32 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 
Mr. Ingpen pointed out that it was decidedly essential that every 
circle should be most accurately calculated, and that a different cor- 
rection was necessary in the case of every plate in consequence of 
differences in the refractive indices of the glass of which they were 
made. 
Mr. Slack then read a paper by Mr. F. A. Bedwell, “ On Cephalo- 
siphon” The paper was illustrated by drawings, some of which 
were enlarged upon the black-board by Mr. Stewart. Mr. Slack, in 
referring to the diagrams, explained briefly the structure of the rotifer, 
and showed that the chief point in the paper was that the selective 
power, which all observers must have noticed to be possessed by this 
class of creatures, was in some way or other connected with the 
“ tongue.” 
The President moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Bedwell for his 
communication, remarking at the same time upon the difficulty of 
following papers of this kind without having them to read and com- 
pare wdtli the diagrams at one’s leisure. 
Mr. W. S. Kent said that mention was made of the “ siphon 
tube ” ; he thought that to be really what its name implied, it must 
necessarily be open at both ends, but he could not make out that this 
was so. It was apparently a kind of long tentacle thickly fringed 
with hairs at the end, and seemed more likely to be used as a 
plasterer’s brush than a siphon. 
Mr. Charles Stewart read another paper by the same author, “ On a 
New Method of Examining Actinia mesembryanthemum ; ” and at the 
suggestion of the President, Mr. Stewart by means of a large black- 
board drawing explained the general structure of this class of sea- 
anemones, and denoted the chief points of interest referred to in the 
paper. 
The President proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Bedwell for the 
paper, which he thought evinced a great amount of work; their 
thanks were also due to Mr. Stewart for his very clear explanation of 
the subject. 
Mr. W. S. Kent regarded this as a most interesting paper, and one 
which he felt sure they would appreciate still more when they had 
an opportunity of reading it. It appeared to contain some rather 
original discovery, and the mode of examining these creatures was 
certainly very ingenious, and would enable the merest tyro to examine 
this species perfectly. 
Mr. Charles Stewart said that a specimen found some time ago in 
a deep-sea dredging from the ‘ Porcupine ’ showed that there was not 
the same contraction of the body walls as was found in most species. 
It was at first thought to be a Koloihiirian. Mr. Stewart then drew 
it upon the black-board, and pointed out that a section of it agreed in 
every respect with a drawing of Actinia given by Mr. Gosse. He 
also mentioned that observations of these deep-sea creatures did not 
necessarily depend upon vivisection, as recommended in Mr. Bedwell’s 
paper, because the objects themselves were so transparent that all 
which went on within could readily be seen from outside. In this 
way the absorption of food might be perfectly watched, and it would 
