116 
PROCEEDINGS OP SOCIETIES. 
to a point, while those of T. cJirysosperma tapered gradually 
from the middle to each end — the spores being quite smooth in 
the former and minutely echinulate in the latter. 
Zygospore of Xanthidium Hobinsonianum^ exhibited. — Mr. 
Crowe, showed the zygospore of this species in continuation of 
his exhibition of the parent form at last meeting ; these he had 
since discovered in another gathering made on the same occasion. 
They are orbicular, beset with elongate very slender spines, trifid 
at apex, slightly dilated at base ; the contents of the spore 
present a somew^hat olive-green or bronzy hue, rendering the 
appearance somewhat marked. It is therefore interesting to 
have found the zygospore of this species, which is really rare 
in Ireland, though, as seen, widely diffused, but jet it does not 
seem to have been met with out of this island. 
Xodose Hairs. — Mr. B. Wills Bichardson exhibited two mounted 
slides of human nodose hairs which occurred in tie practice of 
Dr. Walter Smith. The specimens on one of tie slides were 
from the head of a young lady of nineteen, and on tie other were 
from the head of a boy of seven years. 
Similar specimens from the girl’s head were exhibited by Dr. 
Smith at the recent meeting of the Medical Associition in Cork, 
and excited much attention. These hairs do not correspond 
with any of the descriptions of nodose hairs pub! shed, at least 
as far as a very prolonged research could ascertaii. Indeed it 
may be assumed that they are unique, from the fict that Mr. 
Erasmus Wilson requested Dr. Smith -to give hire some speci- 
mens for the Museum of the Boyal College of Surgeons in 
England ; and Dr. Lionel Beale, to whom he (Mr. Eichardson) 
sent a slide of the hairs, wrote to him to say that hehad not seen 
anything of the kind before, and asked for some siecimens for 
the Eoyal Microscopical Society of London. 
The boy’s hairs are not so uniformly nodose as th? girl’s ; still 
his head afforded many perfect specimens, and prettier micro- 
scopic objects than hers, being almost altogether free from 
colouring matter. Many of the imperfect specimeis had only 
a couple of nodes, the remainder of the shaft beng normal. 
There is not the slightest trace of a fungus on oi in any of 
the specimens, neither is there any appearance to had to the 
inference that the nodes could have been caused by such. At 
the constrictions the imbrication of the scales can be asily made 
out, but only at these points. 
The girl’s hair, to the naked eye are regularly chec'ied, black 
and white; the boy’s have no such appearances, owiig to the 
absence of pigment. The specimens were mounted h Klein’s 
dammar solution. He might mention before they were ixamined 
that those from the boy’s had not been previously exhibted. 
Tongue of Cyclothurus. — Mr. P. S. Abraham, exhibited!, section 
of the tongue of Cyclothurus^ the Central American ‘ Tee Ant- 
eater,’ a microscopical examination of which had not hitheto been 
made. The section showed the general arrangement of the nuscular 
