir R, Murchison had shown on other grounds - 
tf) be the equivalent of the Canadian Lanrentian rocks. Mr. 
W. W. Stoddart read some notes on Dtvonian Palaeonto- 
logy. Remarking that the beginning and end of this system 
were not characterised by the accession or disappearance of 
any peculiar fossils, he observed that Silurian fossils were 
found in the lower Old Red beds, and Carboniferous in the 
upper, and this was especially the case with the corals, 
which were very abundant, belonging chiefly to the Cyatho- 
pbyllidse. One kind of coral, Calceola gaudalina, had by 
some writers been mistaken for a Brachiopod. In the upper 
part of the series was a band filled with the valves of Cypri- 
idina, an Eatomosfracon. After giving a general view of the 
number of species in the system, Mr, Stoddart noticed 
some as being peculiarly Devonian, eg., Stringocephalus, 
Megalodon, Anodonta Jukesii, Clymenia, and others. 
The Devonian fishes were then described, as all belonging 
I to two of Agassiz's orders, Placoid and Ganoid, and 
had, generally, beterocercal tails, the most cnrioas being the 
