Abstract
LONDON Linn can Society, November 6.—Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., President, in the chair.—A letter was read intimating that their late President, Mr. G. Bentham, had bequeathed in his will a legacy of 1000l. to the Society.—A notice of invitation for the Fellows to attend the centenary (December 4) of the Royal Bohemian Society of Natural History in Prague was also read from the chair.—Mr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer exhibited the following plants and their products:-(1) Vaccinium arctostaphylus, from which the Trebizonde tea (“Thé-du-Bu-Dagh”) is prepared at Amassia and Tokat. The tea has a pleasant odour, but a somewhat harsh taste when drunk. (2) Pueraria Thunbergiana, specimens of this Corean plant and of the cloth made from it. (3) Pachyrhyza siwensis, with the native name of “Ko-poo,” a leguminous plant from the fibres of which the yellow and more expensive summer cloth is made.—Mr. Thos. Christy showed and made remarks on a specimen of Kola acuminata.—Mr. R. A. Rolfe afterwards exhibited examples of British oak-galls produced by Cynipidean insects of the genus Neuroterus. These were the silk-button gall formed by N. numismatis, the globose gall produced by N. ostreus, the smooth-spangle gall formed by N. fumipennis, the scarce-spangle gall formed by N. l'viusculus, and the common spangle gall produced by N. lenticiilaris, as also a purple variety of the latter gall. He stated that the plan and details of the galls depend on the nature of the irritating fluid deposited by the insect; but on the other hand the different species of oak seem to have an influence in determining certain variations as to colour, and, it may be, general growth, of the galls.—Mr. Geo. Brook read a paper on the development of the Five-bearded Rockling (Motella mustela) in which the following points were enunciated:—(1) Whereas there is only one large oil globule in the normal egg of Motella, sometimes this is subdivided into from two to eight or even more; but in these cases there is always an abnormal development which often results in the death of the embryo. In those that survive, the small oil globules always coalesce to form one large one before the embryo hatches. (2) In the further development of the newly-hatched embryo there is a cranial flexure produced which is analogous to that so characteristic of Elasmobranchs. This is caused by the rapid development of the dorsal portion of the head, while the ventral portion remains comparatively quiescent. Later, the ventral portion plays its part, and, with the development of the jaws the brain is pushed back to its normal position. (3) As in other pelagic Teleostean eggs, there is no circulation observable either in the embryo or in the vitellus up to the time of hatching, nor indeed for some clays afterwards. (4) In Mo'nila the anal gut does not open on the ventral surface for at least a week after hatching. Ryder has shown the same to be the case with the cod-fish, so that the young Gadidæ would not appear to be in a position to take solid food at nearly so early a period in their existence as is usual with Teleosteans. Mr. Brook also called attention to the influence of temperature on the rate of development of pelagic eggs, and suggested that, until we know the temperature at which the various observations are made on these forms, no true comparison can be established.—The next communication was on a collection of plants made in Timor Laut by Henry O. Forbes.—Therein a short account is given of the nature of the islands and of the general character of the vegetation, after which comes a technical list of about eighty plants.—Prof. Oliver adds a note that, “This collection, so far as it goes, is made up in great part of the more widely diffused species of the Indian Archipelago. The most interesting plants appear to be: one in fruit only, referred to the meliaceous genus Owenia, probably O. cerasifera, Muell., of Queensland; a fine Mucuna, of the section Stigolobium; a Selarbrea, an araliaceous genus hitherto only received from New Caledonia, and a fruit of possibly a Strombosia. Mr. Forbes himself is inclined to regard the Timor Laut flora and fauna as having affinities with the Moluccan (Amboina) region.—A paper by T. H. Potts was read, containing notes on some New Zealand birds. This consisted chiefly of field observations on the habits of the quail hawk, harrier, owl, kaka, kea, long-tailed cuckoo, kingfisher, and native wren.-There followed a note on the reproduction of the heteroecismal Uredines by Charles B, Plowright. Therein the author affirms that, when the reproduction of these fungi takes place without the intervention of Ascidiospores, the resulting Uredospores are far more abundant than in the case when they arise from the implantation upon the host plant of the Ascidiospores, this inference being supported by various detailed observations of the author.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Societies and Academies . Nature 31, 70–72 (1884). https://doi.org/10.1038/031070b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/031070b0