PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 
367 
and Notes on Flustra ’ was then read by Mr. G. C. Karop, who said that 
the subject was not one which he had himself given great attention to, 
but the treatment of it by Mr. Waters, and the suggestions which the 
paper contained, would probably render it of great use to workers in this 
branch of zoology, and was likely to be especially valuable in facilitating 
classification. 
The President regretted that with such a paper before them they 
had no specialists on Polyzoa present that evening. He noticed that 
in the opening portion of the paper the author remarked that the 
existence of the rosette-plates was not a new discovery, but he might 
perhaps remind them that their existence, when it became well known, 
was of the greatest interest as relating to the question of the continuity 
of protoplasm which of late years has been very much discussed. It 
used to be thought that in the vegetable kingdom every cell was sur- 
rounded by an impermeable cell-wall, by which it was entirely cut off 
from communication with every other cell, and it was a great puzzle to 
botanists how under these conditions it was possible that impressions 
could be communicated from one cell to another, as they evidently were 
in the case of the sensitive plant, and others where, if one part was 
touched, it was quite clear that others acted at once in sympathy with 
it. It had, however, of late years been discovered that these cell-walls 
were not imperforate, but there was a communication between them 
enabling the protoplasm to pass from one to the other. In much the 
same way it was thought that the Polyzoa were entirely shut off from 
one another, each in its separate cell, each one being considered to be 
a separate and distinct animal, and it was equally difficult to see how 
common impulses arose. It was then discovered that in the walls of 
the zooecia these rosette-plates occurred which were perforated with one 
or more holes, and that through these minute holes, which sometimes 
were numerous, communication between the separate individuals was 
kept up ; and it became evident that it was by this means that impulses 
were communicated, and that nutriment acquired by one individual was 
shared by the rest. The continuity of protoplasm by means of the 
rosette-plate was considered as fully established, but though the subject 
had been gradually worked up so that the facts were now well known, 
this was, he believed, the first time that any proposal had been made to 
use the rosette-plates as a basis of classification. He congratulated the 
Society upon having such a paper communicated to it, and was sure, when 
it appeared in the Journal, it would be regarded as a paper of great 
value. He thought that their thanks were due, and would be very 
heartily given, to Mr. Waters for his very interesting and admirable 
paper, and they should also thank Mr. Karop for reading it to the 
meeting. 
The thanks of the Society were then unanimously voted to these 
gentlemen. 
The following Instruments, Objects, &c., were exhibited:— 
The Society : — Dr. Borden’s Stereoscopic Photomicrograph. 
Mr. E. M. Nelson : — Bull’s-eye Condenser. 
