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REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
—January 4tli. Mr. Tylar exhibited a specimen of gold ore from Los 
Angelos, California. Under the microscope, Mr. Hawkes showed a 
series of slides illustrative of the structure of the mistletoe.—January 
lltli. Subject, “ Structural Botany.” Under the microscope, Mr. 
Collins showed an anther lobe of mignonette ; Mr. J. W. Neville, 
various moss fruits; Mr. Hawkes, aborted stamens of Parnassia 
palustris, pointing out their resemblance to the glandular hairs of the 
sundew. The former is said by Dr. Muller to be a plant that is giving 
up, or has given up, insectivorous habits. 
LEICESTER LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
—Section D, Zoology and Botany. Chairman, E. T. Mott, F.R.G.S. 
Monthly Meeting, Wednesday, January 20th ; attendance, thirteen 
(four ladies). The Chairman reported that a flock of siskins ( Carduelis 
spinas) had been seen about Christmas time between Swithland and 
Cropstone, many of which had been captured by the bird-catchers 
with limed twigs, as they breed with canaries and make good singing 
mules. It is rather a rare bird in this county. The following objects 
were exhibited, viz., by Miss Grundy, a branch of butchers-broom 
(Ruscus aculeatus), showing flower buds, from the New Forest, where it 
is called “ Knee-holm,” holm signifying holly, and knee, according to 
Prior, being derived through corruption and confusion from the Latin 
cneorum, which has no real connection with this plant; by Mr. W. A. 
Vice, several minute fungi on bark and dung; by the chairman, a 
piece of bark from the decayed bough of an elm tree, showing the 
radiating and sinuous tunnels of the larvae of Scolytus destructor and the 
holes through which the perfect beetles escape. A very instructive and 
interesting address was delivered by Dr. Tomkins, officer of health to 
the borough, on “Microscopic Organisms in their Relation to 
Disease,” describing the leading characters of the four principal forms 
Micrococcus, Bacterium, Bacillus, and Spirillum, and illustrated on 
the blackboard and by a series of admirable microscopic slides. 
PETERBOROUGH NATURAL HISTORY, SCIENTIFIC, 
AND ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—December 31st. Botanical 
Section. —Chairman, Mr. J. W. Bodger. Five members present.—Mr. 
J. W. Bodger continued his address upon the tissues of plants, deal¬ 
ing more especially with wood structure, fibres, and vessels ; exhibiting 
microscopically specimens of pitted, annular, scalariform, and lati- 
ciferous vessels ; wood and bast fibres; together with transverse and 
vertical sections of various plants, to show the arrangement of the 
vessels, Ac.—January 7th. Geological Section.— Chairman, Mr. E. 
Wheeler. Subject discussed—“Denudation” (Chap. VI., “ Lyell’s 
Student’s Elements ”). The various statements given in the chapter 
were considered, and the President illustrated the effects of what Lyell 
terms “Subaerial denudation,” by the way in which rocking stones, 
Ac., have been formed. It was thought a careful section of the Nene 
valley, in the neighbourhood of Peterborough, might show a somewhat 
similar section to the ideal one given on page 73, Fig. 81.—January 
14th. Botanical Section.— Chairman, Mr. J. W. Bodger. Nine 
persons present. The Chairman gave an address on the “Epidermis 
and its appendages ; ” explaining the formation and mode of growth 
of the endophloeum, mesophloeum, and epiphloeum, the stomata, 
glands (internal), lenticels, hairs, prickles, papillie, glandular hairs, 
stings, nectaries, and vittoe, illustrating the same with from fifty to 
sixty drawings and specimen plants, and by means of the blackboard. 
