REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
267 
Ammonites, from the Oxford clay at Weymouth ; a rare swimming crab, 
Polybius Hensloioii ; a collection of butterflies from the neighbourhood 
of Weymouth, including the Marbled-white Hipparchia Galathea, the 
Grayling Hipparchia Semele, Chalk Hill .Blue, Polyommatus Gory don, 
and Lulwortli Skipper, Hesperia Actceon. Mr. W. B. Grove: 
Agaricus serrulatus, A. asprellus, A. carneus, Bolbitius hydrophilus, 
and Lactarius chrysorrhetts , from Corley; and Ag. hcemactus, 
from Ansty, for Bev. D. C. O. Adams. Mr. Bagnall : Vicia tetra- 
spenna, Sparganium neglectum, Epilobium tetragonum, and fungi, 
Hydnum repandum, Cortinarins elatior , and other fungi from Wappen- 
burv. Mr. W. Pumphrey, as a delegate of this society, gave a report 
of the Meeting of the British Association at Bath. Mr. Hughes drew 
the attention of the Council to the death of Mr. Philip Hy. Gosse, and 
he and several members of the Council expressed their deep sense of 
the loss science had sustained by the death of such a man. Mr. 
Bagnall exhibited, for Mr. T. Hooper, Drosera rotundifolia and Myosotis 
coespitosxis, from Cannock Chase. Mr. Marshall exhibited and 
described the cylinders of the grapliophone, by Tainter. 
BIRMINGHAM MICROSCOPISTS’ AND NATURALISTS’ 
UNION.—August 20th. Mr. W. Dunn exhibited rock specimens from 
the Arctic Regions, said to contain gold and silver; Mr. Corbett, 
specimens of Avicula contorta and Astrcea liassica from the Rhsetic 
beds, Knowle ; also quartz containing gold from Merionethshire ; Mr.W. 
Dunn then read a paper on “ Planarian Worms.” The commonest forms 
of these objects are found in almost every pond gathering, and may be 
seen gliding over the surface of the glass. These worms bear 
characters that readily distinguish them from leeches, for which they 
are often mistaken. They have no suckers or feet, the body being 
covered with cilia, by which they are able to move. Their mode of life is 
never parasitic. Their cellular and muscular structure, digestive 
organs, methods of feeding, nervous system, eye spots, and respira¬ 
tory organs were spoken of, and the development from the eggs 
and multiplication by budding and fission described. The writer 
said really very little was known of these creatures, and students 
of pond life might profitably devote some time to the subject. 
A discussion on the paper closed the meeting. -August 27th. 
Mr. J. Madison exhibited a case of Limncea peregra, showing 
its named varieties and their variability, and gave a short 
account of their habitats and geographical distribution ; Mr. P. T. 
Deakin, a case of Bulimus, Pupa, Clausilia, and other shells, calling 
attention to the clausilium of the Clausilia and the operculum of 
Cyclostoma; Mr. J. Moore, a number of Helices, &c., and their 
odontophores; Mr. Camm, the following fungi, Diachcca elegans and 
Tremella sarcoides from Hamstead, and Ascobolus furfuraceus from 
Harborne ; Mr. A. T. Evans, specimens of stick-lac on twigs of trees 
from India. Under the microscope, Mr. H. Hawkes showed Stemo- 
nitis ferruginea from Hamstead.—September 3rd. Mr. P. T. Deakin 
showed a collection of ferns from Hong Kong ; the Curator, section of 
Atropa belladonna .—September 10th. Mr. P. T. Deakin presented to 
the library a collection of mounted microscopic fungi, with observa¬ 
tions. Mr. W. Harcourt Bath exhibited a specimen of Astromyx 
lovonii from Aberdeen, a starfish rarely taken in British waters, also a 
specimen of Ecliinocardium pinnatijidum , and one of an allied species as 
yet unnamed, both from the Scilly Isles. Under the microscope, Mr. 
J. W. Neville showed the fructification of a fern, and the same object 
