NOTICES OF MEETINGS. 69 

Society’s new year if each member resolved to contribute, according to his 
opportunities, a measure of faithful labour throughout it to the cause of micro- 
scopic progress and research.” 
He also referred to improvements in microscopic manipulation during the last 
twelve years. Referring to the Society, Mr. Weightman said the members were 
to be congratulated on the great deal of sympathy it had for some time past 
evoked, and the interest that had been generally manifested in it. The Society 
had lately been considerably strengthened and increased in numbers, and no 
doubt a continuance of such support, with kindly co-operation, would be more 
and more beneficial. 
On the motion of Dr. Carter, seconded by Dr. Drysdale, a vote of thanks 
was accorded to the president for his address, after which the meeting resolved 
itself into a conversazione, when, amongst other interesting demonstrations, 
objects illustrating the results of the Challenger and Porcupine expeditions were 
illustrated. 
The second meeting of the present session of this Society was held on Feb. 
17th, in the gallery of the Royal Institution, Colquitt-street, the president in the 
chair, and there was a good attendance. 
Mr. A. Smetham, F.C.S., read a paper on ‘‘ Chemistry as an Aid to Micro- 
scopical Research. ‘‘In the course of his remarks he pointed eut the close 
connection which subsists between the various branches of science, and the 
impossibility of placing limits to scientific research. He showed, also, the close 
connection there is between chemistry and microscopy, and afterwards pro- 
ceeded to describe the various tests which may be applied under the microscope, 
and the methods whereby objects may be prepared for microscopic examination. 
He also described the chemico-microscopical researches of Pasteur, and showed 
how, by his system of inquiry, not only had he bestowed an inestimable boon 
on science, but had even revolutionised the art of brewing, restoring it from its 
empiric position, and placing it on a firm scientific basis. He also showed how 
these methods might be applied with great benefit to butter and cheese making, 
and that there appeared very good reasons to hope that in the not very distant 
future similar researches would enable us the better to understand the precise 
nature of many forms of infectious disease, and thus to allay or prevent their so 
frequent occurrence. Among the specimens exhibited during the conversazione 
which followed, were some rotifers, by Mr. Oelrichs, concerning which he 
addressed the meeting. He said: A few remarks on vorticella and rotifers may 
be of interest to the members of the Society. In examining a trough in which 
I had placed, some days before, a small piece of anacharis, to which a few 
floscularia, a large colony of vorticella and others were attached, I found that a 
large number of vorticelle had left the leaves and attached themselves to the 
glass of the trough. Amongst the vorticellz, a few rotifers of the brachionus 
species were disporting themselves and attacking the vorticellze in the following 
manner. The rotifer would attach itself by its tailfoot to the footstalk of a 
vorticella, and try to get hold of the outer rim or lip of the opened bell of the 
vorticella ; but as long as the regular play of the cilia of the vorticella continued 
the rotifer was unable to get a hold of its prey. A momentary stoppage of the 
play of the vorticella’s cilia, however, was sufficient for its enemy, which, 
making a sudden dart, obtained a hold of the vorticella’s lip, and began to eat 
the lip or rim with extraordinary rapidity, in spite of the evident strenuous 
efforts of the vorticella to get rid of the rotifer by contracting its footstalk. The 
rotifer would retain its hold of the vorticella’s lip, and I could observe the small 
particles entering the rotifer’s stomach quite distinctly. In about half a minute 
the rotifer had devoured the rim of the vorticella, which died immediately, the 
footstalk becoming rigid. I watched the same rotifer for half an hour, during 
which time it killed five vorticella and devoured their lip or rim, but in no case 
did the rotifer eat anything but the lip, which appeared to be thoroughly relished, 

